Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[yasinbin]

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Walton opens seven new showrooms in UAE
Walton, the country’s leading electronics, electrical and automobile brand, has recently opened seven new showrooms and store houses in the United Arab Emirates.
The showrooms opened in that country’s seven states including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharja and Ras Al Khiam will sell fridge, television, motorcycle, mobile phone set, steam iron, etc.
After opening seven new showrooms, the number of Walton showrooms in that country has reached 10. Walton is also building a big size of warehouse in UAE.
According to sources, Walton has taken a massive plan to export Walton brand products to different countries of Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.
As part of export plan, the new factory of Walton is going into production last of the next month. The factory will manufacture six lakh fridges annually following the demand of international market.
The company is building a big warehouse in the free zone area of Sharja and has a plan to build another warehouse in the Zebel Ali Port area of Dubai.
Sources also said Walton has planned to build its business hub in Dubai as it has become an international hub and centre of world business. From Dubai, Walton has already begun to supply its products to different Middle East countries including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It has also planned to export products from Dubai to Ivory Cost, Cameron, Nigeria, Mali, Russia, Romania and Ukraine.
It can be here mentioned that about 15 lakh Bangladeshi people are living in the United Arab Emirates and Walton brand products have gained popularity among the Bangladeshi community due to tendency of patriotism.
Walton has employed Md. Mokbul Trading LLC as its main distributor in Dubai.
Mahmud Mamun, managing partner of Md. Mokbul Trading LLC, said “We are taking preparation to send products to different places form Dubai as it is the business hub in the region”.
Lokman Hossain Akash, chief of international marketing department of Walton, claimed that number of Walton product exporting countries would reach 50 within this year as Walton have been able to prove its products as world standard.
Udoy Hakim, senior deputy director and head of creative and publication department of Walton, said “Walton is a giant in electronics, electrical and automobile sector and is becoming ‘sensation’. We want to familarize ‘Made in Bangladesh’ in the world”.
Walton brand products are now being exported to 11 countries.

Walton opens seven new showrooms in UAE

[yasinbin]

Walton opens seven new showrooms in UAE

Walton, the country’s leading electronics, electrical and automobile brand, has recently opened seven new showrooms and store houses in the United Arab Emirates.
The showrooms opened in that country’s seven states including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharja and Ras Al Khiam will sell fridge, television, motorcycle, mobile phone set, steam iron, etc.
After opening seven new showrooms, the number of Walton showrooms in that country has reached 10. Walton is also building a big size of warehouse in UAE.
According to sources, Walton has taken a massive plan to export Walton brand products to different countries of Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.
As part of export plan, the new factory of Walton is going into production last of the next month. The factory will manufacture six lakh fridges annually following the demand of international market.
The company is building a big warehouse in the free zone area of Sharja and has a plan to build another warehouse in the Zebel Ali Port area of Dubai.
Sources also said Walton has planned to build its business hub in Dubai as it has become an international hub and centre of world business. From Dubai, Walton has already begun to supply its products to different Middle East countries including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. It has also planned to export products from Dubai to Ivory Cost, Cameron, Nigeria, Mali, Russia, Romania and Ukraine.
It can be here mentioned that about 15 lakh Bangladeshi people are living in the United Arab Emirates and Walton brand products have gained popularity among the Bangladeshi community due to tendency of patriotism.
Walton has employed Md. Mokbul Trading LLC as its main distributor in Dubai.
Mahmud Mamun, managing partner of Md. Mokbul Trading LLC, said “We are taking preparation to send products to different places form Dubai as it is the business hub in the region”.
Lokman Hossain Akash, chief of international marketing department of Walton, claimed that number of Walton product exporting countries would reach 50 within this year as Walton have been able to prove its products as world standard.
Udoy Hakim, senior deputy director and head of creative and publication department of Walton, said “Walton is a giant in electronics, electrical and automobile sector and is becoming ‘sensation’. We want to familarize ‘Made in Bangladesh’ in the world”.
Walton brand products are now being exported to 11 countries.

Walton opens seven new showrooms in UAE

[yasinbin]

Remittances surge to $10.6bn

Thu, May 3rd, 2012 9:16 pm BdST
Dhaka, May 3 (bdnews24.com) – Overall remittances surged to over $10.6 billion during the first 10 months of the current financial year (July 2011-April 2012), which is 10.41 percent higher than the corresponding period last fiscal.

Expatriate Bangladeshis had remitted $9.61 billion during the same period last year.

"It's believed that the total remittance inflow will exceed $12 billion at the end of the financial year. This is due to various steps taken by the central bank to fetch remittances through banking channel," Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman told bdnews24.com on Monday expressing satisfaction over the positive trend of remittance inflow.

The central bank released the remittance inflow data for July-April period on Thursday.

According to the data, in April, the Bangladeshis working abroad remitted little over $1.08 billion – an 8 percent growth over the same period last year.

The amount of remittances from about 7 million Bangladeshis in the last fiscal spanning from July 2010 to June 2011 stood at $11.65 billion with a six percent growth against $10.987 billion in the same period a year earlier.

"The remittance inflow growth will be over 10 percent," the central bank governor expressed hope.

Higher inflow of remittances has helped the foreign currency reserve go up. On Thursday, the forex reserve stood at $10.2 billion.

The reserves had dipped to $9.2 billion in March after Bangladesh made two months' import payments of $900 million to the Asian Clearing Union.

Apart from the positive remittance inflow, the forex reserve sped past the $10-billion mark also because the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Apr 25 released $141 million as a part of its $987-million loan support to Bangladesh.

A central bank official seeking anonymity told bdnews24.com that the reserves could dip below $10 billion after Bangladesh makes import payments for the last two months (March and April).

bdnews24.com/arh/cs/skb/nir/2055h
Remittances surge to $10.6bn | Business | biz.bdnews24.com

[Holmes]

India, Bangladesh start joint study to boost border trade

Agartala, June 9 — Senior officials from India and Bangladesh Saturday started a five-day joint study to examine facilities and infrastructure along the border and suggest measures to boost cross-border trade.

"We will study the available facilities and infrastructure, and what more is needed to boost India-Bangladesh trade and business," Foreign Trade Director (South Asian, SAARC countries and Iran) Indira Murthy told reporters here.

"Under the ASIDE (Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities) scheme, LCS (land customs stations) and other infrastructure can be developed to accelerate cross-border trade and business," said Murthy, who is leading the five-member Indian team.

Ten senior officials from the external affairs and commerce ministries and customs department of the two countries will till June 13 to examine infrastructure along both sides of the border before holding a meeting with Tripura officials and ministers.

Bangladesh's senior commerce ministry official B. Shyam said: "Our government is keen to step up trade and business with India, especially with the northeastern states. To support the trade and business, the Bangladesh government is ready to improve its existing infrastructure along the border with India."

The officials of India and Bangladesh would soon conduct similar studies along the international borders with Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran had earlier this week made a four-day tour of Meghalaya and Tripura to study the border projects agreed between India and Bangladesh.

The Tripura government had last year sent proposals to the central government for setting up seven border haats (markets). But New Delhi and Dhaka have approved four such border markets after mutual consultation.

The haats would be set up in Raghna and Kamalpur in northern Tripura, Kasba in western Tripura and Srinagar in southern Tripura.

A border haat is already functioning along the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya since last year.

"If the existing border infrastructure is upgraded, the volume of trade and business between Bangladesh and the northeastern states of India would increased five to six times," Tripura's Commerce and Industries Minister Jitendra Chaudhury said.

"The haats will be allowed to sell local agricultural and horticultural products, spices, minor forest products (excluding timber), fresh and dry fish, dairy and poultry products, cottage industry items, wooden furniture, handloom and handicraft items," a senior Tripura government official, who did want to be named, told IANS.

He said trading in these markets would be held once or twice a week, and a spending cap of $50 would be imposed per head.

No local tax would be imposed on the trading, and both Indian and Bangladeshi currencies would be accepted, the official said.

"Trade between Bangladesh and Tripura alone has increased from Rs.4 crore in 1996 to Rs.258 crore in the last financial year. During the current fiscal (2011-12) up to December (last year), the trade increased to Rs.232 crore and is expected to cross Rs.300 crore by March-end," he said.

India, Bangladesh start joint study to boost border trade - NY Daily News

[neolithic]

In an Unlikely Corner of Asia, Strong Promise of Growth



http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/bu...pagewanted=all

Bullish on Bangladesh

The headlines are grim. But they mask what is shaping up to be one of the world's most amazing turnarounds.

By George Wehrfritz and Hassan Shahriar
Newsweek International

June 26, 2006 issue - These days, it's not easy to be bullish on Bangladesh. Last month militant labor unions declared war on the country's vital textile industry, attacking dozens of mills and torching several in a struggle for wage hikes and new benefits. And just last week opposition parties bent on toppling Prime Minister Khaleda Zia staged a two-day national strike to demand electoral reforms ahead of parliamentary contests slated for early 2007. Their street actions temporarily closed the country's main port, halted public transport and triggered bloody clashes with riot police armed with tear gas, truncheons and rubber bullets. Observers warn that tensions could escalate as election season approaches; Britain's top diplomat in Dhaka, Anwar Choudhury, has voiced "grave concerns about the level of politically motivated violence."

Civil unrest is always worrisome in a densely populated nation that still ranks among the world's 50 poorest, to be sure. Yet what's remarkable about the grim headlines emanating from Dhaka of late is how little they threaten the country's stubbornly robust national economy. In spite of sporadic unrest, rampant corruption and a polarized political system that's all but dysfunctional, Bangladesh finds itself in the midst of a sustained boom. On June 8, Finance Minister Saifur Rahman forecast that the national economy would grow by 6.7 percent in 2006. The main drivers: surging export growth and a robust service sector.

In textiles, the country's mainstay manufacturing industry, export earnings rose by 17 percent last year to $7.5 billion, confounding forecasts that Bangladesh would lose market share to China once World Trade Organization textile quotas expired at the end of 2004. This year Bangladesh's garment makers expect to garner $10 billion abroad. Foreign investment is rising, too. The attraction is an economy that has expanded by 4 percent or more yearly since 1991, cutting the national poverty rate by 15 percent in the process. "Bangladesh is no more a country of despair," declared Rahman during his annual budget address earlier this year. "It is a country of hope and potential."

The Bangladesh boom defies some of development theory's central tenets. For decades, experts have identified political stability and effective governance as critical prerequisites for economic takeoff. But this lowland nation of 145 million is making tangible progress largely without them. Bangladesh now leads South Asia in most social-welfare indicators—including female literacy and poverty reduction. Its fertility rate is near replacement level. And Bangladesh is the only South Asian country on track to meet its United Nations-mandated Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty by half by 2015. "When I go to India or Pakistan from Bangladesh, people ask, 'What is it you do, cook up all your statistics?' " says Muhammad Yunus, founder of microlender Grameen Bank. "They ask, 'Why are we falling behind when we're doing the right things, while you are doing the wrong things but getting the right answer?' "

There's no pat explanation for Bangladesh's unlikely success. Certainly, experts agree that the country urgently needs better governance to achieve its full potential of double-digit annual growth. Yet the country has disproved one assumption: that Asia's dynamic twin giants—China and India—would grow at the expense of their less efficient, less open neighbors. Instead, Bangladesh looks attractive as a cost-beating sweatshop economy precisely because China and India are thriving. Both have grown more expensive as manufacturing bases relative to Bangladesh, and rising domestic demand within each makes them attractive destinations for Bangladeshi exports.

In textiles, for example, Bangladeshi workers earn less than $1 a day to start, the lowest in the world, according to the International Labor Organization. Exploitation is rife, to be sure, but the mills nonetheless have given more than 2 million people—the vast majority women—nonagricultural wage jobs. In response to last month's factory raids, the government, industry bosses and labor unions cut a deal to raise wages in a pact announced last week, reducing the risk of further unrest. "As wages rise in China, Bangladesh will increasingly fill in the void," says Debapriya Bhattacharya, executive director of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank. "Bangladesh will not only successfully compete with Indian products abroad, but has a high potential to expand its market within India itself."

Funds critical to the nation's development often come from an unconventional source—broad-based microcredit schemes targeting the poor. Pioneered by Grameen Bank after Bangladesh's killer famine of the early 1970s, the strategy is to promote grass-roots development with collateral-free loans to poor households for investment in seeds, livestock, irrigation or village-level businesses. Today, an estimated 80 percent of households participate in some form of microcredit from Grameen or nongovernmental organizations.

That makes Bangladesh the test case in a new development-financing model. Experts laud microlending for a string of positive side effects. By targeting women (who have proved more reliable borrowers than men), lending schemes have pushed female participation in the labor force to among the highest in the developing world. As a result, Bangladesh's birthrate has plummeted, poor families have opted to put their girls as well as boys in school and women have taken a large role in local government—all in a predominantly Muslim country. "At the grass roots things have worked quite well," says Ifzal Ali, chief economist for the Asian Development Bank in Manila. "Rural literacy, basic health, provision of water [are] beginning to pay dividends. Compared to 3 to 4 percent growth earlier, there is now 6 to 7 percent. They're doing something right, no doubt about it."

But a concerted clean-hands campaign is needed to kick the economy into high gear. Corruption largely explains the endless red tape, crumbling ports and barriers to foreign investment that keep the country from achieving its full potential. "It's a barrier to every step we need to take," says Yunus, who adds without irony: "If we can bring down our corruption to the prevailing level in South Asia, our growth rate would be 9 to 10 percent."

Should Bangladesh experience destabilizing political turmoil in the coming weeks or months, its economy would certainly suffer. Tension in the garment industry remains high. Abdus Salam Murshedy, vice president of the Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Assocation, warns that the government "must protect our factories [from protesters], or else our achievements will be reduced to zero."

Yet even now, foreign investors have multibillion-dollar projects on the drawing board in Dhaka. The Indian conglomerate Tata has proposed building a steel mill and a power plant worth $2.5 billion in the area. And the government remains upbeat. "We could accelerate the growth momentum remarkably without destabilizing macroeconomic fundamentals," says Rahman, the Finance minister. Then, perhaps, Bangladesh would make headlines for something other than killer cyclones or riots in Dhaka's streets.

[monitor]

Report just coming chevron is going to invest 500 million dollar in development of Bibiana gas filed .

[Skallagrim]

Dhaka Sunday August 5, 2012

BBS launches new base year today to
measure inflation

Jasim Uddin Haroon



The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) will launch new base year from today (Sunday) to measure inflation, which is expected to depict a more accurate picture of the macroeconomic indicator.
From today, BBS will use fiscal year 2005-06 as reference base year instead of
FY 1995-96.
This will result in new weightings for the components of its Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket.
The re-basing will also increase the number of goods in the inflation basket as well.
BBS officials said the review was necessary because most people's expenditure have changed over the time.
The country's national statistical office will also modify baskets of CPI products as consumption pattern has changed over the period of old base year of 1995-96.
Abul Kalam Azad, a joint director of the BBS said: "With the passage of time people tend to spend a lot on one item changing the others. There are shifts both in the consumption and expenditure patterns."
He, however, stated that the methodology for computing the figures will remain unchanged.
"The methodology will remain the same. The same formula will be used--- the same concept will be used. It is only the items that are being reviewed," he added.
BBS uses Marshall-Edgeworth formula for computing CPI.
Satya Ranjan Mondol, director of national accounting wing of the BBS said: "We'll provide inflation level on both new and old base years which will continue for sometime. "
BBS sources said more than 75 types of goods will be added to the list of rural areas and nearly 100 items to that of the urban areas.
They said mobile phones, mineral waters and internet are a few of the new items to be added to the new list.
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) said the inflation rate might fall after introduction of new products in the basket.
Mr Mansur said BBS should have taken 2010-11 as base year adding: "Latest base year gives best index."
BBS officials said they usually change base
year after every 10 years. This time, they took much time to change the base year.
A base year is the year used for comparing the level of a particular economic index.
The arbitrary level of 100 is selected so that percentage changes (either rising or falling) can be easily depicted.



BBS launches new base year today to measure inflation

[yasinbin]

Rising middle class in Bangladesh


Mamun Rashid

All the restaurants located in 'star' hotels, in residential areas or the ones along city roads are having brisk business this Ramadan as far as the sale of ifter items is concerned. Shopping malls are already awake. Be it Agora, Nandan, Dhali, Lavender, Meena Bazar or Shawpno, all superstores are packed with stuff and there are increasing number of people flocking in. The expansion of `KFC', Pizza Hut, Nandoo's or Movenpick are visible clearly. More and more students trying to get themselves admitted to English medium schools, private colleges and universities. Banks are coming up with more `millionaire' like products. There are around four thousand ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) put up by the banks. Move is underway to put up another 200 thousand ATMs in next 10/15 year by a foreign operator. Around 30 million people are using internet per day. I don't want to talk about cell phone here, as it is being used by everyone now and the number has increased to beyond 90 million. Going out for `vacation' is increasingly becoming a usual exercise. More and more ladies are visiting the 'beauty parlours' even in the sub-district levels, more young people are joining the 'fitness' club and all the parks or playgrounds are full in the morning with 'health freak' people. Eating out at least once a month is becoming a regular scene in the urban places. Be it 'Apollo', United, Square or Labaid- all these hospitals' outpatient departments are full, so are their inpatient cabins or emergency rooms. Who are these people? Off the cuff answer is - they all belong to the `middle class'- the fast moving citizenry in Bangladesh. What is their size in the economy, if it is 15 percent of the populace, you are talking of almost 22 million people. With an average family size of 5, you are talking of more than 4 million families. What could be their earning per capita? Our primary estimates put it in the range of USD 10 to 15 thousand a year. What is their source of income? - Salary, small or medium sized businesses, earnings from land sales or real estate rents, or investment in capital market.

Shopping in the `posh' malls, going out to `Kolkata', Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, eating out in the costly restaurants, their sons and daughters owning a PC and hanging out in the lounges, getting admitted in costly private schools, colleges or universities-these seem to be common scenes now a days. Increasing number of people own more than one car or even one apartment.

The middle class has risen and said "yes" to the good life. There has been a definite shift in the financial capacity as well as attitude towards life in the people of the capital and maybe a couple of other major cities during the last couple of years.

Economic definition of demand suggests that you have to have ability plus willingness to call it demand for a product or service. As for the ability part, Gross National Income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates is a reasonable measure of real purchasing power of a population.

Bangladesh's PPP(purchasing power parity) GNI per capita has steadily increased. In 2009, the number reached 1,580 in current international dollar with 5-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) at about 9%. Polarization has been a part of our economy for a long time, so not everyone can be judged by this number. Besides, there are numbers beyond statistics also.

Call it a layman's approach or a more practical one; let us look at the number of private cars in town. From June 2003 to June 2011, about 400,000 motor cars, jeeps and micro-buses were registered with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) in Dhaka. Fast rising fuel cost, grid-locked roads and import duties could not limit the number of privately owned vehicles despite the government's implicit discouragement toward private transport sector.

People are increasingly spending more for food, clothes and life style management. USD 6.0 billion equivalent reportedly change hands during the month of Ramadan alone. This time, the spending spree was observed even in remote northern or southern districts. Multi-storied shopping malls are coming up at upazila (sub district) level.

"The rise in overseas spending by the middle class and cash transfer to foreign countries have listened the supply-demand gap in the green-back to an all-time high," said a recent newspaper article. Statistics and reasonable estimates suggest that there are more than 1.5 million people in the capital city who fall under the annual income bracket of $10,000 to $15,000.

Although the number of people with greater than Tk.10 million wealth has been reported at 35,000 plus, the real number could be much larger. The flourishing number of private schools, private universities, private medical facilities, expensive restaurants and parlours all support the assumption.

What is the profile of this segment? The popular misconception is that they are the multinational corporation (MNC) crowd -- freshly coming out of business schools -- forming a joint-income family, and purchasing a car and a small apartment within 5 years of graduation.

In reality, the MNC crowd is being marginalized by the new entrants in the Gulshan/Banani/Baridhara area in Dhaka. The segment I am talking about are the proprietors of small and medium businesses, who had a piece of land in a good location in mainly Dhaka, Chittagong Sylhet , Khulna or even Mymensingh or made huge profits in the stock market and decided to lead a comfortable life using the profit generated from real estate price hike and share market boost-up. They are moving from other areas of the city or other cities to live near their children's schools. Owning a car is a must now for the children's and the earning members' transport. They are the rising middle class of the country.

A generation-wise upward shift has taken place as well. The 2nd generation of many lower-middle income households has shifted to middle-income or upper-middle income bracket.

The psychological shift has taken place somewhat silently. "I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle-class morality" -- George Bernard Shaw's definition holds no more. From a savings-oriented and conservative culture, we have moved towards a more life-style oriented culture. Birthdays, seeing each other days for the girl or the boy, anniversaries- people just wait for an `excuse' to go for a big event or `halla -kalla' to be organized.

Just to clarify here, I am basing the profile more on the expenditure structure than on the earnings structure. As long as the positive attitude towards materialism is not putting pressure on the corruption index, why feel bad in leading a comfortable life. While we have not exactly made significant progress in the corruption indices, we have not gone down in the score either.

A sizeable middle class with strong purchasing power and appetite for amenities is good news for business. It is one of the indicators that say an economy will flourish. The business houses get the signal that there is a viable target market for their product, which makes it worthwhile to penetrate the market. This segment is much higher than the entire population of some African or East European countries in terms of purchasing power and expenditure pattern or nearer to the percapita income of `Dubai or Singapore' city dwellers. KFC and Pizza Hut in Dhaka are much larger than the same franchises in our neighbouring countries in South Asia. Starbucks, Seven Eleven and Carrefour are reportedly mulling entering Bangladesh.

How far these `middle- class' can protect or carry forward the age old social fabric of the nation may be a big question mark and the answer may even and up as "who cares?". They may not be the `Himu' of Humayun Ahmed, or may not take arms if a `1971' like necessity comes up or stand up to protect Bengali language or culture like 1952, they must however represent the `face' of an emerging country like Bangladesh and increasingly a `digital' and responsive Bangladesh.

(Mamun Rashid is a banker and economic analyst. E mail: [email protected])

[Skallagrim]

BB gives Tk 154.33b cash support to banks to stabilise money mkt

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) provided Tk 154.3345 billion in cash under its assured liquidity support and special repo against holding of government securities to the commercial banks Sunday to meet their needs for liquidity, following increased demand from corporate and individual clients, ahead of the Eid festival, official sources said.
Depositors have been withdrawing money
in greater amounts in viewof the Eid-ul- Fitr, one of the major festivals of the Muslims. The country's banking sector will be on the longest period of holidays this year. This has put an extra pressure on withdrawal of cash by the customers of the banks.
The corporate clients are also withdrawing money to pay salaries and bonuses of their employees or, in some cases, to meet the religious expenses (Jakat), bank officials said.
However, the inter-bank call money rate among banks and non-banking financial institutions stood at 15 per cent at its highest, despite injection of a relatively large amount of money by the central bank, a senior official of the BB told the FE. The rate, however, was 6.5% at its lowest.
The BB provided a total of Tk 154.3345 billion under the repurchase agreement (repo) to the banks Sunday, following higher withdrawal of cash by the depositors from all branches.
The BB issued ASL (assured liquidity support) for Tk 61.4745 billion and special repo for Tk 92.46 billion to the banks on the day.
Currently, the rate of interest of special repo is 10.75 per cent per annum, but for the liquidity support facility, the interest rate is 7.75 per cent per annum, according
to the BB website.
The injection of additional liquidity support to the commercial banks would continue, if required, as it is helping to keep the inter-bank call money rate stable, the BB official said.
Usually, the call money rate goes up during the Eid festival due to increasing outflow of cash. The BB has taken several initiatives to keep the call money rate below 15 per cent, and to maintain stability in the money market by injecting the required amount of liquidity.
The transactions in inter-bank call money totalled Tk 62.37 billion Sunday, the BB sources said.
A senior official of a leading private bank said the call money rate increased slightly at its highest range to 15 per cent Sunday from 13 per cent of the last week due to increased withdrawal of cash by the depositors.
The call money rate might increase further in the next two days, as the demand for cash is increasing, he said.
The commercial banks will remain open for two more days (Monday and Tuesday) before the Eid vacation.
Branches of most of the commercial banks, especially in the city's commercial hub Motijheel, were packed with ordinary clients during the working hours Sunday. Most of such clients thronged the branches of the banks for withdrawal of cash.
The country is going to enjoy 15 days of holiday this month, including nine holidays, for Janmashtomy (August 9), National Mourning Day (August 15), Shab- e-Qadr (August 16) and Eid-ul-Fitr (August 19-21) as per the BB official calendar, besides the overlapping weekends.
During this period of long holiday, the banks will make some special arrangements for their clients, especially for the small traders by keeping some of their branches open, the BB official said.
The BB has instructed the banks to keep some commercially important branches open, especially connected with export- import activities, from 9:30am to 12:30pm on August 16, on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr holiday.
But some officials said it would be difficult to operate banking as usual on that day, as a good number of employees have already taken advance leave, starting from the National Mourning Day until the end of the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.
Meanwhile, the amount of withdrawal of cash by retail clients is comparatively higher this year than the previous years, because of inflationary pressures, senior bankers and money market analysts said.
A number of small depositors have withdrawn money from the banks during the last few days for Eid shopping. Withdrawal of money might increase in the next two days, as the banks will remain closed for a long time, they added.


BB gives Tk 154.33b cash support to banks to stabilise money mkt

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

1,320MW COAL-FIRED PLANT

New Age | Newspaper

Govt selects Malaysian state firm for joint venture

Manjurul Ahsan

The Power Division has approved a proposal of Malaysia’s state-run Tenega Nasional Berhad for the installation and operation of a 1,320MW coal-fired plant under a joint venture company the Power Development Board and the Malaysian company would set up, officials said.

The power plant will be installed at either Anwara in Chittagong or Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar. The plant will run on imported coal.

A high-powered delegation, led by the Power Division’s additional secretary Md Mofazzel Hossain will visit Malaysia this month to finalise the memorandum of understanding on the installation and operation of the company, the officials said.

Chinese and Thai power generation companies also submitted proposals to the Power Division for the project.

But a Power Division official told New Age they had preferred the Malaysian proposal as it met the criteria set by the ministry. ‘We are, therefore, going to begin a formal process to implement the project with the Malaysian state agency.’

Both the Chinese and Thai companies wanted to give engineering, procurement and construction contracts to their own firms while Bangladesh wants to award the contracts through a tender process, the official said.

‘Besides, they wanted the joint venture company board to have majority of the people from their side which would have led them to pursue their interest through the board,’ he said.

According to the Malaysian proposal, the project will be implemented on a build-own-operate scheme by the joint venture company.

The power board and the Malaysian agency will have equal share in the project. The board will be set up by with equal number of members from both of the state-run power agencies. The chairman and the managing director of the board will be alternated periodically with people from both the agencies.

The government decided to go for joint venture projects to draw funding for project implementation, the Power Division official said.

The official also said that the government had already initiated land acquisition at Anwara and Maheshkhali for the installation of two imported coal-fired plants with a generation capacity of 1,320MW.

With this, the government has so far initiated three big coal-fired power projects, each having the generation capacity of 1,320MW, in joint venture with equal share with three state-run agencies.

Among other projects, the PDB will sign a power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh-India Friendship Power Company in three months to buy electricity for 25 years from a 1,320MW coal-fired plant to be installed at Rmapal in Bagerhat.

The Power Division has also finalised a draft memorandum to be signed between the power board and China Hudian Hong Kong Company to form another joint venture company to install and operate a 1,320MW coal-fired plant.

Tenega Nasional Berhad is the largest power utility company in Malaysia which has experiences of installing and running a number of plants, with a combined generation capacity of 12,000MW, in Malaysia and Pakistan.

The Power Division has set a long-range target of generating about 20,000MW power from coal-fired plants by 2030.

According to the long-term power generation plan drafted in 2010, the government will generate 11,250MW using domestic coal and the remaining amount using imported coal.

[eastwatch]

It is good to see anew BD-Malaysian JV in power sector. But, this news also contain a news about the involvement of an Indian company in Bagerhat. Indian coal is famous for high sulpher content that causes recpiratory diseases like asthma among the people living nearby. So, the GoB must set a limit to the exhaustion of sulpheric fumes and apply to all the power stations run by coal.

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Pharmaceuticals provide a shot in the arm for Bangladesh economy

Pharmaceuticals provide a shot in the arm for Bangladesh economy - khabarsoutheastasia.com

Expanding export industries are fueling Bangladesh's growth, and providing hope for job seekers. Pharmaceuticals may be the next big thing.

By Siddique Islam for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka

September 05, 2012

One year after graduating from Dhaka University, Mohammad Barkatullah is still without a job. But recent developments have made him optimistic about putting his degree in International Relations to work -- especially in export-oriented industries like pharmaceuticals.


A child is vaccinated against polio as part of a vaccination programme in Dodowa, Ghana on April 25th. A Bangladeshi exports promotion delegation visited five West African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, and Liberia, in July in a bid to boost exports from its emerging pharmaceuticals sector. [Olivier Asselin/Reuters/Handout]
"I hope I'll able to use my knowledge of international affairs to explore new markets overseas," Barkatullah told Khabar South Asia.

Bangladesh has been moving aggressively to expand its export base, encouraged by phenomenal growth in the garment industry, which currently accounts for more than 80% of annual export earnings of $23 billion. Pharmaceuticals could be the next big sector.

"Bangladesh has enough potential to significantly enhance pharmaceutical exports because we have the ability to produce high quality medicine at a lower price," Mustafa K. Mujeri, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), a think tank, told Khabar.

The industry is poised for a big take off and will help the country's economic growth by creating job opportunities for the vast army of unemployed youth, he said.

Bangladesh could become a middle-income nation

According to the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh exported around $50m in pharmaceutical products during fiscal year 2011-2012, which ended on June 30th. That represents 9% growth compared to the previous fiscal year.

"We hope exports may cross $600m by the end of 2015," said ABM Faroque, a pharmacy professor at Dhaka University and a former Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Society president.

Lower prices and high quality make Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products attractive on the global market, he told Khabar.

Bangladeshi companies have already obtained drug export certifications from 87 countries including the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. In July, a Bangladeshi delegation visited five West African countries including Senegal, Ghana and Liberia, looking to expand exports to the region.

"I'm confident of expanding our market in West Africa within the next three to four years," Shubhashish Bose, Vice-Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau EPB, told Khabar.

"The five West African countries have a population of 300 million, but there is no pharmaceutical manufacturing factory [located there]. So we're well positioned to expand our pharmaceutical market in the region," Bose said.

Impoverished and irrelevant to the global economy just three decades ago, Bangladesh now hopes highly sophisticated industries such as pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding will propel it into the ranks of middle-income countries over the next decade. According to World Bank projections, annual per capita income could rise to over $1,000 from the current $700.

Farjana Akter Munna, 24, who graduated from Dhaka University last year, hopes to reap the benefits.

"I'm confident the burgeoning export market will create opportunities for us and I'll be able to land a decent job in the near future," she told Khabar.

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Wednesday, September 5, 2012Business

Bangladesh: the next hotspot for investment

Bangladesh: the next hotspot for investment

Singapore's minister says more businesspeople will come here soon to explore opportunities

Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Home Affairs Zulkifli Masagos calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: PMO
Star Business Report
Bangladesh gradually becomes a preferred destination for Southeast Asian investors due to its cost competitiveness and a suitable geographical location, said a Singaporean minister yesterday.

“The world was defeated by the growth of China for more than half a decade. But the world today has decided 'China plus one' strategy,” said Zulkifli Masagos, Singapore's senior minister of state for foreign and home affairs.

“Everyone is now looking beyond China for investment due to the rising production cost there, and Bangladesh could be such a place,” said Masagos.

He spoke at a meeting with the leaders of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka at the Chamber Building.

The "China plus one" strategy means that a company should invest not only in China but also in another country because the cost of production has gone up substantially in China.

The Japanese government adopted the strategy in 2008 to reduce the over-dependence on China.

So, the global companies are looking for an alternative destination, Masagos said, adding that Bangladesh will have preferences because of its cost competitiveness.

He arrived in Dhaka on Saturday on a six-day visit. The minister said more Singaporean businesspeople are keen to invest in Bangladesh and more business delegations will come here soon to explore new opportunities.

He said Singapore is the second largest trading partner of Bangladesh among the South Asian countries after India.

The two-way trade between Bangladesh and Singapore is heavily tilted in favour of the city-state. Bangladesh imported goods worth nearly $1.7 billion from Singapore, but exported only $179.23 million in fiscal 2011-12, said MCCI President Amjad Khan Chowdhury.

“Singapore is a role model in the entire world for successfully achieving excellence in the field of trade, commerce, industry, tourism, good governance, law and order, transport and housing development,” said Chowdhury.

He said Singapore could be a leading source of investment. In this regard, the government of Bangladesh has taken a number of policy measures in the economic front, especially for market reforms, deregulation and privatisation.

Singapore's investors show a lot of interest, but this is not translated into reality, he said.

"Bangladesh as a least developed country has got duty- and quota-free access to the European Union, Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. By investing in Bangladesh, the Singaporean investors can enjoy market access to these large and important markets," said the MCCI president.

Several well-known multinational companies have been operating in Bangladesh for several years with investments worth more than $10 billion and providing employment opportunities directly and indirectly to more than four lakh people, said Chowdhury

Mahbubur Rahman, president of International Chamber of Commence, Bangladesh, stressed the need for more Singaporean investment in Bangladesh.

"We have good business with Indonesia and even Myanmar, but we couldn't attract much investment from Singapore," he added.

The noted businessman favoured simplification of procedures in setting up liaison office in Singapore to boost trade and commerce between the two counties.

Anjan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Consumer Products Ltd, said Bangladesh should develop human resources with the cooperation from Singapore.

Nehat Kabir, vice president of MCCI, said the Singaporean investors could explore investment opportunities in healthcare, education and real estate in Bangladesh.

Syed Farhad Ahmed, managing director of Aamra Technologies, urged the Singaporean companies to explore IT outsourcing potential in Bangladesh.

He said there is an immense potential in business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing as Bangladesh has a lot of skilled professionals in these areas.

Chan Heng Wing, High commissioner of Singapore, M Anis Ud Dowla, chairman of ACI Ltd, and Salahuddin Kasem Khan, managing director of AK Khan & Company Ltd, were also present.

[FRANCIS]

If Pharmaceuticals is the next big thing then what was the first big thing

[Chinese-Dragon]

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We know this as well.

BBC News - Chinese factories turn to Bangladesh as labour costs rise