Dhaka plans to sign FTA with Kuala Lumpur

Foreign adviser foreign Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury expressed Dhaka's intention to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Kuala Lumpur for fostering bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two nations.

The foreign adviser expressed the interest while he was speaking on March 20 at the inaugural function of a three-day Showcase Malaysia 2008, which began at the city's Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. The Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI), Malaysian High Commission in Bangladesh and Malaysia South-South Association are jointly organizing the exclusive Malaysian trade show.

The Home Affairs Secretary Md. Abdul Karim, Malaysian High Commissioner in Dhaka Dato Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz, BMCCI honorary Secretary General Syed Moazzam Hossain also spoke on the occasion with the BMCCI president Salahuddin Kasem Khan in the chair.

The foreign adviser  also expressed the hope that the Showcase Malaysia would create an opportunity for the businessmen of Bangladesh and Malaysia to interact directly to materialize their business deals and also explore further areas of cooperation.

The Malaysian High Commissioner said on the occasion that the bilateral merchandise trades between Malaysia and Bangladesh have increased over the last few years with both-way trade exceeding US$ 500.

The BMCCI president, however, emphasized on the need to reduce the prevailing trade deficit between the two countries, which is largely in favor of Malaysia.

Malaysia's exports to Bangladesh accounts for $ 420 million a year against its annual imports from Bangladesh of only $ 80 million, the function was told.

Meanwhile, the Showcase Malaysia is being held first of its kind in Bangladesh to create an avenue for business communities of Bangladesh and Malaysia to establish and foster business linkages and collaborations.

According to the organizers, some 50 Malaysian companies belonging to diverse ranges of sectors will take part in the Showcase with their products and services. Palm oil, furniture, banking, herbal products, education, generators, household items and home appliances, telecommunication, food and beverages, automotive products, personal care products, gift and decorative items, tours and travels, pharmaceutical products, electrical and electronics products, health supplements and medical services, drinks vending machines, lead acid batteries etc. will be put on display in the trade fair.

GB/March 21,2008
Status: Business

Biman  to buy 8 new aircraft

Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd on March 15 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US plane maker Boeing to buy 8 new-generation aircraft worth $1.265 billion (equivalent to Tk 8,728 crore).

Biman's Managing Director (MD) Dr MA Momen and Regional Director of Boeing Glen A Green signed the MOU at Balaka, Biman's head office in Dhaka.

Sources in the Biman said the final agreement between Biman and Boeing will be signed by April 15.

This is for the first time Biman independently is buying aircraft directly from the manufacturing company, without any political and government interference since its inception in 1972.

Under the accord, the first consignment of four Boeing 777-300ER planes, with 463-passenger capacity, will be delivered between July and December, 2013, while the four 394-seater Boeing 787-8s (yet to enter service) will be handed over in July-November, 2017.

The price of four Boeing 777-300ER with General Electric engines will be about $731 million, while the four Boeing 787-8s will cost about $531 million.

Biman became a public limited company in July 2007.

Mahbub Jamil, special assistant to the Chief Adviser for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Geeta Pasi, US charge d'Affaires, and members of Biman Board of Directors, were present among others at the MoU signing ceremony.

Biman currently owns three types of aircraft--four McDonnell Douglas DC10-30s, four Fokker F28s, and three Airbus A310-300s. Production of DC10-30s and F28s ended in the 1980s due to their lack of viability in service.

Of the total of 11 planes of Biman, only four or five are operating now, while the rest are grounded.

GB/March 16,2008

Hong based Cathay Pacific to add Dhaka to its freighter network

Cathay Pacific Airways has announced it will add Dhaka to its freighter network with effect from March 11, says a press release.

The new flights will be operated by a B747-200F flying on a Hong Kong-Hanoi-Dhaka-Hong Kong route every Tuesday and Thursday.

The service will give its customers access to the burgeoning markets of these two fast developing countries, at the same time helping to boost Hong Kong's position as one of the premier international airfreight hubs.

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said, “We are pleased to be able to expand our freighter services to Hanoi and Dhaka.”

March 14, 2008

Dhaka officially asks Tokyo to lift export ban on mangoes

Dhaka has officially asked Tokyo to lift the ban on export of mangoes from Bangladesh to Japan, raising hopes for local mango growers.

The Bangladesh move came after Japan lifted the export ban on Indian mangoes. India will join the group of the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil and Hawaii to send the fruit to otherwise restricted Japan market.

Bangladeshi Commercial Counselor Abul Mansur Md Faizullah recently met officials of Japanese foreign ministry and urged Tokyo to lift the ban on Bangladeshi mangoes.

During the meeting Faizullah told Japan officials that Bangladesh's climate and soil are similar to those India's and the qualities Bangladeshi mangoes are also excellent.

Special taste, size and color of Bangladeshi mangoes have a huge potential in Japanese market.

Faizullah however said procedures to enter Japanese fruit market are very complicated since exporters need to meet environment and food safety issues.

Bangladesh will soon submit proposals to Japanese authorities to lift the ban on fruits.

Bangladesh has already prepared a plan of action and Botanical Research Centre's Gazipur and Chapainawbabganj branches will conduct primary survey soon.

The agriculture ministry has formed a team, which will confirm the availability of germ-free mangoes.

Bangladesh company will assemble Mercedes-Benz bus

Rancon Motors, one of the country's leading automobile distributors, is to assemble Mercedes-Benz buses in Bangladesh for the first time, in an attempt to tap the growing demand for luxury buses among the long distance coach companies.

“The market for luxurious buses is growing. We hope it's an opportunity to tap the potential,” said Romo R Chowdhury, managing director of Rancon Motors, promoting the Mercedes-Benz brand in Bangladesh.

The company, according to its managing director, will be able to cut the price of Mercedes-Benz buses by about Tk 40 lakh to nearly Tk 1.10 crore after the establishment of the assembling plant. The company is  hopeful to hit the market by June 2009.

Currently one Mercedes-Benz bus costs around Tk 1.50 crore as it enters Bangladesh in completely built form.

Mercedes-Benz buses

Luxurious commercial passenger vehicles made their ways on Bangladesh roads during the late nineties to cope with the changes in the tastes of consumers who are traveling by buses at a growing rate due to faster road communication compared to railway's.

The market for luxurious bus, according to operators, is about 60-80 units a year, and is growing between 15 and 20 percent annually as leading long distance bus companies are shifting their focus to this segment.

At present, operators such as Green Line and Sohag Paribahan are offering services with Scania and Volvo buses on different routes, while Saudia and S Alam have brought Mercedes-Benz buses by forming joint venture. Operators said none of these brands is assembled here, rather being imported from India and Malaysia.

GB/March 9,2008

Bahrain Air is going to operate flights from Dhaka

Bahrain Air is going to start its inaugural flight from Dhaka on April 2, connecting Bangladesh to the Middle East with yet another airline to share a growing load of air traffic.

Director (Commercial Operations) of the Bahrain Air Saleh Al Fakhri, who came here on a short trip, announced at a press conference at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel recently their plan to operate two flights a week.

Bahrain Air, the second national flag carrier of the Gulf country, will operate its flight on the Dhaka-Manama route with an A320 Airbus on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Every flight will be back next day. All the passengers' service will be economy class.

With this one, a total of 13 airlines, including the host Bangladesh Biman, will operate on different routes from here to the Middle Eastern region.

The Bahrain-bound flight will leave Zia International Airport at 1:35 am and reach Bahrain International Airport at 5:55 am.

GB/March 7,2008

Audio piracy  increases in Bangladesh

Audio piracy has increased in Bangladesh in the last two years due to a 'total lack' of legal enforcement, according to the international body that represents the music recording industry.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the piracy rate in Bangladesh for domestically produced music is 85 percent, increasing to 90 per cent for Indian music and 100 percent for international artistes.

“Due to the total lack of enforcement the overall piracy situation in Bangladesh has worsened over the last couple of years with increasing sales of pirated CDs/DVDs in urban cities especially Dhaka,” said Laura Childs, a spokeswoman for IFPI.

“With CD players becoming increasingly popular and cheap, demand for audio CDs and DVDs has gone up,” she said, adding that domestic piracy production had increased “sharply.”

“In 2005/2006 there were only two CD/DVD plants in Bangladesh whereas in 2007 there are 6 CD/DVD manufacturing plants in operation and all are located in Dhaka. Each plant can produce 40,000 pirated optical discs in 24 hours.

As local production of pirated discs has increased during the last year the import of large quantities of pirated discs from Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore has decreased drastically, she said.

She also said that piracy producers “are now lobbying the government for incentives for creating export openings for the pirated products.”

The IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide, with a membership comprising of some 1400 record companies.

Childs rejected arguments that in low income countries piracy did not cost the industry any significant amount. “Bangladesh has a huge market for audio and video discs domestically. Bangladesh is also one of the major exporters of pirated optical disc to India and Nepal,” she said.

Childs said the IFPI had been in contact with authorities in Dhaka but to little effect. “Unfortunately, there is no central body which looks after piracy. IFPI is in contact with the Dhaka Police and Customs and has requested assistance on this matter. Even the ministries of culture and industry were approached in the past without success.”

Police in Dhaka said around 40 people were charged for breaching copyright and piracy related offences last year, but it was very difficult to impose effective punishments.

GB/March 5, 2008

India shorten negative list to 500 goods for SAFTA

New Delhi: India will shorten the negative list of goods with regard to the least developed countries - Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives - in the SAARC region to around 500 from 744, as it aims to expand trade in goods in the region.

"India has unilaterally decided to shorten the negative list. We will be in a position to notify the revised negative list within the next few months," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told reporters here recently.

Speaking at the third meeting of the Safta ministerial council here, Nath said reviewing of the negative list and enlarging the scope for further trade cooperation are the key elements in enhancing trade within the Saarc region.He said other non-least developed countries should also consider reviewing the negative list with respect to the LDCs.

India has already reduced import duty to zero on all items other than those in the negative list for the LDCs with effect from January 1 in 2008.

Nath expressed hope that the new government in Islamabad will take immediate steps to implement the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) with New Delhi and take necessary measures, including duty changes, to facilitate trade.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, a signatory of Safta, has maintained that with India it will implement the agreement only in line with its existing bilateral trade policy. Currently Pakistan's trade with India is restricted to about 1076 items. India wants the neighboring country to implement Safta in 'true letter and spirit'.

GB/March 5, 2008

US company  to invest $70m in KEPZ

An US company will invest US$ 70 million in Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) to set up a 50mw-power plant and a tyre indus­try.

The American company, known as M/s Levithan Global Corporation, and Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority will sign an agree­ment to this effect in BEPZA complex on March 2, said a press release.

US Charge d' Affaires Geeta Pasi is expected to attend the agreement signing program.

GB/March 2, 2008

Denmark-Bangladesh joint company, Cold Play, to invest $3m in CEPZ

Messrs Cold Play School Products Limited, a Denmark-Bangladesh joint venture company is going to set up a sports and travel items manufacturing industry in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ).

This jointly owned company would invest US$3 million and will produce four million pieces of sports and travel items. The company will create employment opportunity for 499 Bangladeshis and one foreign nation­al. An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Messrs Cold Play School Products Limited in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka recently.

A.Z.M. Azizur Rahman, General Manager (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Helal Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director of Messrs Cold Play School Products Limited signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

The Executive Chairman of BEPZA and other officials were present on the occasion.

GB/March 2, 2008

Govt. likes Low-cost airlines to get opportunity

An inter-ministerial committee strongly recommends that the government allow low-cost airliners from Dhaka to save huge foreign exchange and earn huge revenue from aviation and other sectors.

The committee after several meetings concludes that the countries signing bilateral air service agreement (BASA) with Bangladesh should be allowed to operate low-cost carriers from Dhaka subject to at least three weekly flights from Chittagong.

Representatives from the ministries of civil aviation and tourism, foreign affairs, home, expatriate's welfare and overseas employment, Civil Aviation Authorities of Bangladesh (CAAB), Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd and GMG Airlines comprise the committee headed by Civil Aviation Ministry Joint Secretary Fakhrul Islam.

The apprehension is incorrect that allowing such carriers will create an imbalance in airfares between the legacy and low-cost airlines, says the committee report.

The committee has however recommended allowing operation of only one low-cost or budget airline from each country.

Aviation experts welcome the recommendations saying Biman and other legacy airlines had been opposing favoring the budget airlines to protect their own interests.

Operation of budget airlines will enhance service standard and help reduce airfares that were increased by airlines due to passenger pressure, they observe.

Considering transport of only 10 percent passengers on Dhaka-Dubai and Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur routes in weekly 12 flights of two low-cost airlines, the government may earn extra around Tk 20 crore from aeronautical, non-aeronautical and ground handling sectors, the report says.

On the other hand, taking into account $100 lower airfare for each passenger on these two routes, the country would annually save around Tk 44 crore in foreign currency, the report adds.

 Low-cost airlines are able to offer airfares lower by $100 to $150 than that of the legacy carriers. This is because of using same category aircraft and crew, low maintenance and fuel cost, short-haul flights, curtailment of onboard services like food and beverage, restrictions on baggage weight, online booking system and non-refundable tickets. The services onboard are however available on demand.

Currently Air Asia, Air India, Express, Air Arabia and Jazeera Airways of Kuwait are pursuing the government for operating low-cost carriers from Zia International Airport (ZIA).

Air Arabia is already operating such flights from Shah Amanat International Airport.

Bangladesh has bilateral air service agreement with 44 countries, but only 19 airlines from 15 nations operate flights from Bangladesh.

ZIA has the capacity of handling yearly 85 lakh passengers, but according to an analysis on last five years' traffic, it handled only 32 lakh passengers, meaning that the airport can accommodate many more airlines, an official said.

GB/29th February,2008

South Korean investment in Bangladesh RMG sector may double

South Koreans, encouraged by better quality of Bangladesh's ready made garments (RMG) and availability of cheap labor, are contemplating doubling investment here, said the director of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra), Dhaka.

A Korean trade mission that organized one-day Korean trade exposition site at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on February 27 is now in Dhaka on a 3-day visit to Bangladesh. As many as 11 new companies were introduced in the fair.

Kotra was established in 1962 as a national trade promotion organisation, which now operates as the national investment promotion agency of Korea. According to the Kotra, a Bangladeshi trade team will visit Korea next month to explore business prospects with their counterparts.

Hanil Kim said in recent years entrepreneurs from the Republic of Korea (ROK) invested a lot in Vietnam and Cambodia on Bangladesh's political instability in the pre-1/11 period. However, cheaper labor force and better production quality of RMG have brought them back here, the chief of the Dhaka office of ROK investment promotional agency added.

Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Suk-Bum Park, who was also present at the exposition, echoing Kim's view on political stability said, “Such stability and business-friendly climate are pre-requisite to more foreign investment in Bangladesh.”

Kim expected that the future $1billion investment plan would create an employment opportunity of at least 350,000 people, directly and indirectly.

A total of 120 Korean companies, including 62 in the export processing zones (EPZs) , are now in operation in the country Bangladesh, where 62 in EPZ, which produce mainly textile products, paper and plastic.

Bangladesh is also a major export destination of South Korea. It exported goods worth around US$ 600 million to Bangladesh in 2007, while Bangladesh exported mainly garments products and frozen foods worth around US$ 100 million.

The items Bangladesh imports from South Korea are garment machineries, such as textile, dying, embroidery and circular machineries, and adhesive tapes.

GB/28th February,2008

Air services deal with India, Airlines operators have positive and negative reactions

A deep rift has emerged between the country's public and private airlines over the new Indo-Bangla air services deal that allows more flights between the countries, but which Bangladeshi flag carrier Biman fears will undermine its long haul routes.

Hailing the agreement, which was signed in Delhi on February 13, private airlines said the deal offers new business opportunities for Bangladesh's aviation industry.

The pact allows Bangladeshi airlines to operate flights to 18 destinations in India and Indian airline Air India to operate flights from Sylhet for the first time.

Under the deal, the number of weekly flights between Bangladesh and India will be raised to 61 from 30. India also waived a royalty provision. Earlier, Bangladesh Biman had to pay $100 to Air India for carrying a passenger to any third country destination via India.

Biman Bangladesh officials however said the agreement will benefit India, not Bangladesh.

Terming the agreement as unwanted, the officials said India will get more advantages from the agreement as more passengers will be carried through India to Europe and the US.

Biman officials also said the increase in the number of flights will not have a positive impact on Bangladeshi airlines, as the deal was not made on the basis of basic air traffic between the countries.

The number of basic air traffic between Dhaka and Kolkata was about 32,000 passengers in 2007 while the basic traffic between Dhaka and Delhi/Mumbai was about 10,000 in the same year, Biman statistics show.

Biman Managing Director Dr MA Momen said the company had earlier requested Australia and Canada to give permission to operate flights from those countries, but they declined saying there were not enough passengers.

Even Japan turned down the idea of a second weekly flight for Bangladesh giving the same reason, said Momen.

Commenting on the deal, Shahab Sattar, managing director of GMG Airlines, said, "This is one of the best air service agreements." Bangladeshi airlines will get great advantages to operate flights in India, he added.

Terming the agreement as a major breakthrough, Sattar said," Several obstacles to operating flights to India have been removed after the agreement."

"Everything in the agreement is positive for Bangladeshi airlines," said Muhammad Masud Khan Siddique, MD of Anmole Group, proprietor of A2Air, which will go into operations by March.

"Under the agreement we have got opportunities to operate flights to Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi or other designated destinations in India,” said Tasdirul Ahmed Chowdhury, MD of United Airways.

"Earlier, Bangladeshi airlines could operate only 26 flights to Kolkata and four to Delhi/Mumbai," he said, adding that now Bangladeshi airlines will be able to operate more flights to Kolkata.

"The increase in flights will offer more opportunities for Bangladesh,” said Farhad Hossein, chief of marketing of Best Air.

A delegation led by Sheikh Altaf Ali, civil aviation and tourism secretary (who has been made OSD later), went to Delhi to sign the agreement with his counterpart on February 9.

Asked about the agreement with India, Ali said India in March 2006 sent the proposal through diplomatic channels and the then government approved the proposal. He added under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Bangladesh has  removed several obstacles of Bangladeshi airliners to operate their flights in India," he said.

When asked, Mahbub Jamil, chief adviser's special assistant for civil aviation and tourism, said the air service agreement with India will benefit Bangladeshi airlines.

GB/27th February, 2008

Exporting edible oil to India at lower prices than local market

The government is going to impose a temporary ban on export of edible oil after a probe body has found two local companies exporting the essential consumer product at an abnormally low rate against a soaring local price.

 The seven-member high-powered body, led by joint secretary of commerce ministry Nur-un-Nabi Talukder,  found that two leading edible oil companies exported refined edible oil in late 2007 at around Tk 48 per liter to India against the sale price of Tk 90 at local markets.
 
Authorities have identified two companies that exported refined edible oil to India through Sylhet, Akhaura and Bibir Bazaar land ports.

Sources concerned said those companies have imported crude edible oil and refined in the local mills.

Commerce ministry sources said the two companies have exported 20,000 tonnes of edible oil to India at rates below those in local and international markets.

When local price was over Tk 90 per litre in November, the two companies exported around 753 tonnes of refined soybean oil at Tk 50 per litre through Akhaura land customs station followed by 871.12 tonnes at Tk 51 through Sylhet and 22.5 tonnes at Tk 45 through Bibir Bazar.

A senior official of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said: "In the investigation, the board has found Tk 50 million VAT evasion at local stage, which is in process of realization."

The board has also requested the Bangladesh Bank  to take action against those companies under the money laundering act, he added.

The investigation committee recommended suspension of refined edible oil for a time to meet the local demands.

The investigation team comprising representatives of National Board of Revenue (NBR), police, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) submitted the recommendation.

The NBR on February 25 directed all customs houses and land customs stations to closely monitor the export procedure of edible oil to thwart any illegal practice.

GB/26th February, 2008

Biman started to  improve financial barriers

Biman Bangladesh Airlines' measures to cease operation on losing routes, down size staff, and curb corruption have began to pay off as the once loss making national flag carrier is on its way to improving its  financial needs.

Biman, which was facing a near bankruptcy in 2006, now has cash reserves of Tk 510 crore, company Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) Dr MA Momen said.

Biman, now a public limited company, does not owe money to any organization, which includes the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Company (BPC), said the CEO, adding, “Biman now purchases oil from BPC in cash.”  "Since April, 2007 Biman has paid about Tk 500 crore in advance to BPC to buy fuel," he said.

In its bid to strengthen fleet, Biman purchased an A-310 Airbus in October of 2007, while procurement of another wide-bodied aircraft is about to be completed, Biman sources said.

According to Biman's finance department, the national flag carrier made a loss of Tk 192.66, 455, and 272 crore in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, respectively.

Over the period of first seven months of the 2007-08 fiscal Biman has accumulated Tk 510 crore in cash.

Biman has suffered from a number of problems, including mismanagement and inefficiency in flight management over one decade. In mid of 2006 the situation worsened and some foreign stations declined to sell fuel to Biman on credit. Biman employees demanded arrears and staged demonstrations in October 2007.

Under its voluntary retirement scheme Biman got rid of 1800 staff. Moreover, in the last 7 to 8 months about 200 staff were either sent on forced retirement or sacked on charges of corruption and irregularities. Now Biman has around 2800 staff.

GB/17th February

Sino-Indian trade jumps up 76.7 pc in January

Sino-Indian trade surged by 76.7 per cent to USD 4.64 billion in January, making India China's ninth largest trade partner, the Customs authorities said.  China is the second largest trading partner of India.

Buoyed by the soaring trade, India and China had, during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Beijing, set a bilateral trade target of USD 60 billion by 2010, raising the earlier USD 40 billion mark.

Meanwhile, the Customs authorities said, China's total trade surplus in January rose by 22.6 per cent over the same period last year to USD 19.49 billion, but was down from USD 22.69 billion in December.

The European Union was China's largest trade partner in January, followed by the US and Japan.

Exports touched USD 109.66 billion, a 26.7 per cent year-on- year jump, the General Administration of Customs said. Since May 2007, the trade surplus of China has been at least USD 20 billion a month. Imports also rose 27.6 per cent to USD 90.17 billion.

GB/17th February

Oneworld airlines confirm dates for London Heathrow moves

• Operations to consolidate from across four existing terminals to just two.
• Passengers to benefit from state-of-the-art facilities and smooth transfers
• Moves in phases starting 27 March and completed early 2009

Member airlines of the oneworld® alliance that will change locations at
London Heathrow this year all confirmed today the schedule for their
moves and minimum connection times at the airport resulting from the moves.

The changes will result in the eight oneworld airlines that serve the
airport consolidating their operations from across all four of the
existing terminals into just two terminals at the alliance’s main
European hub.

Between them, these airlines account for more than 50 per cent of
Heathrow’s traffic with around 35 million passengers a year travelling
on around 700 departures and arrivals a day.

British Airways, for which London Heathrow is its home base, will
consolidate more than 90 per cent of its operations at the airport into
the new GBP4.3 billion (US$8.6 billion) Terminal 5 (T5), in two phases,
on 27 March and 30 April.

Its remaining Heathrow operations will move, alongside those of all other oneworld airlines serving the airport, into Terminal 3, which is
the closest of the existing terminals to Terminal 5. These British
Airways Terminal 3 moves will take place on 17 September and in early
2009.
oneworld partners American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and
Royal Jordanian are already based at Terminal 3. Finnair will move
there from Terminal 1 and Iberia from Terminal 2, also on 17 September,
with Qantas following from Terminal 4 in early 2009.

Terminal 3 is undergoing a massive GBP 1 billion (US$2 billion)
improvement programme to bring it up to standards similar to the
Terminal 5, so all oneworld airlines at Heathrow will be able to offer
their customers a state-of-the-art passenger experience whether they are
flying to or from London, or transferring there between oneworld airline
flights.

Connections between all oneworld member airlines’ flights in Terminals 3
and 5 will be as smooth and seamless as possible. A state-of-the-art
underground baggage system to be built in a tunnel under the airport’s
taxiways by 2011 will improve transfers between Terminals 3 and 5 still
further.

The terminal moves will take place on the following dates:

• 27 March: 70 per cent of British Airways’ Heathrow flights will move
to Terminal 5 including:
- All longhaul flights from Terminal 1 (serving Hong Kong,
Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Tokyo Narita, San Francisco and Vancouver).
- All UK domestic flights from Terminal 1.
- All shorthaul flights from Terminal 1 (except for Barcelona,
Helsinki, Lisbon, Madrid and Nice).
- All shorthaul flights from Terminal 4.
- Miami flights, which currently operate from Terminal 3.

• 29 March: American Airlines transfers its Raleigh/Durham route and
one of its two daily Dallas/Fort Worth flights from London Gatwick to
London Heathrow Terminal 3. This will increase American’s Heathrow
operations to 17 departures a day to seven USA gateways.
• 30 March: British Airways moves its daily Dallas/Fort Worth flight and
twice-daily Houston service from London Gatwick to London Heathrow
Terminal 5.
• 30 April: A further 20 per cent of British Airways’ Heathrow flights
move to Terminal 5, including longhaul flights currently operating at
Terminal 4 (eg New York, Washington, Delhi and Cape Town) with the
exception of flights operated as part of the code-share agreement with
Qantas (Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney).
• 17 September:
- British Airways flights serving Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice and
Helsinki move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3.
- Finnair’s Heathrow flights move from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3.
- Iberia’s Heathrow flights move from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.
- Iberia’s sister airline Click Air (which is not part of oneworld) also moves at this time.
. Early in 2009 (on a date to be finalised soon):
- British Airways flights serving Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney (operated
with QF code-share) move from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3.
- Qantas flights move from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3.

British Airways says its new Terminal 5 base will “restore the prestige
of the UK’s national hub and set standards of passenger comfort and convenience which will surpass those of its European rivals at Paris Charles De Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt”.

It is investing GBP60 million (US$120 million) there in what will be the
world’s largest suite of airline lounges, “setting new standards in
comfort and luxury” for its First, Club World, Club Europe and Gold and
Silver Executive Club customers and oneworld Emerald and Sapphire
equivalents.

British Airways will also be opening new lounges for its First and
Business Class passengers at Terminal 3, to be used also by Qantas’
premium passengers, and available also to premium passengers flying with
Finnair and Iberia, along with top-tier cardholders from all oneworld
airline frequent flyer programmes. American Airlines, Cathay Pacific
and Japan Airlines will retain their own lounges at Terminal 3.

In total, 50 of the 90 or so airlines serving Heathrow will move terminals in a series of moves starting with British Airways’ first move to Terminal 5 on 27 March. For full details, see heathrowairport.com


Saiduzzaman Khan Shipon
Manager Media, Unitrend

IPOs are must for PLCs with paid up capital of Tk 50cr

If the paid up capital of a public limited company (PLC) becomes Tk 50 crore or more, then in commercial operations for three years the company will have to go for initial public offerings (IPOs) within one year. However, if the public limited companies(PLCs) are not in commercial operations, they will have to float shares within three years after commercial operations.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 12 in a bid to increase the supply of quality shares to the market.

A public limited company is entitled to have the number of shareholders from seven to unlimited, while a private limited company should have two to 50 shareholders.

After the meeting, SEC Executive Director Farhad Ahmed told journalists that through amending a previously served notification on IPO, the commission also withdrew the obligatory ratio of floating primary shares. Previously, a public limited company had to offer primary shares valued at least one third of the company's paid up capital.

Now a public limited company can itself fix the amount of primary shares it wants to offer, he said.

The commission also decided if the private companies' paid up capital reaches or exceeds Tk 40 crore for increasing their paid up capital, they will have to become public limited company within next six months.

The private limited companies whose paid up capital is already Tk 40 crore or more will have to become public limited companies within one year, according to SEC decisions.

The SEC on February 12 also decided to forfeit the primary shares of the upcoming listed companies if the shares could not be transferred to the IPO winners' Beneficiary Owners (BO) account.

Recently it was found that many IPOs could not be transferred to the applicants' BO accounts, as the accounts were inactive.

 “During Islami Bank's Mudaraba Perpetual Bond IPO allotment, 275 BO accounts were found inactive. In such cases, the depository participants request us to activate the BO accounts to transfer the IPOs,” Farhad said. He also said the commission  approved the application of Delta Brac Housing for private placement of the company's zero coupon bond worth Tk 150 crore.

GB/13th February, 2008

Govt to import rice to replenish supply

The government is set to approve import of nearly 600,000 tonnes of rice on February 12 as part of an intensified move to cool down soaring price of the staple food in the local market, officials said on February 11.

The move came as private importers said they have imported nearly 100,000 tonnes of rice since the beginning of the new year while ships carrying another 20,000 tonnes would land in the Chittagong Port within a week.

"The advisory committee on government purchase is expected to approve import of 500,000 tonnes of rice worth about $200 million from India on February 11”said food secretary Ayub Miah.

India has already said its latest ban on rice export will not have any impact on the export of the half a million tonnes of rice it promised to Bangladesh.

The officials of the two countries have settled the price of the rice at an average 399 dollars a tonne after two rounds of talks in India.

Bangladeshi officials have been staying in India since February 3 and they will sign the purchase deal as soon as it gets approval from the advisory committee.

India had pledged to supply the amount to Bangladesh following a request from Dhaka, which faced a huge shortfall of rice due to the two successive floods in July-August and a devastating cyclone in November last year.

The agriculture ministry said some two million tonnes of rice, worth around 600 million dollars, were destroyed in the twin disasters, sending the prices of the staple food to more than 60 per cent high since last July.

Officials said the purchase committee, led by the finance adviser, would also approve the import of an additional 67,000 tonnes of rice on February 11 as the government was determined to replenish its buffer stock.

The move from the government came as the country's private traders said they imported nearly 100,000 tonnes of rice since January.

According to the Chittagong Port, private traders imported 43,764 tonnes of rice in January and 23,235 tonnes in the first eight days of February.

Unloading of nearly 21,000 tonnes of rice was going on from three vessels as the report goes to the press, the port official said.

Port officials said three more vessels carrying 11,000 tonnes of rice from Myanmar would arrive within this week amid intensified import by the private traders.

Leading trading house Imam Group said it alone imported 70,000 tonnes of rice since December from Myanmar through the river route.

"Another consignment carrying 4500 tonnes will arrive at Chittagong port within the next two weeks," Mohammad Ali, chairman of the group, said.

"We are now importing rice from Myanmar as the prices there are lower than other rice exporting countries," Ali said.

Currently, the price of Myanmar rice ranges between US$ 350 and $365 per tonne.
           
Until February 11, the total stock of rice was 3.96 lakh tonnes, which was over 4 lakh tonnes in last week, government sources said.

GB/12th February, 2008

A local firm to invest $1.4m in Karnaphuli EPZ

A local company will set up a garment accessories manufacturing plant in Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone with an investment of US$1.395 million. An agreement to this effect was signed recently between the company and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza).

General Manager (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA AZM Azizur Rahman and Chairman of M/s ZANT Accessories Ltd Md Tafazzal Hossain exchange documents after signing a lease agreement in Dhaka. Bepza Executive Chairman Brig Gen Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf, among others, were present at the signing ceremony.

The company will produce accessories for shoes, caps, bags and garment items, and create employment opportunity for 73 Bangladeshi nationals.

GB/9th February, 2008

EU's proposed duty-free import rules for textile mills

The president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Abdul Hai Sarker with the diplomats from the Netherlands, France, Germany, UK, Denmark, European Commission and Italy in a  meeting in Dhaka on February 6  on possible changes to the present rules for duty-free access to the European Union(EU) told that if the EU changes GSP rules, Bangladeshi textile mills will not be able to sustain their growth.

The EU is proposing to give duty-free access to all industrial products from least developed countries (LDCs) where it can be shown that 30 percent of the items' value has been added in the LDC. This would enable local garment manufactures to use imported cloth and yarn and still gain duty free access to the EU.

The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) at the meeting said the mandatory use of locally produced cloth and yarn should be kept for the next few years for gaining GSP facilities as it strengthened the local textile sector.

Former president of BTMA Abdul Matin Chowdhury said if the EU changes GSP rules Bangladesh textile mills will lose their sustainability. Under the existing GSP facility, RMG makers must use locally made fabric and yarn.

Citing statistics from EUROSTAT, Matin said export to EU increased to 4.664 million Euros from 1.417 million Euros between 1997 and 2006.

He said, “GSP utilisation in both woven and knit RMG has increased in the period between 2000 and 2005”, adding: “GSP utilisation was recorded at 85.00 percent in knit garment sector in 2005 compared with that of 69.70 percent in 2000.” “In the case of woven garment sector, the GSP utilisation increased to 28.20 percent in 2005 as opposed to 14.60 percent in 2000,” he said.

Matin said lowering value addition might not necessarily increase export.  “Japan's one stage transformation and Canada's 25 percent value addition facilities in woven sector have not brought about any success for Bangladesh in the world market for woven garments,” he said.

BTMA president Abdul Hai Sarker said if the rule for receiving GSP is changed in favor of 30 percent value addition, it would definitely jeopardise the local textile sector, which has been supplying 90 percent backward linkage support for the knit sub-sector and 40 percent for woven.

“The advantage of the existing duty free system, known as the Generalised System of Preference (GSP), is that it is well suited for LDCs. A more general approach, looking only at value added, would allow developing countries to gain market share,” he said.

“The EU countries have been planning a change in GSP rules over the last few years, a move that has already discouraged the local entrepreneurs for investing in the textile sector,” Sarker said.

BTMA sources said that the local market for textile products consists of 135 million consumers, while investment in the textile sector amounts to 4.0 billion Euros, employing 2,700,000 people.

Diplomats from the Netherlands, France, Germany, the UK, Denmark, European Commission and Italy took part in the discussion.

After the discussion the EU officials said they would communicate the concern of Bangladeshi textile entrepreneurs to Brussels, the headquarters of EU.

GB/8th Feb, 2008

PAKISTAN, BANGLADESH TRADE COUNCILS TO PROMOTE BILATERAL TIES

ISLAMABAD Feb 7 :

Pakistan and Bangladesh trade councils have decided to introduce their
products in the export display centre to promote and introduce relevant
products of both countries.

Founder of Bangladesh-Pakistan trade council, Muhammad Binyamini, accompaniedby a trade delegation visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI)
here on Feb 2.

He discussed issues for the enhancement of bilateral trade and expressed greatsatisfaction over the economic policies of Pakistan and termed Pakistan as a
progressive nation.

The delegation requested that the Commercial Counselors offices be shifted toChittagong from Dhaka while Pakistan Export Display centre be restored inDhaka for the promotion of textile, ladies items, Yarn and other products.

The team members said that there are ample opportunities for investment in
information technology, textile, pharmaceutical, agriculture and other
sectors.

The delegation visited Pakistan to meet rice exporters and said that some
Pakistan rice exporters have not confirmed their rice supply after taking
orders.

They said that Bangladesh offers a lot of incentives to foreign investors and
there is no quota system.

President ICCI Ijaz Abbasi said this was the ideal time for Pakistani
businessmen to visit Bangladesh to benefit from the vast business
opportunities.

He agreed that bilateral trade between the two countries could be improved
through exchange of delegations.

GB/February 8,2008

The negotiators’ discussion on  Doha talks

The negotiators working on a new global trade deal need to decide whether to limit a key meeting to agriculture and industry or broaden it to areas such as services, officials and diplomats said on February 6. Trade ministers have agreed to try and meet around Easter at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva to clinch an outline deal in the long-running Doha round.

The talks, launched in the Qatari capital in November 2001, have taken on renewed urgency because ministers are keen to inject confidence into the troubled world economy.
A meeting around Easter-which diplomats say is more likely to take place in April than in March-is the latest realistic date if there is to be enough time to conclude a full deal by the end of this year.

Negotiators in Geneva agree the Doha round should be completed this year before a new US administration takes office, which would distract from the trade talks.  But they differ about what should be discussed at the Easter meeting, a vital issue because it is there that the key trade-offs allowing a deal will take place.

"We're going to have some consultations tomorrow on the scope of the issues," India's WTO ambassador, Ujal Singh Bhatia, told Reuters after a meeting of the WTO's General Council.

For instance, the United States is under pressure to cut its trade-distorting farm subsidies, but will do so only if it gets better access in other countries' markets for industrial goods through lower tariffs, or for services through liberalization.

Agriculture is the key to the talks because of its importance to developing countries, and industry has always been at the centre of trade negotiations.

So many developing countries say the meeting in Easter should concentrate on these issues and not be overburdened with others.

But many countries, rich and poor, including the United States, European Union and India, want services, such as banking and telecoms, and temporary migration of labor, to be included.

The chairmen of WTO negotiations on agriculture and industry are due to issue their revised negotiating texts this week, which will prepare the ground for the meeting at Easter.

Meanwhile, Ukraine was approved as the newest member of the WTO on February 6, a move that President Viktor Yushchenko believes will significantly boost his country's economy.

The Ukrainian parliament now has six months to ratify the accession agreement, which follows nearly 15 years of often torturous negotiations.

The accord, signed with WTO head Pascal Lamy amid great pomp at a ceremony at WTO headquarters in Geneva, leaves Russia as the world's only major economy still outside the global trade monitoring body.

The president of Ukraine Yushchenko  said the  integration into the global economy will help them to make  a 1.7 per cent improvement in our gross domestic product.

GB/7th February, 2008

Swiss company offers highest for 50pc Oriental Bank shares

The ICB Financial Group Holdings AG, a Swiss-based company, has emerged as the highest bidder for over 50 per cent shares of the troubled Oriental Bank Limited. It has offered Tk 3.506 billion for the shares, as bank officials said.

"The Swiss company has offered Tk 350,67, 43, 888 for buying the shares of Oriental Bank Limited while the Domestic Investors Consortium, Bangladesh, quoted Tk 2.51 billion," Deputy Governor of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) Murshid Kuli Khan told reporters after a meeting of the tender evaluation committee.

He also said the central bank will announce preferred bidder on the basis of technical revaluation committee report.

The ICB Financial Group Holdings AG is a holding company for several banks operating in Eastern Europe, Africa and Indonesia.

The Group made its foray into Asia in 2003 by acquiring an indirect stake of 11.3 per cent in Bank International Indonesia, one of the largest banks in Indonesia.

The trouble prone oriental bank is now running its business through 30 branches across the country, where a total of 713 employees are engaged at different levels.

GB/4th February, 2008

Licenses for call centers may bring billion dollar business

The licenses for the country's first-ever telephone call centers are soon to be issued, holding out the prospect that Bangladesh will soon join the billion dollar global business as said by high officials at Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and they are  asking prospective licensees to contact them in order to finalize licensing policy.

The move to set up call centers in the country has been prompted by the regulator's belief that a ''financial revolution' will be possible in Bangladesh if the country allows the speedy development of the Information Communications and Telecommunications sector.

Bangladesh is lagging behind in the lucrative call center business, at a time when its neighbor India is earning billions of dollars from call center business. India has been able to attract multinational companies who are keen to lower costs by outsourcing customer call centers in countries with low labor costs.

Banks, computer companies and telecom groups have taken advantage of the opportunity.

Call centers are used by mail-order catalog organizations, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, and any large organization that uses the telephone to sell or service products and services.

In a recent interview with a leading newspaper, Major General Manzurul Alam (retd), chairman of BTRC, said the second submarine cable is a must for expanding call centers, IP (Internet Protocol) telephony and software business.

The India's turnover of the call centers was $ 65 million in 1999-00 which increased to more than $ 10 billion in 2006. IT-enabled services have grown at a rate of 65 percent in India. Foreign companies dominate India's call center industry, with a 60 percent share of the annual Rs 71bn ($1.5bn) turnover market.

According to draft policy, BTRC will issue two types license--hosted call center and hosted call center services. The license fee ranging between Tk15, 000 and Tk50, 000 based on number of agents the call center will have.
 
The draft call center policy will issue call center license for 10 years on annual renewable basis as said by BTRC.

GB/4th February, 2008

Huge spot orders received in Bahrain ‘Autumn Fair 2008”  

Bangladeshi companies bagged huge business success by fetching spot orders and signing bilateral trade agreements at the nine-day ‘Autumn Fair 2008” held at Manama, Bahrain from January 22-30.

Three Bangladeshi commercial banks- Pubali Bank, Prime Bank and Mutual Trust Bank, two life insurance companies- Fareast Islami Life Insurance, Meghna Life Insurance and one real estate company participated in the fair by showcasing their products and services with the organizations of 31 countries.

The Bangladeshi participant banks have finalized remittance deals with several exchange houses and banks of Bahrain. They opened hundreds of accounts for expatriate Bangladeshis and collected lucrative deposits. After getting signal from Bangladesh Bank, the remittance agreements will be activated.

Among the life insurance companies, Fareast Islami Life Insurance earned Tk 6.0 million premium by selling about 350 policies, while Meghna Life Insurance earned Tk 5.00 million by selling more than 250 policies.

Bangladeshi participating companies also organized  a number of  business meetings with their Bahraini counterparts. The Pubali Bank Managing Director (MD) Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Mutual Trust Bank MD Kazi Shafiqur Rahman, Prime Bank Vice President (VP) Sk Matiur Rahman, Meghna Life Chairman Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Fareast Islami Life EVP Matiur Rahman Sikder, Dhaka International Exhibition Co (DIEC) MD Enayet Karim Mission Energy and Properties Director Bazlur Rahman  were present at the meetings.

The Bahrain businessmen showed interest in importing Bangladesh rice, readymade garments, shrimp, medicine, handicrafts, spices and food products. They expressed interest in investment in Bangladesh textile, bank and capital market.

GB/3rd February, 2008

The Asian shares go down, Europe's retreat

Asian shares closed mostly down on January 30 with investors seem­ingly worried that an expected US interest rate cut may fail to boost stock prices in the face of a global economic slowdown.

Forecasters said the Federal Reserve would cut US borrowing costs by up to 50 basis points later Wednesday after it made an emergency 75 basis points cut last week to 3.50 percent. But the share price falls across Asia suggested investors were betting that stocks already reflected predictions of lower US rates, potentially crimping the scope for more rises in the short term.

Meanwhile, Europe's main stock exchanges retreated on January 30, as investors digested more negative subprime news ahead of a vital interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve, dealers said.
Key US economic figures are also due out this week, causing more jitters as they could con­firm fears that the world's big­gest economy is heading for a sharp slowdown or even a reces­sion.

Such worries helped send Tokyo down nearly one percent, while Seoul fell three percent. The region's key bourses all ended down, with only the smaller  markets  in  Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila rising.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that the global economy would grow 4.1 percent in 2008, down 0.3 per­centage points from a previous estimate.

It forecast the US economy would expand by 1.5 percent, 0.4 points lower than its earlier prediction.

In Europe on January 30, the Paris CAC 40 of leading shares dived 1.54 percent to 4,865.16 points, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.85 percent to 5,835.30 and Frankfurt's DAX30 dropped 0.67 percent to 6,846.45.

The financial sector in Europe was hit after Swiss bank­ing giant UBS said it would post a loss of 4.4 billion Swiss francs (3.5 billion dollars, 2.75 billion euros) in 2007 owing to its expo­sure to the US subprime housing sector crisis.

 Some analysts expect that the US Federal Reserve will slash rates by a half-point, which would take the key federal funds rate to 3.00 percent.

GB/31January, 2008

Sheraton Brand Hotel chain decides to pull out from Dhaka

The owning company of the Sheraton brand of hotel chain, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., has decided to pull out from managing Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. It will be effective from January 1, 2009. The present manage­ment contract will expire or December 31 this year (2008).

Starwood has decided not to renew contract with Bangladesh Services Limited (BSL) the fully government-owned company and withdraw from managing the hotel, even though it is a profitable ven­ture because Starwood is launching drive to build "world class" brand and Dhaka Sheraton is not up to the standard. The most of the guest rooms, bathrooms and public areas of the hotels are in poor condition due to inferior upkeep and lack of attention of BSL to modernize the facilities. Even restaurants of the hotel are too small to accommodate in-house guests. Condition of kitchen is very poor and so is the plumbing.

It is learnt that various attempt by the operator to improve the facilities but  failed to uncertainty in deci­sion making from owning company.

 It may be noted that built as Hotel Inter-Continental in 1966, Sheraton started oper­ating the hotel as its contract. The first contract was for a period of 20 years.

In the middle 2007, Starwood announced that it anticipates executing 200 new deals and opening more than 80 new hotels in 2007, almost doubling the number of properties the company opened in 2006. Underscoring the company's aggressive portfolio expansion across all nine of its brands, Starwood currently boasts a global pipeline of approximate­ly 420 hotels and more than 100,000 rooms. Starwood has also taken the lead in the upper upscale and luxury seg­ments, with 38 per cent of the hotels and rooms in the indus­try pipeline.

GB/ 31January, 2008

Malaysian trade fair in March next

Bangladesh Malaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Malaysia South-South Association will jointly organize a three-day Malaysian trade fair in Dhaka from March 20 and the fair styled 'Showcase Malaysia-2008' at Sheraton Hotel, as said a press release on January 29.

Around 50 Malaysian companies will participate in the exposition to showcase their products and services. A high-profile investment delegation from Malaysia will visit Bangladesh during the show.

A seminar on Investment Opportunities in Bangladesh and Relocation of Malaysian Labor Intensive Industries will be organized on the sidelines of the show.

GB/30 January ,2008

Bangladesh postal department made a deal with Western Union

Western Union(WU), an international money transferring company, has made a five year deal starting from December, 2007 with Bangladesh Postal Department for delivering the money remitted by expatriate Bangladeshis to the villagers easily, as said on January 28 at a press conference in a hotel of Dhaka city.

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Western Union (WU) signed the five-year deal on December 12, 2007 to  launch the  services through 450 post stations in Bangladesh in the first phase and the number of such postal WU money receiving points will be raised gradually as said by Anil Kapur, WU managing director for South Asia, who was also present at the press conference.

“As the Bangladesh Postal Department has a reach over each and every corner of the country, we have teamed up with it,” Anil Kapur said, adding that the WU will train up a number of selected post office personnel besides providing logistic support for them to render better services.

With only 100 points across the country at the onset of its operation, the WU has now set up more than 1400 points to receive money, Anil said while giving a resume of his company. The WU's share in global money transfer business is over 17 percent, he said.

Acting Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Iqbal Mahmood termed the agreement as a new dimension to the postal services.

As per official statistics, the country received nearly US$6 billion as remittance from non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) last year and the contribution of such remittance to the gross domestic product (GDP) crosses 13 percent.

The regional top official of the international money transfer company said at present 30 percent remittance comes from Saudi Arabia, 15 percent from the USA and more than 10 percent from the UK.

GB/29January, 2008

Bangladesh and Pakistan have little scope to benefit from SAFTA

Bangladesh and Pakistan have little scope from  bilateral trade benefits out of South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA), a seminar was told in the capital Dhaka on January 26. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka jointly organized the seminar titled 'Bangladesh-Pakistan Trade Opportunities under SAFTA' at the FBCCI conference centre.

A local trade expert expressed the pessimistic view on the present context, although the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) in August 2006 estimated that the bilateral trade could rise to the extent of one billion dollars.

In 2006-07, the bilateral trade stood at US$ 256 million when Bangladesh imported goods worth US$ 195 million and exported goods worth US$ 61 million.

"At present, one may not see any visible benefit to bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Pakistan," as said  by Joint Chief of Bangladesh Tariff Commission Dr Mostafa Abid Khan, one of the key officials for Bangladesh in international trade negotiation. He, however, said that the LDC (Least Developed Country) members like Bangladesh under SAFTA would have to wait a few years to derive benefits.

FBCCI administrator Syed Manzur Elahi chaired the inaugural session of the daylong seminar while Dr Abid and director general of Pakistan Foreign Trade Institute (FTIP) Dr Safdar A Sohail presented the keynote papers.

Dr Abid said the scope of SAFTA benefits for Bangladesh is limited due to three factors. First, although SAFTA provides for tariff derogation by way of maintaining the smaller sensitive list for LDCs, Pakistan did not do so. As a result, items of Bangladesh's export interest will be deprived of tariff concessions.

Second, Bangladesh might not enjoy the benefits of preferential access even for other products due to the fact that the criteria to determine the origin of products were still stringent (more stringent than South Asia Preferential Trade Agreement - SAPTA).
Third, Bangladesh might not get duty-free access due to the fact that the products might still be subject to tariff between 1-5 percent.

Contrary to Bangladesh trade expert, FTIP GD Dr Safdar said mere insistence on the curtailment of the sensitive list would not lead to tremendous economic benefits to the partners."Despite the fact that textile is the most sensitive of the sensitive items, the future of the whole region, especially of Pakistan-Bangladesh economic cooperation and prosperity, lies in the textile sector, given the ventral importance of textile for both the economies."

FBCCI administrator Manzur Elahi suggested implementation of SAFTA tariff cuts within the specified timeframe, preparing a pragmatic sensitive list, simplifying the rules of origin and removing the non-tariff barriers.

GB/January 27,2008

Global market situation in Asia and  USA

Asian markets bounced back after a grim start to the week Asian stock markets have risen after a dramatic interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve helped calm anxiety.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 2.0% higher as gains were limited by concern about the effects that the rate cut were having on currencies.

Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong saw share prices rebound, following days of heavy losses.

Australian shares finally managed to end their 12-day losing streak, closing up by 4.4%.

Stabilizing

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index traded more than 5% higher, rebounding from January 22 drop of nearly 9%, while South Korean shares were up about 1%.
           
 I expect the move will stabilize the global economy as a whole, said by Fukushiro Nukaga,  Japanese Finance Minister.

Bear market may be looming

Global shares rebounded after the US central bank cut its main interest rate to 3.5% from 4.25% on Tuesday in an attempt to pull the world's biggest economy away from a recession.

Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga welcomed the move, saying he hoped it would have a positive effect on Japan's markets.

"I expect the move will stabilize US financial markets and the global economy as a whole," he said.

Caution rules

On January 22, the UK's FTSE 100 index closed 2.9% higher having fallen more than 4% in early trading.

France's Cac 40 closed 2.1% higher while Germany's Dax index closed 0.3% down having earlier been down by about 2.0%.

In the US, the Dow Jones closed 1.1% lower, but far bigger declines had been expected because US markets had avoided the hefty falls on January 21 due to a public holiday.

One analyst said that while the rate cut might help to ease concerns in the short-term, stock markets were set to be volatile in coming weeks. "Caution still rules the long-term picture," said Markus Steinbeis of Pioneer Investments.

GB/24 January,2008

Govt. offers a training program for garment workers

The government has introduced a program for training up the garment workers for awareness building for overall welfare of the staff of the export industry and for proper expansion of the apparel sector. It was disclosed at a training workshop held on January 23 with Labour and Employment Ministry secretary Ashfaq Hamid in the chair, as part of a latest initiative towards streamlining the spontaneously growing sector. The workshop was held on duty of the midlevel officials in resolving problems of the factories.

Among others, joint secretary (Labor), deputy Secretary (Labor) and Labor Director and midlevel officials of BGMEA, BKMEA and garment factories also attended the workshop.

Officials of different organizations under the Labor Ministry will go to the factories and train up the workers on different relevant issues, including industrial relation, conduct, duties and responsibilities, and role of the apparel industry in the national economy.
Every factory will have to collect the telephone numbers and address of the 'Crisis Management Cell' opened by the Government to resolve the problems of the garment industry so that the owners and laborers can instantly inform about any untoward incident, the meeting was told.

Earlier on January 22, the government decided to form welfare committee at every garment factory of the country for ensuring "overall welfare and enhancing living standard" of the workers of the export industry.

Meanwhile, garment manufacturers and exporters on January 22 demanded Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam introduce a food rationing system for garment workers to calm labor unrest in the country's most important export sector. The call from the Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) came after the industry has been rocked in recent weeks by a renewed wave of industrial disputes that many believe have been sparked by the rocketing price of essential foods and oil. The BGMEA leaders made their demand in a meeting with the finance adviser at his Secretariat office. BGMEA President Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez led the team in the meeting.

After the meeting, Parvez said the recent labor unrest at the city's Mirpur area was not prompted by a failure to implement the minimum wage, but rather by the price hike of the essential commodities in the local markets. Recently the BGMEA claimed that more than 95 percent of garment factories have been paying their workers in line with the minimum wage board at Tk 1662 per month.

Some economists estimate that just the cost of rice accounts for 60 per cent of the salary of a garment worker in Dhaka receiving the minimum wage in the sector. The BGMEA president said that they have no scope to give more benefits to workers as they have to compete with international market.

GB/24 January

Biman Bangladesh moves to strengthen their position increasing aircrafts

A team of the officials of Airbus, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), is expected to come Bangladesh  by early February to make a fresh offer to supply aircraft to Biman Bangladesh Airlines, with the national carrier attempting to strengthen its ageing fleet as said by MA Momen, chief executive of Biman Bangladesh Airlines on January 21.

According to sources, Airbus Company is set to come to Bangladesh after the US aircraft maker Boeing Company offered to supply Biman eight aircraft in two phases up to 2017. The experts believe the cost of eight suitable aircraft would range between US$800 million and $1.5 billion, depending on the aircraft selected.

Biman moved to collect fresh proposals on purchasing aircraft after it became a public limited company in July in 2007.

The rising cost of jet fuel has hit hard the Biman's current fleet of 12 planes, including one leased Boeing 747. This is because the ageing planes have poor levels of fuel economy and high maintenance costs in comparison with newer aircraft.

At present eight planes are in operation while one remains idle and three under maintenance. The aircraft of the carrier are grounded frequently due to technical faults resulting from the fleet made up of mostly of 17-19-year-old aircraft and two relatively new planes.

Meanwhile, private GMG Airlines of Bangladesh  will launch flights to Dubai from February 1by leasing  a new Boeing 747-300 aircraft. With the induction of the jet propelled 540-seat aircraft, GMG's planes will include three Dash8, two McDonnell Douglas and two Boeing 747-300s for their passengers.

The airline that has local and foreign operations will further increase its international flights especially in the Middle East.  GMG started operations in 1998 and plans to fly to Muscat, Doha, Kuwait City and Karachi by 2008.

GB/22 January, 2008

International textile-garments machinery show begins on January 21 in the city

A four-day international textile- garments machinery exhibition is going to start in the city's Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) on January 21.

Most modern garment and textile machinery will be put on display at the fair. The organizers said the event will be a gateway to provide and create more opportunity for local exporters to come in contact or deal with related manufacturers, regional agents and wholesalers at one place and will also be a source of high quality machinery, equipment and materials.

Addressing a press conference on the eve of the fair, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) Chairman Abdul Hye Sarker said the country's entrepreneurs, especially the owners of small and medium apparel units, will have a chance to procure machinery from the fair.

The event is being jointly organized by BTMA, ES Event Management of Malaysia, and Yorkers Trade and Marketing Service Company of Hong Kong.

A total of 415 companies will exhibit a wide variety of state-of-the-art textile and garments technologies, machinery and parts.

The show will exhibit subjects ranging from textile to garment, dyeing to finishing, embroidery to knitting and related processing equipment and accessories. More than 730 booths with world-class leading brands from Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America are expected to  gather in the one-stop selling and searching platform.

GB/20 January, 2008

Steel companies seeks for eliminating import duty

A meeting of the steel and re-rolling mill owners on January 19 urged the government to reduce import duty on their raw materials. Prices of construction grade steel bars increased by around 25 per cent during past one month due to supply demand gap during peak construction season. The meeting was presided over by the association president, Mizanur Rahman and was also  attended by members of Bangladesh re-rolling mills association.
The meeting expressed concern as some 20 steel and re-rolling mills closed operations during past few weeks due to shortage of raw materials.

Haji Bashir Ullah, joint secretary of the Bangladesh Steel Mill Owners Association. said to the journalists after a meeting, held in the city, of steel sector entrepreneurs discussing crisis of raw materials in the steel industries.

      At present, imports of steel scraps are subject to more than 15 per cent taxes and millers argued that the duty incidence should be kept lower at least for several months to ease raw material supply to local mills and increase rod production to stabilize the steel market.


GB/20 January 20, 2008

Private land phone is doing good at Dhaka International Traded Fair

Private land phone operators are doing good business  from visitors at the annual Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF).

"We are receiving very enthusiastic visitors everyday at the fair and we sell at least 50 phones everyday,” an official of Dhaka Telephone Company Ltd, a PSTN (public switched telephone network) operator, said on January 18.

Officials of Ranks Tel, the largest private PSTN operator in the country with over one lakh subscribers, are also happy with sales at the fair.

"We sell between 30 and 50 units every day from the fair,” said Javed Parvez, executive (sales) of Ranks Telecom Limited.

The officials of the private land phone operators at the DITF said growth is increasing now. The subscription base of the private land phones reached around near 2 lakh in 2007.

In recent days, the private land phone companies have started growing to challenge the state-run Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) that has over 10 lakh land phone customers across the country. In the face of the growing c