October 2012

Transcription

October 2012

Contents
DCCI Review October 31th 2012
Chamber Views
01
BUILD Activities
06
Chamber News
National Economy
SAARC News
Asia-Pacific News
Monthly Bulletin of the
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry
(In-house Circulation Only)
Vol. XXXII No. 32 (October 01 to October 31, 2012)
Published on 17 November, 2012
Middle East News
International News
02
07
17
20
24
27
xÄmJh KmKY©J
32
Trade Information
38
Currency/Share
Pictorial
37
39
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Mr. Asif Ibrahim
REVIEW ADVISORY BOARD
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
Founder Chairman
Late Nuruddin Ahmed
DIRECTORS
Dr. Mizanur Rahman Shelley
Mr. Haider Ahmed Khan, FCA
Mr. M. Bashir Ullah Bhuiyan
Mr. Mahabub Anam
Mr. T. I. M. Nurul Kabir
Mr. Waqar Ahmad Choudhury
Mr. ASM Mohiuddin Monem
Mr. Osman Gani
Mr. Khairul Majid Mahmud
Mr. K.M.N. Manjurul Hoque
Mr. Abul Hossain
Mr. Osama Taseer
Mr. Md. Iftekharuddin (Naushad)
Mr. K. G. Karim
Mr. Absar Karim Chowdhury
Mr. M. Abu Horaira
Mr. Kh. Shahidul Islam
Mr. Hossain A. Sikder
Chairman
Members
Mr. Sayed Kamaluddin
Mr. Moazzem Hossain
Mr. A S M Quasem
Mr. Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury
Mr. M. A. Momen
Mr. Hossain Khaled
Published by :
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI)
65-66 Motijheel Commercial Area
Dhaka-1000, Phone : 9552562 (Hunting)
Fax : 880-2-9560830
E-mail : info@dhakachamber.com
secretary@dhakachamber.com
Web Site : http://www.dhakachamber.com
Chamber Views
Businesses: challenges and opportunities
If
the
International
Finance
Corporation (IFC) ranking is any
indicator, Bangladesh has to worry
about the higher cost of doing
business in the country. In the IFC's
“Doing Business 2013” report,
Bangladesh has ranked 129th among
185 countries, down from its 124th
position in 2012. In addition, it has
ranked last in terms of being the
country in which it is most difficult to
get an electricity connection.
According to the report, it takes well
over a year—404 days, to be
precise—and nine procedures, to get
an electricity connection in the
country. In the case of enforcing
contracts, it takes 1,442 days and 41
procedures. One of the few positives
of the report in the context of
Bangladesh, even with the country
falling three notches in that respect, is
its sharing of credit information,
through online access to data at credit
registry or bureau.
Bangladesh's steady decline in the
rankings over the years is cause for
serious concern. While countries such
as India have remained in a steady
position and made several reforms
over the years, it seems to be
becoming more and more difficult to
do business in Bangladesh.
The latest blow has come in the form
of amendment of a law to appoint
administrators for companies, a
measure the country's business
community sees as controlling and
unilateral, further hindering the growth
of business.
In order for Bangladesh to become a
bigger and stronger economy,
businesses must be allowed to thrive.
For this to happen, domestic
investment constraints must be
mitigated, and these include, among
other things, the adequate supply of
electricity, improved infrastructure and
policy reform designed to minimise
bureaucratic complexities and make
doing business in the country quick,
cost effective and as hassle-free as
possible, and not to mention improved
law-and-order situation.
Bangladesh recorded a steep fall of
10 points to 118 out of 144 countries
in the Global Competitiveness Index
(GCI) 2012-13. Brought out by the
World Economic Forum, the index is
based on a survey of 14,000
industrialists and business leaders
that included 87 medium and large
companies in the country.
Indicators that helped plunge
Bangladesh's ranking include the
sorry
state
of
infrastructure,
inadequate access to finance and
rampant corruption.
The results were not altogether
surprising given the financial
meltdown the capital market suffered
at the end of 2010, from which the
country is yet to recover.
The rising cost of doing business, with
“speed money” or bribes being a
regular feature of securing new
contracts, coupled with the growing
perception within the business
community about the government's
failure to maintain proper regulatory
control in the banking sector—all led
to tip the scales against Bangladesh's
favour in the GCI.
Nagging problems with the country's
power generation helped further
erode confidence, particularly in the
backdrop of significant financial
commitments to the sector and the
spiralling power tariff, which has made
production more expensive and
raised
concerns
of
weak
macroeconomic management.
The fact that there has been little in
the way of improvement—be it the
sorry state of road transport, or
ensuring proper gas supply, or
initiating proper regulatory monitoring
of the country's bourses—points to a
deteriorating state of governance in
the country.
The four evils of poor infrastructure,
corruption, lack of access to finance
and political instability do not bode
well for improving the investment
climate in Bangladesh.
With multiple banking scams that
have rocked the nation in 2012 and
corruption charges levelled against
high-level public officials on the
alleged Padma Bridge graft, the halfhearted attempts to plug the
loopholes in the system, let alone
bring those guilty to book, are
tantamount to sending a wrong signal
to potential global investors.
Bangladesh still has competitive
advantage in labour, language and
support services. Many new investors
want land in and around Dhaka and
Chittagong. They are reluctant to go
for other areas even in the EPZs in
north and south Bangladesh, due to
absence of other facilities and high
transport costs.
Since Bangladesh has experience in
running EPZs, experts suggest that
either existing EPZs in and around
Dhaka and Chittagong be expanded
or new ones set up in those areas.
The Board of Investment (BoI) needs
to be more efficient and better
equipped to provide one-stop
services, including various approvals
necessary to allow investment to be
easier.
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Chamber News
DCCI chief seeks more trade ties with Belarus
A business meeting between DCCI
and a 23-member high-powered trade
delegation from Belarus was held at
DCCI on October 9.
Vitaly Prima, Ambassador-designate
of Belarus to India and Sri Lanka led
the delegation. Asif Ibrahim, President
of DCCI, chaired the meeting.
Asif Ibrahim while welcoming the
delegation said, the economic and
commercial
relations
between
Bangladesh and Belarus have been
growing steadily over the years. The
volume of bilateral trade has not seen
much
improvement
despite
tremendous potentials for expanding
and diversifying trade between the
two countries. He also called for
establishing Belarusian embassy in
Dhaka.
The DCCI chief invited the Belarusian
investors to invest in food and fruit
processing, paper and pulp from jute,
gas-based
industries,
power,
renewable energy, IT, leather and
leather
goods,
ceramics,
pharmaceuticals, electronics, light
engineering, steel, infrastructure
development, education and tourism
sector in Bangladesh. He assured the
delegation of full cooperation from
DCCI in this regard.
Leader of the delegation Vitaly Prima
said, the economic relationship
between Bangladesh and Belarus has
become stronger.
He said, Bangladesh can use
expertise and technology along
modern machineries of Belarus for
increasing and diversification of more
products.
Director General (Europe) of Ministry
of Foreign Affairs M Riaz Hamidullah
said that bilateral trade relations
between Bangladesh and Belarus
have been growing. Belarus is keen to
establish its
Bangladesh.
business
units
in
Regarding
establishment
of
Belarusian Embassy in Dhaka, he
informed that the issue is in
consideration of Belarus.
DCCI Directors M. Bashir Ullah
Bhuiyan, ASM Mohiuddin Monem,
Khairul Majid Mahmud, K.M.N.
Manjurul Hoque, Osama Taseer, K. G.
Karim, M. Abu Horaira were present
during the meeting.
There are immense potentials for
trade and export between the two
countries, sources said, adding that if
the potentials could be tapped, both
the nations would be benefited.
Belarus is also eager to establish a
joint commission on trade and
economic cooperation, officials say.
DCCI President Asif Ibrahim (second from left) seen addressing a business meeting between DCCI and the Belarusian trade delegation at DCCI
on October 9. Ambassador Designate of Belarus to India and Sri Lanka Vitaly Prima (centre), DG (Europe) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs M Riaz
Hamidullah (second from right) and DCCI Director K G Karim (left) are also seen in the picture.
Chamber News
DCCI, BUILD and Trust Bank organise seminar on SMEs
Panellists at a seminar of the third D-8
ministerial meeting have stressed the
need for formation of a common fund,
technology transfer and initiating
concentrated programme to promote
small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
among the countries.
DCCI, in cooperation with Business
Initiative Leading Development (BUILD)
and Trust Bank Ltd, organised the
seminar titled 'SMEs - a Catalyst of D-8
Economy' in Dhaka city.
Industries Minister Dilip Barua was the
chief guest at the seminar, presided
over by DCCI president Asif Ibrahim. D8 Secretary General Widi Agoes
Pratikto, among others, was also
present.
The
programme
had
three
presentations on the present scenario
of SMEs of the D-8 countries 'Bangladesh perspective and scope of
co-operation' by director general of
Bangladesh
Institute
of
Bank
Management Dr Toufic Ahmad
Choudhury, 'Public-private dialogue for
private sector development' by CEO of
BUILD Ferdaus Ara Begum, and 'SME
Financing' by head of SME of Trust
Bank Limited TIM Rawshan Zadeed.
Dilip Barua said the D-8 can be the
forum of technology transfer and can
offer fund for joint ventures to boost
SMEs of the eight countries.
Explaining the SME scenario in the
country, the minister said the SMEs
face obstacles in getting access to
finance despite the central bank's
directive of having SME booth in every
branch of banks.
"Banks and financial institutions prefer
providing loan to big entrepreneurs, but
it is the time to change this mindset."
Combination of access to loan and use
of technology can help the SMEs, the
backbone of the nation, to grow
accordingly, he said. He also stressed
the need for conducting more research,
so that the country's SME sector can
compete with that of other countries.
DCCI President Asif Ibrahim (right) addressing a seminar on SMEs: a Catalyst of D-8 Economy
organized by DCCI in cooperation with BUILD and Trust Bank Ltd. on October 8 at Ruposhi
Bangla Hotel. Industries Minister Dilip Barua (third from left), DCCI Senior Vice President Haider
Ahmed Khan, FCA (third from right), Managing Director & CEO of Trust Bank Ltd. Shah Alam
Sarwar (second from left), CEO of BUILD Ferdaus Ara Begum (second from right) are also seen
in the picture.
Asif Ibrahim said except a few fertiliser
factories, pharmaceuticals, cement
factories, steel mills and telecom
operators, all other business entities in
Bangladesh are SMEs.
The number of these SMEs in the
country has been estimated at about six
million, about 75 per cent of which are
located in rural areas and producing
around 50 per cent of the country's
industrial output each year.
These SMEs are also generating the
highest number of employment,
producing low-cost quality products,
contributing to import substitution and
saving foreign currency.
"Financing the productive capacity of
the economy is critical to long-term
economic success of the SMEs. While
large businesses have various options
open to them, including the capital
market, the SMEs are heavily
dependant on the banking system," he
added.
The DCCI president said access to
strategic financial advice is one of the
biggest challenges that the SMEs face.
The SMEs in the country are labour-
intensive following abundant supply of
cost-efficient labour. But higher costs of
fund are deterring the sector to grow to
its fullest level.
Poor infrastructure and utility supply,
unavailability of collateral-free bank
loan, limited access to information,
traditional technology, low productivity
of labour, lack of entrepreneurship
development programme and skilled
manpower, complicated bureaucratic
procedures, and lack of marketing
knowledge etc are the barriers or
challenges that the SMEs in
Bangladesh face.
Besides, high interest rate of bank loan,
lack of government support in finding
export market, lack of testing facility,
loose imposition of IP law, absence of
skilled channel of distribution to ensure
fare price of growers, and absence of
SME support centres are also hindering
their growth, he mentioned.
Shah Alam Sarwar, managing director
and CEO of Trust Bank Ltd, stressed
the need for expansion of banking
activities in the rural areas, as a large
number of SMEs are located in those
areas.
3
Chamber News
DCCI hosts luncheon in honour of D-8 delegation
President of DCCI Asif Ibrahim (right) speaking at the Luncheon hosted by DCCI in honour of the visiting D-8 delegation in Dhaka on October
10 at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel. Industries Minister Dilip Barua (fourth from left), President of ICC-Bangladesh & former President of DCCI Mahbubur
Rahman (left), Minister for Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran Mahdi Ghazanfari, Deputy Minister for Industry of Turkey Davut Kavranoglu, Advisor
to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Raza Muhammad Basharat, Secretary General of D-8 Secretariat Dr. Widi Pratikto (third from right) are also
seen in the picture.
DCCI hosted a luncheon in honour of
the visiting D-8 delegations on
October 10, 2012 at Ruposhi Bangla
Hotel, Dhaka.
Welcoming the delegation, DCCI
President Asif Ibrahim said that the
event like this would play a pivotal role
for the development of private sector
of D-8 countries.
He also said that D-8 Ministerial
conference on industry will surely
boost economic cooperation among
the D-8 countries. He hoped Dhaka
Declaration 2012 will be a milestone
of the success of D-8.
Industries Minister of Bangladesh
Dilip Barua thanked DCCI for hosting
luncheon in honour of visiting
members of the D-8 countries.
He also stressed on technology
transfer, market expansion and
establishment of common economic
fund among the D-8 countries.
Dr. Widi A. Pratikto, Secretary
General of D-8 Secretariat also spoke
on the occasion.
Minister for Industry, Mine and Trade
of Iran Mahdi Ghazanfari, Deputy
DCCI expresses deep concern over attack on Buddhists
DCCI has expressed its deep
concern over vandalism in and
sudden attacks on Buddhist zone at
Ramu in Cox's Bazar.
4
DCCI expressed deep concern and
strongly condemned the attack,
vandalism and torching of Buddhist
and Hindu temples and houses at
Ramu, Cox's Bazar recently.
It said Bangladesh is a country of
communal harmony. Muslims and
the people from different minority
communities have been living in
peace in the country for ages.
Minister for Industry of Turkey Davut
Kavranoglu, Advisor to the Prime
Minister of Pakistan Raza Muhammad
Basharat,
President
of
ICC-B
Mahbubur Rahman, DCCI Senior Vice
President Haider Ahmed Khan, FCA,
Directors Waqar Ahmad Choudhury,
ASM Mohiuddin Monem, Khairul
Majid Mahmud, Osama Taseer, M Abu
Horaira, Kh. Shahidul Islam, Hossain
A Sikder, former Presidents R Maksud
Khan, MH Rahman and Benajir
Ahmed were present at the luncheon.
DCCI also demanded exemplary
punishment of the culprits. DCCI felt
that government and law enforcing
agency should play more vigilant role
to protect the Buddhists and their
monasteries.
Chamber News
DCCI signs MoU with Jilin Chamber of Commerce of China
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce &
Industry (DCCI) and Chinese General
Chamber of Commerce of Jilin
province
signed
a
Friendly
Association Agreement on October 16
at DCCI.
DCCI Acting President Haider Ahmed
Khan, FCA and President of Chinese
General Chamber of Commerce of
Jilin Province Bie Shengzue signed
the agreement on behalf of their
respective organizations.
Haider Ahmed Khan thanked the
delegation members for visiting DCCI.
He urged the Chinese Investors to
invest in food and food processing,
paper and pulp from jute, gas-based
industries, power, renewable energy
and backward linkage industry of
RMG sectors in Bangladesh.
Bie Shengzue informed that the
Acting President of DCCI Haider Ahmed Khan, FCA (second from right) and President of
Chinese General Chamber of Commerce of Jilin Province Bie Shengzue (third from left)
exchanging MoU between these two Chambers on October 16 at DCCI. DCCI Directors M
Bashir Ullah Bhuyian (fourth from left), Osman Gani (right) and M Abu Horaira (third from right)
are also seen in the picture.
Chinese entrepreneurs are interested
to invest in agro and agro processing
Industries, jute, fertilizer sector etc. in
Bangladesh.
DCCI Directors M. Bashir Ullah
Bhuiyan, Osman Gani and M Abu
Horaira were present during the
meeting.
expressed his great happiness in
getting a lot of useful knowledge and
valued information within a short
period, from the course which has
broadened their mental horizon and
made them more confident in
discharging their responsibilities with
new tools and techniques.
The contents of the course were:
Introduction to Marketing & Sales
Promotion; Modern Concept of
Marketing;
Local
Rules
and
Regulations; Market Segmentation,
Targeting & Positioning; Competition
Analysis & Competitive Advantage;
Product Planning & Pricing Strategy;
Distribution Management; Market
Promotion, Integrated Marketing
Communication;
and
Group
Discussion, Tools and techniques of
modern salesmanship; How to be a
good salesman, Role play, Advertising
& Sales Promotion; Ethics and codes
of conduct in Marketing; Preparation
& Implementation of Marketing Plan;
Branding,
Corporate
Image;
Corporate brand & Product Brand;
Brand Marketing,
Reputation
management through corporate
communication.
DBI training course on ‘Market, Sales Promotion and Branding’
Kh. Shahidul Islam, Coordinating
Director, DBI Standing Committee
and Former Vice President of DCCI
attended
the
certificate-giving
ceremony of the training course on
“Market, Sales Promotion and
Branding” as the chief guest on
October 10. He said, an organization
must have market orientation in
producing goods and services to
ensure sustained operation and
growth. The marketing/sales manager
is responsible for the crucial functions
of assessing and estimating demands
for the products u services, selling
and distribution of the same and
ensuring customers satisfaction. He
added that knowledge, ethics and
experience are also very important in
marketing and sales.
On behalf of the participants, S. M.
Wahiduzzaman,
Director
of
Marketing,
Nirvorota
Group,
Executive Director, DBI Md. Hossain
Ali thanked the participants for their
positive evaluation and suggestions
which will be taken into consideration
in future. He also stressed that their
learning will be effective only if they
apply their acquired knowledge in
their day-to-day activities and
enhance their skills. He also invited
them to participate in other courses of
DBI, as per their need. Additional
Executive Director, DBI Ashish Kumar
Paul also thanked the participants for
coming to DBI to acquire modern
knowledge and need-based skills.
5
BUILD Activities
MoU signed between AIUB
and BUILD for business
confidence survey
Business
Initiative
Leading
Development (BUILD) and American
International University of Bangladesh
(AIUB) signed a MoU (Memorandum
of Understanding) on “Cooperating in
the Development of the Pilot Business
Confidence
Survey
(BCS)
in
Bangladesh” on October 9 at AIUB
board room at Banani.
Asif Ibrahim, Chairman, BUILD and
President, DCCI and Dr. Carmen Z.
Lamagna, Vice Chancellor, AIUB
signed the MoU on behalf of BUILD
and AIUB. Mrs. Ferdaus Ara Begum,
CEO
BUILD,
Ismet
Morshed,
of
Business
Research and Advocacy Director,
BUILD; Prof. Dr. Charles C. Villanueva,
Dean,
Faculty
Administration; Prof. Dr. Md. Faruque
Hossiain
from
Stakeholder
AIUB
and
Engagement
IFC
Analyst
Shihab Ansari Azhar, BICF Consultant
Ms. Zaitun Qudri and BICF Consultant
Zahidul Naim Zakaria from IFC-BICF
were also present in the signing
ceremony.
The BCS will offer insight into business
confidence of investors and private
sector and understanding of the trends
of
the
economy
from
their
perspectives. The survey will contain
information on economic conditions,
availability
environment,
of
tax
finance,
legal
environment,
customs control, business regulations,
public administration and investment
climate from business.
The initial phase of the survey will
cover Dhaka metropolitan area and will
6
be ready for dissemination of the result
by January 2013.
DCCI President Asif Ibrahim (third from left) and Vice Chancellor of American International
University of Bangladesh (AIUB) Dr. Carmen Z Lamagna (fourth from right) exchanging MoU
signed between DCCI and AIUB on October 9 at the AIUB campus. CEO of BUILD and Acting
Secretary of DCCI Ferdaus Ara Begum (left) is also seen in the picture.
BUILD for licensing reforms
for removing barriers
relevant information to the private
sector.
There is no denying that regulation for
addressing public interest objectives
such as protecting safety and security
of life, environment etc. has to be
ensured, but it does not mean that
government regulations should create
hassles for the businesses and thus
increase the cost of doing business.
In order to comply with all the
regulations, local start-up businesses
must obtain at least 16-20 licenses,
irrespective of the sector they operate
in. For foreign investors the initial
number of licenses and permits range
from 20-26. This huge regulatory
burden means that businesses, in
order to be legally compliant, need to
spend a large amount of time and
money to get these licenses before
they set up their businesses.
Business licensing is often termed as
one of the most important components
to regulate business and create a
favourable and sustainable business
environment. While it is essential to
have a regulatory mechanism in place,
it is not expected that regulatory
aspects will create unnecessary
barriers for smooth operation of
business.
Business licensing reforms are,
therefore, required to bring changes
targeted to improve the quality of
regulation as well as regulatory
process and consequently improve
quality of services of the concerned
organizations.
BUILD, since early this year, has been
conducting extensive research in the
field of business licensing, to advocate
policy reforms and help sensitize
While making a comprehensive list of
the business licenses and their
corresponding
document
requirements, BUILD research team
came across some common issues
that impede efficiency in most of the
government bodies and agencies
involved in issuing business licenses
and permits.
Despite the huge regulatory burden,
information on these licenses is rarely
available, and so entrepreneurs have
no guide on how to be legally
compliant.
National Economy
D-8 calls for technology transfer, sharing of
know-how for mutual benefits
The seventh working group meeting
of the Developing 8 (D-8) nations in
the Bangladesh capital called for
increased trade and cooperation by
ensuring transfer of technology and
sharing of knowledge in different
fields for mutual benefits of the bloc
members.
It also suggested capacity-building in
the member countries to increase
trade and economic cooperation so
the D-8 countries could dominate the
global economy. The 7th meeting of
the D-8 Working Group on 'Industrial
Cooperation- 2012' was held at the
Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka city.
The speakers at the meeting said that
the D-8 member states must
strengthen their technological and
industrial cooperation to consolidate
their
economies
and
ensure
accelerated economic growth and
development.
They also agreed to cooperate in the
sectors like textiles and garments,
energy
and
environmental
conservation,
food
industry,
petrochemicals and fertiliser, cement,
steel, automotive industry, electronics,
ICT, plants and machinery, technology
transfer,
standardisation
and
conformity
assessment
and
development of small and medium
enterprises (SMEs).
They said that the D-8 countries could
benefit from technology transfer,
collaboration in industrialisation and
cooperation
in
research
and
development that would create
employment opportunities for poverty
reduction and raising standard of
living.
They identified agriculture and food
security, transportation, energy and
SMEs as priority areas of cooperation
among the D-8 countries. Speaking
on the occasion, Dhaka Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
President Asif Ibrahim said that since
the inception, the D-8 countries had
been striving hard to enhance trade
and economic cooperation for
improving their position in the global
economy.
He said that the trade among the
member states accounted for only 6
percent of the world trade which
needed to be increased at least to 12
percent by 2012. "This is necessary
to expand the markets and create new
opportunities in trade, industry and
investment, increase participation in
decision-making at the international
level and improve living standard of
their people," he said.
in the pharmaceutical sector among
the D-8 countries.
He also suggested cooperation
among the D-8 countries in some
important areas to promote trade and
investment that include establishment
of a joint chamber of commerce for
exchanging
information
about
business, trade and investment
among them.
He said the proposed chamber of
commerce should sponsor visits of
successful businessmen of each
country with a view to sharing
innovation and achievements which
could be transferred from one country
to the other. Khan also favoured
establishment of a news agency to
exchange news, information and
knowledge among the D-8 countries.
He suggested arrangement of special
fairs in D-8 countries to show-case
products of the member countries with
a view to promoting trade and
investment.
He said that the total volume of trade
among the D-8 countries doubled
from US$ 35 billion in 2006 to US$70
billion to date.
Besides, harmonisation of regulatory
environment for banking and transfer
of capital among the bloc members
and development of human resources
through exchange of teachers and
students for learning the language of
each of the member countries were
also suggested.
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (MCCI) President Maj
Gen (Retd) Amjad Khan Chowdhury
emphasised the need for cooperation
We need to create an enabling
environment for larger corporates to
emerge regional multinational brands,
thus grazing the greener pastures," he
mentioned.
But it is not enough compared to the
existing potential. "We are confident
that Bangladesh is going to continue
to achieve accelerated growth due to
our dynamic private sector, strong
economic fundamentals, strategic
location and resilient people," he said.
"Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs) are important locally but interregional cooperation can only be
promoted by large enterprises which
have the appetite and the abilities to
do so.
7
National Economy
President of the Federation of
Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FBCCI) AK Azad said
that the apex trade body of the
country was eager to pursue more
collaboration with its counterparts in
the D-8 countries to mutually explore
the business opportunities.
He suggested holding of an exclusive
trade fair for D-8 countries in
Bangladesh for developing trade
relations among the member
countries. He also recommended
establishment of a D-8 Free Trade
Area to take the advantage of
numerous industrial and investment
opportunities, harmonising standards
and developing a uniform set of
criteria for testing quality.
"The total export from Bangladesh to
D-8 countries in the fiscal year (FY)
2010-11 was US $1034.6 million
which has decreased to $ 821.04
million in 2011-12. On the other hand,
our imports from D-8 countries were
$3542.93 million in 2010-11, which
increased to $3708.40 million in 201112. This shows a negative trade gap
for Bangladesh which is widening and
we are concerned," he said.
"We (D-8) have a combined market of
around 1 billion people and there
exists a high level of potential for
greater cooperation and trade. We
can easily achieve 10-15 per cent of
the intra D-8 trade by 2018," he
added.
Secretary General of D-8 Secretariat
Prof Widi Agoes Pratikto emphasised
the need for taking a pragmatic
approach for cooperation in the
industrial sector among the bloc
members with improvement of
linkages and efficient networking
among the entrepreneurs and
industrialists of the bloc members.
8
State Minister of Industries Omor
Faruk Chowdhury said that the D-8
countries were making a steady
progress day by day through effective
mutual cooperation among each
other. Exchange of knowledge,
technology and experience and
people-to-people contact could play a
pivotal role in the future progress in
the bloc.
Industries Minister Dilip Barua laid
emphasis on strengthening mutual
cooperation through exchange of
expertise, knowledge and transfer of
green and renewable technology
which is coming out as the benefit of
the third industrial revolution.
He said that the D-8 countries were
experiencing steady and faster growth
recently that created enormous
scopes for sustainable and balanced
economic development.
"I consider the global crisis as an
opportunity for the D-8 members. We
have many competitive advantages in
the global market which need to be
utilised. We have a large population
which is all together 13 per cent of the
global population. We (D-8) are
representing almost 60 per cent of the
total Muslim population of the world,"
he said.
He opined that cooperation among
the D-8 countries should not be
confined to the industrial sector like
automotive industry, cement, steel,
electronics and IT, petrochemicals
and
fertiliser,
energy
and
environmental conservation, food
industries, textile and garments, small
and medium enterprises (SMEs) and
machinery.
"We have cooperation in the other
areas like standardisation and
conformity assessment, accreditation
and technological cooperation.
We should identify some more
potential
sectors
for
mutual
cooperation like pharmaceutical,
printing and publication, plastic, jute
and jute goods," he added. Secretary
in-Charge Mohammad Moinuddin
Abdullah chaired the inaugural
session of the meeting.
Need for addressing problems
impacting FDI flow
Country's business leaders have
urged the Developing Eight (D-8)
member countries to come up with
more foreign direct investment (FDI)
in Bangladesh. The government, they
noted, is setting up eight special
economic zones (SEZs) with a lot of
facilities where the businesses from
the fellow member-countries can
invest, either directly or through joint
ventures. The technology of such
member-countries and Bangladesh's
cheap labour and potential manpower
can, the business leaders of
Bangladesh felt, create a fruitful way
to provide a boost to businesses in the
D-8 grouping.
Since long, Bangladesh has been
offering a package of attractive
financial and fiscal incentives for
FDIs. But the outcome is still not
satisfactory. On the external trade
front, Bangladesh's exports to D-8
member countries have been
declining over the years. The D-8
member countries will have to ensure
duty-free access of products in order
to increase intra-group trade. Local
businesses say that if such an access
is given, it will be possible to increase
intra-group trade up to 15-18 per cent
from around 5.0 per cent at present.
Meanwhile, the D-8 member states
need to strengthen their technological
and
industrial
cooperation
to
strengthen their national economies
and ensure accelerated economic
growth and development. Currently,
D-8 is working on selective 12 sectors
like automotive, cement, steel,
electronics
and
information
technology (IT), petrochemical and
fertiliser, energy and environmental
conservation, food industries, textile
and garments, small & medium
enterprise (SME) and machinery.
Local economists and business
leaders are not happy with the level of
FDI flow to the country. They say if the
country fails
to
address the
National Economy
infrastructure, power and energy
constraints, foreign investments might
be diverted to the neighbouring
countries like Myanmar which has
recently opened up its market to FDI.
Leading global companies are now
rushing to Myanmar after the country
opened up its market; economic
sanctions against Yangon have been
withdrawn by a number of developed
economies. Investors from the US,
Japan, South Korea, China, and India
are eyeing on Myanmar's telecom,
natural resource-based industries,
gas exploration, power plants and
cement,
fertiliser,
readymade
garments, tourism etc., sectors.
However, it would be too early to
comment on about which sectors
would be affected and to what extent
by Myanmar's opening-up move, but it
is generally believed that FDI flow will
be diverted to Myanmar in the
absence of secured facilities including
infrastructure, power and energy in
Bangladesh. It will not take a long time
to see the impact of the opening-up of
the economy of Myanmar. As such,
the problems of infrastructures and
power and gas supply in Bangladesh
need to be urgently addressed.
Bangladesh may also take the
advantage of Myanmar's location,
being
a
next-door
neighbour
resourceful with agricultural land and
mineral resources. But without
improving the infrastructures including
roads, railways, ports and other
modes of transportation, FDI and
other investments would not increase
much in Bangladesh. Everything
depends on how the government can
support and develop infrastructurerelated projects and utility services.
Like Bangladesh, Myanmar also
secured its right in maritime boundary
and would go for exploring natural
resources in the Bay of Bengal. So the
government will also have to look for
prospective investors in this sector as
well.
The track record of Bangladesh as a
destination of FDI is not encouraging.
After many years, there was a
significant rise in foreign investment
by 24 per cent last year and it was,
according to reports, propelled by
such investments in the financial
sector. A total of $238.21 million was
invested in the country's power, gas
and petroleum sectors in 2011, while
telecommunication sector, particularly
the fast-growing mobile phone
companies, were able to attract $181
million.
As of now, the government has not
succeeded to assure convincingly the
entrepreneurs of the availability of
basic prerequisites for making
investment decisions -- infrastructure
facilities, gas and electricity, land and
a favourable regulatory regime. As
such, the country has not been able to
attract foreign investment to any
substantial extent due to lack of a
strong commitment to facilitating such
investments. Recently, a good
number of investment proposals have
been turned down by the authorities,
particularly due to non-availability of
land.
According to some analysts, the
problem about obtaining land -- and
not political unrest, infrastructures and
power crisis -- is the real constraint to
FDI flow to Bangladesh. Investors
now only look for land as they are
capable to set up the rest of the
infrastructure at their own initiatives.
Many
Chinese
investors
are
reportedly willing to relocate their
factories to Bangladesh due to
soaring labour cost in their homeland.
The findings by the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) suggest
that Chinese wages have been
outpacing the rest of Asia for at least a
decade.
In this context, the government has to
play an effective facilitating role to
attract FDIs. Such a role should also
encompass actions to help develop
institutional
arrangements
to
implement
large
infrastructure
projects with the use of funds from the
banking sector in appropriate ways.
The amount of FDI flows to the
neighbouring countries such as India
and Pakistan have been at a much
higher level than that of Bangladesh.
To stay in the race, Bangladesh must
attract, at least, $2.0 billion a year, in
the from of overseas investment.
It needs to go for drastic land
management to ensure the availability
of land to the investors. Furthermore,
the negative factors should be fixed
as soon as possible to uphold the
image of Bangladesh in the global
marketplace. This will help the country
achieve
its
goal
of
rapid
industrialisation.
Businessmen happy over
arrest of Hall-Mark bosses
The business community has
expressed satisfaction over the arrest
of managing director (MD) of HallMark Group Tanvir Mahmud and its
general manager (GM) Tushar Ahmed
on their alleged involvement with the
biggest ever financial scam of the
country.
In a statement signed by them which
was released by the Federation of
and Industry (FBCCI), they called
upon the government to arrest bank
officials involved with the loan scandal
and bring them to the book through
proper investigation.
They said the businessmen in the
country had been cooperating with the
government in restoring discipline in
the banking sector.They observed
that exemplary action should be taken
against dishonest businessmen who
were trying to destroy discipline in the
banking and financial sector of the
country.
9
National Economy
The signatories of the statement are
President of FBCCI AK Azad,
President of Dhaka Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Asif
Ibrahim, President of Metropolitan
Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(MCCI) Maj Gen (Retd) Amjad Khan
Chowdhury, President of Chittagong
(CCCI) Morshed Murad Ibrahim,
Acting President of Bangladesh
Chamber of Industries (BCI) Shamsur
Rahman, President of Chittagong
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (CMCCI) Md Khalilur
Rahman, President of Bangladesh
Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters Association (BGMEA) Md
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, President of
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BKMEA)
AKM Selim Osman and President of
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association
(BTMA) Jahangir Alamin.
Bangladesh’s economic
growth to slow to 5.8pc: IMF
Bangladesh's economic growth may
slow down to 5.8 percent in the
current fiscal year, largely due to
sluggish exports and investment, the
International Monetary Fund forecast.
A finance ministry official said an IMF
mission made the forecast after a twoweek review of Bangladesh's latest
macro-economic
situation.
The
government set the GDP growth
target for the current fiscal year at 7.2
percent.
In June, Finance Minister AMA Muhith
in his budget speech said the trend of
satisfactory growth will continue in the
commerce and agriculture sectors in
2013 as the global economy is on the
rebound. He also said the productive
sectors would get enough credit
supply and the deficit in the power and
energy sectors would come down.
10
According to the central bank
statistics, like the previous year, slow
growth in exports will continue this
year. In July, export growth was 4.26
percent and in August it came down to
3.63 percent. Nasir Uddin Chowdhury,
the first vice president of Bangladesh
Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters Association, earlier said
that exports might be slow in
September. The exporters said an
economic slowdown in the EU and the
US is mainly responsible for a
sluggish trend in exports.
According to Bangladesh Bank data,
the opening and settlement statistics
of letters of credit for import of capital
machinery and industrial raw
materials also show a slow trend in
investment. Last fiscal year also, LG
opening for import of capital
machinery fell by 21.22 percent, while
LC opening for im-porting industrial
raw materials went down by 3.84
percent.
The negative trend continued in the
current fiscal year as well. In the first
month of the current fiscal year, LC
opening for import of capital
machinery fell by 30 percent, and for
industrial raw materials the decline
was 0.63 percent.
However, a BB official said the central
bank is now encouraging credit flow to
productive sectors under its new
monetary policy. The official said the
GDP growth in the current fiscal year
will be more than 6 percent. Though
the IMF predicted that the economic
growth will be lower than the
government's target, the lender said
inflation will remain within a single
digit.
The IMF mission said inflation will
remain close to the government's
target of 7.5 percent, according to the
BB official. However, the lender is
concerned about food inflation as the
prices of food commodities are rising
on the international market. The IMF
team expressed satisfaction over the
central bank's monetary policy, saying
it is in the right direction to curb
inflation. The IMF encouraged the
central bank to continue it, the BB
official said.
Slow exports to pull down
GDP growth to 6pc: ADB
Bangladesh's economic growth may
come down to 6 percent in the current
fiscal year due to sluggish exports and
a decline in domestic demand, the
Asian Development Bank has said.
The lender launched its Asian
Development Outlook 2012 in
Bangladesh and throughout Asia
Pacific.
GDP (gross domestic product) rose
by 6.3 percent and the government's
target is 7.2 percent for the current
fiscal year. However, the ADB said
inflation will fall by 2 percentage
points and stand at 8.5 percent on
average in the current fiscal year
compared to that in the last fiscal year.
“Export growth is expected to remain
low in the first half of fiscal 2013," said
ADB Country Director Teresa Kho at a
press conference at the organisation's
office in Dhaka. Growth in domestic
demand is also likely to stay limited
because of the central bank's
continued credit tightening, Kho said.
Mohammad Zahid Hossain, principal
economist of the ADB in Bangladesh,
made a presentation on the latest
situation of Bangladesh's economy at
the press conference. Hossain said a
financial crisis in the European Union
is affecting Bangladesh's exports.
Echoing the view of the ADB country
director, he said credit tightening by
the central bank will slow domestic
demand.
“The expected rise in remittances will
not be strong enough to fully offset it.”
Hossain said sectoral GDP growth in
the services and industries sectors
will be slow in the current fiscal year
but growth in the agriculture sector will
almost double compared to that in the
National Economy
last fiscal year. About inflation, he said
upward adjustments in the fuel and
electricity prices at home will lift nonfood inflation.
But inflationary pressures will be
contained as central bank's credit
tightening measures take hold. He
also said the international prices of
commodities, including that of fuel,
are expected to be broadly stable.
Hossain said food prices are expected
to fall in the first half with comfortable
domestic supply, but will go up in the
second half as drought in a number of
major agricultural suppliers cuts
global supplies.
The ADB said remittance growth will
be 12 percent in the whole year as
more workers leave for the Middle
East countries. The prevailing oil
prices support the construction
projects in those countries that
engage the bulk of unskilled
Bangladeshi workers. However, the
ADB said several downside risks
could upset the projections.
It said fiscal management could come
under pressure if the revenue target is
not realised and planned foreign
financing does not materialise. If
political pressures quash the
expected increases in fuel and
electricity prices, it may also strain
fiscal management, the ADB said.
The lender also said the monetary
discipline could be undermined if the
government
increases
bank
borrowing to finance subsidy
spending.
Finally unfavourable
weather or political unrest could affect
economic activities, it said.
The ADB country director said it is
important to enhance macroeconomic
stability in the short-term and
strengthen internal and external
balances. Kho also said ensuring
adequate credit for the private sector
is a priority. Policy actions at the same
time should focus on keeping
inflationary pressures in check, she
added.
Political uncertainty, poor
infrastructure major threats
to economic growth
Country's leading economists have
said looming political uncertainty and
large-scale scam in banking sector
will pose serious threat to achieving
many macro-economic targets of the
sixth five year plan. They said the
controversies over Padma Bridge
Project would create multifarious
negative impacts on the country's
economy in future.They outlined that
neither the GDP growth target nor the
target for curbing inflation would be
met though some of the economic
performances under the sixth five
year plan were commendable.
Those issues were discussed at a
meeting organised by the Policy
Research Institute (PRI) on the
occasion of publishing its quarterly
brief held at the PRI Conference
Room.
Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud chaired
the discussion where former advisor
Dr. ABM Mirza Azizul Islam, NBR
Chairman Dr. Nasiruddin Ahmed,
BIDS Director General Mustafa K.
Mujeri, General Economic Division
Member Prof. Shamsul Alam, former
Privatization Commission Chairman
Inam Ahmed Chowdhury, social
activist Badiul Alam and adviser to the
governor, Bangladesh Bank, Hassan
Zaman, spoke on the occasion.
Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman, PRI made
opening remarks where Dr. Sadiq
Ahmed, Vice Chairman, PRI and Dr.
Ahsan H. Mansur, Executive Director,
PRI presented four keynote papers on
different issues.
Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud said if the
political situation turns volatile the
economy will be badly impacted by it
and no benefit will emerge by
calculating economic indicators.
"Inadequate
Infrastructure
and
political instability are two major
constraints
for
the
country's
investment growth," Wahiduddin
Mahmud said summing up the
discussion during the policy briefing.
Mirza Azizul Islam said a large amount
of state-owned commercial banks'
money has got stuck with different
institutions like Hall-Mark Group,
Destiny Group which will jeopardise
the smooth economic activities and
investment. He said the flow of
external assistance from development
partners will not improve as the
country
is
heading
towards
confrontational politics. "I do not
expect that the gross domestic product
(GDP) growth target or the targeted
inflation of the sixth five year plan will
be achieved," Mirza Aziz said.
11
National Economy
BIDS Director General Mustafa K.
Mujeri said the quality of macroeconomic management has come
under
question
due
to
the
government's failure in managing
banking system.
"The dispute with donors over Padma
Bridge Project would seriously impact
the overall economic activities in
future," Mujeri said adding that there
are enough evidence of serious
mismanagement in the country's
banking sector.
Mujeri said the poverty reduction and
social development goals under the
five year plan will not be met with the
present rate of progress.
Former Privatisation Commission
Chairman Inam Ahmed Chowdhury
suggested not to speak recklessly on
the sensitive issues like Padma
Bridge Project by government's high
officials. He said the government
should have selected a few people to
act as official spokespersons to avoid
such experience.
Chowdhury suggested implementation
of the public private partnership
projects (PPP) through privatisation
commission and allowing the turnkey
basis
procurement
to
hasten
development activities.
Sadiq Ahmed
Implementation
Macroeconomic
outcomes of the
plan showed
performance.
in his paper on
of the Sixth Plan
Framework said the
first two years of the
mixed record of
The current account and fiscal
balances are broadly on target, but
there is substantial shortfall in the
targets for the investment rate, growth
of exports and the inflation rate.
12
"Slower GDP growth and higher
inflation relative to the plan targets,
unless tackled forcefully, will likely to
have adverse implications for
securing the employment and poverty
reduction targets of the plan," Ahmed
noted.
In
his
other
paper
tiled
'Implementation of the Sixth Plan
Strategy for Foreign Resource
Mobilisation' Ahmed said Bangladesh
is lagging behind in capital
accumulation since investment as a
percentage of GDP remains stagnant
over the past few years.
"Increasing investment to the desired
level appears to be a formidable
challenge and requires major effort to
improve the investment climate,
especially to attract more FDI," he
said. He suggested five ways to
increase investment which included
jump start of stalled PPP strategy,
facilitate
infrastructure,
better
utilisation foreign aid in pipeline, and
immediately resolve dispute with
donors to improve macro-economic
stability.
Ahsan H. Mansur in his paper on "Tax
Revenue Mobilisation -- sustaining
the recent success," said the
government
has
been
most
successful in tax revenue mobilisation
in the recent years.
The NBR has exceeded the tax
revenue target for three consecutive
years despite facing challenges in the
form of declining dependence on
import-based taxes and increased
volatility in imports.
"Buoyant performance in domestic
based taxes -- VAT and direct taxes in
particular
-helped
reduce
dependence on import based taxes
and better anchored the revenue
performance to developments in
domestic economic activity," he said.
He suggested sharing information
between VAT and income tax wings
for the outcome of a greater potential
in generating revenues.
In his second paper titled "Revamping
of the power sector: Where do we
stand now," Ahsan H Mansur said at
present electricity generation ranges
between 5200 MW and 6000 MW,
which is however well below the
installed and actual generation
capacities of 8819 MW.
"Because of the much higher
generation cost for the liquid fuelbased power plants, PDB's capacity
to pay has been severely constrained
despite a marked increase in
subsidies from the budget causing
shut down of power plants with 800
MW-1200 MW of capacity," he added.
Mansur suggested ensuring rapid
financial closure of the larger power
projects which have been contracted
out. He also suggested finalisation of
the coal policy as early as possible to
secure low cost energy for power. He
also suggested market-based pricing
of electricity and moving away from
the monopoly role of public sector
entities.
A special industrial zone for
plastic sector under way
The government will relocate plastic
factories of Old Dhaka to a new
industrial zone as soon as possible,
Industries Minister Dilip Barua said.
The move comes after the Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific of the United Nations has
recently asked the government to set
up a separate economic zone for the
plastic industry. At present, around
1,200 unplanned plastic factories,
most of which are unauthorised,
operate in Dhaka.
“A special industrial zone will be built
to bring more discipline to the sector
and to generate more exports,” Barua
said.
Bangladesh could emerge as a major
player in the global plastic market if it
manages to increase its turnover to $2
billion by 2015 and $4 billion by 2020,
according to a UN case study.
But for that, the country has to
address three issues on a priority
basis
infrastructure,
waste
management and recycling, and skills
development, the study says. Plastic
National Economy
products represent a sizeable subsector in the chemical industry, with a
market size of around $1 billion, $714
million of which is thanks to the
domestic market.
The industries ministry has conferred
the thrust sector status to the plastic
industry, Barua said, while adding that
the ministry is working to make the
industry as environmentally friendly
as possible. “The government is ready
to give any kind of policy support to
the sector as it has enormous
potential.”
Md Jasim Uddin, president of
Bangladesh
Plastic
Goods
Manufacturers
and
Exporters
Association, said the policy and
infrastructure support would be
welcome as the sector looks to break
into the global market.
The growth rate for the last 20 years
has averaged at more than 20
percent, said Jasim, also a first vicepresident of the Federation of
and Industry (FBCCI).
“The plastic sector has around 3,000
manufacturing units that offer jobs to
more than 20 lakh people directly and
indirectly,” said Shahedul Islam, a
former president of the association. All
basic raw materials are imported as
the country does not have polymer
industry yet, he said.
Najmul
Hossain,
the
country
representative of the Friedrich
Naumann Foundation, said the
government should give policy
support to develop this sector. “The
export market of this sector is very
large.”
They spoke at a public-private
dialogue on “Promoting Development
of the Plastic Sector of Bangladesh”,
organised by the FBCCI in
partnership with Friedrich Naumann
Foundation, at the capital's Pan
Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.
Five factors hinder PPP
finds analyst
Five specific factors are hurdles to the
public private partnership model in
implementation of projects in
Bangladesh, an expert has said. The
factors include absence of meaningful
competition, poor specification by the
government due to corruption or lack
of capacity and the incompetent
bidders
who
delay
project
implementation, Fouzul Kabir Khan, a
former power secretary, said.
Absence of penalty for reneging on
contracts and corruption in bidding
and contracting also result in project
failures, he said. The implementation
of the AES Meghnaghat 450
megawatt power project was a
successful case under the PPP
model, said Khan at the luncheon
meeting of the France-Bangladesh
at Westin Hotel in Dhaka.
In his keynote paper on PPP, Khan
said Sonamasjid Land Port was
unsuccessful,
Jatrabari-Gulistan
Flyover project was distressed and
Patenga Container Terminal project
was cancelled. All were under the
PPP. The PPP model can be followed
in some major sectors: power,
infrastructure, township development,
transports and roads, Khan said.
Ryuichi Kaga, senior adviser for PPP
in the South Asia Department of Asian
Development Bank, outlined three
funding modalities of his bank for PPP
projects.
The modalities are sovereign finance
to
host
government
or
its
governmental agencies, corporate
finance to project sponsors and
project finance to project company.
“Controlling project risks is key to
successful funding,” Kaga said while
he was speaking on 'funding solutions
for PPP projects' at the meeting. But
three kinds of risks should also be
mitigated for a successful project
financing, which are political,
commercial and natural disaster risks,
he added.
As funding solutions, he mentioned
some ways like loan, guarantee,
equity
investment,
interest
rate/currency swaps and transaction
advisory services.
“Much progress has been made with
PPP in Bangladesh over a relatively
short time. ADB is ready to provide
holistic support,” Kaga said.
Syed Afsor H Uddin, chief executive
officer of PPP Office, said unsolicited
fund can be accepted in the PPP
projects, but through some complex
processes. Michel Trinquier, French
ambassador to Bangladesh, and
Humayun Rashid, president of the
chamber, also spoke.
Cooperatives come
under NBR lens
The National Board of Revenue has
brought the banking business of
cooperative societies and cooperative
banks under its scrutiny. The tax
administrator also asked its field
offices to examine tax records of the
cooperatives that are doing banking
business.
The move comes after the NBR
tightened its rules by withdrawing a
tax-exemption benefit for the
cooperatives that are engaged in
banking business. The removal of the
tax benefit means, a cooperative
society, which has banking business,
will have to pay 42.5 percent tax like
banks from the current fiscal year.
The NBR has already sent a list of
cooperative societies and cooperative
banks to its 649 field offices.
"We have sent the list so that
inspectors can check whether the
cooperatives are engaged in banking
business," said an NBR official,
asking not to be named. "We will
examine whether the cooperatives
13
National Economy
have taxpayer's identification number
and whether they submit returns
regularly," said the official. He said the
tax-exemption benefit was withdrawn
to discourage the cooperatives from
running banking business.
But the tax benefit will remain
effective for the cooperatives having
no banking business. There have
been allegations of illegal banking by
some cooperatives. Early this year,
the central bank found proof of illegal
banking by Destiny Multipurpose
Cooperative Society, a concern of
Destiny. The NBR also detected tax
evasion of more than Tk 100 crore by
Destiny. The tax authority found that
Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative
Society violated tax-related laws.
Earlier, the NBR collected the list of
national and central cooperative
societies and cooperative banks from
the Department of Cooperatives.
There are 21 national and 1,107
central cooperatives. The number of
primary cooperatives is 1.63 lakh,
according to the department's
website. The number of cooperative
banks is around 130, according to the
Department of Cooperatives.
Garment exports to
US surge
The falling prices of Bangladeshi
wares and the rebounding American
economy bid well for the country's
readymade garment exports to the
US. The global fall in cotton prices
and the rising productivity of
Bangladeshi workers thanks to
technological upgrade in factories,
account for the lower prices.
Consequently, international buyers
are increasing their orders from
Bangladesh, industry insiders said.
14
Bangladesh's RMG exports to the US
in July-August stood at $892.63
million, up from $869.80 million in the
same period last year, data from
Export Promotion Bureau showed.
In July, the volume of Bangladeshi
apparel reaching US shores jumped
21.5 percent from a year earlier, the
fastest growth in a year and a half. A
key factor behind this increase is
lower average landed costs -- an 8.3
percent decline from a year earlier,
the biggest drop in 27 months. “The
higher export to the US is a positive
sign for Bangladesh,” said Ahsan H
Mansur, executive director of Policy
Research Institute.
Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez, a
former president of Bangladesh
Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters Association, said garment
exports to the US will continue to rise
as China is losing its competitiveness
due to labour shortage and higher
production costs.
China is shifting its productions from
basic to high-end segment of the
garment market, providing Bangladesh
the opportunity to consolidate its
already strong standing in the basic
segment of the market.
Hong Kong investors keen on
investment in leather sector
Hong Kong-based investors have
proposed for a special industrial zone
for composite leather to the
government of Bangladesh. “We
strongly believe we would be able to
bring great benefits to the economy of
Bangladesh by way of local
employment
opportunities
and
contributions to the gross national
export,” said Andy Wong, president of
Hong
Kong
New
Territories
Manufacturers Association.
The association consists of more than
100 members, who, collectively, are
responsible for supplying 90 percent
of the global leather goods market via
their concerns in China. He spoke at a
programme on the prospects of
foreign investment in Bangladesh's
leather
and
leather
goods
manufacturing sector, organised by
Oishi Glove and Trading Company at
the capital's Pan Pacific Sonargaon
Hotel.
Wong, who was on a three-day tour of
Bangladesh to scout for investment
opportunities, visited the Ashulia
industrial belt and the leather
processing zones in Hemayetpur and
Savar, to inspect the infrastructure.
He urged the government to speed up
the process of setting up the leather
processing zone in Savar.
Wong had suggestions, too, for the
government, such as issuance of
bonded warehouse licence with easy
terms
for
foreign
investors,
uninterrupted power supply, the same
facilities for investors outside the
export
processing
zones and
National Economy
simplification of tax payment and
registration processes for companies
of foreign investors.
“The cost of doing business in
Bangladesh is very low. Plus, we
provide good policy support to the
foreign investors,” said Nabhash
Chandra Mandal, additional secretary
of the Board of Investment.
“We have stable economic growth for
the last three decades,” he said, while
adding that the local leather sector
could do with some foreign
investment.
Govt. forms taskforce to settle
trade disputes under ACU
The government has formed a highpowered task-force to settle disputes
pertaining to external trade and
expedite repatriation of export
earnings from countries falling under
the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). The
Bank and Financial Institution Division
under the Ministry of Finance (MoF)
has formed an 11-member committee
with Bangladesh Bank (BB) Deputy
Governor Abdul Hoq as its convener.
A senior finance official said the Terms
of Reference (ToR) were already
outlined for the committee, the first of
its kind in the country. The central
banks of nine Asian countries are the
members of the ACU. The countries
are Bangladesh, India, Pakistan,
Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar and Iran. "The entire
spectrum of issues pertaining to trade
disputes will be resolved soon," a
finance official said.
"We will initially identify the problems
and disputes in our external trade to
diagnose the deterrents. A welldesigned strategy would be finalised
soon to this effect," he added. Officials
from the BB, finance, commerce and
foreign affairs ministries, the apex
chamber, foreign exchange dealers
association, National Board of
Revenue, Bankers' Association of
Bangladesh and Sonali Bank Ltd have
been included in the task force.
As per the Terms of Reference, the
taskforce will find solutions to the
entire trade-related disputes under
the mechanism of ACU. It will identify
deterrents to fair trade among the
member countries.
Furthermore, the Task Force will
recommend effective measures to
address the external trade disputes,
undertake initiatives to resolve the
problems and create a businessfriendly
environment
between
exporters, importers and commercial
banks.
"We got problems in settling the
issues of un-repatriated money due to
the lack of Ad Confirmation,
unreliability of foreign buyers and the
lack of credibility of a number of local
commercial banks to foreign nations,"
a top BB official said. "The new Task
Force will certainly undertake
meaningful strides to solve the
problems of Ad Confirmation," he
added.
An Ad Confirmation is a document
issued by a bank against a letter of
credit. Generally, a third bank (other
than the LC opening bank) issues
confirmation to exporters in favour of
importers which guarantees export
earnings' repatriation to importers
timely from the third bank, in case the
importers fail to pay.
In a confidential report, an intelligence
agency last year said about US$2.0
billion were lying un-repatriated in
foreign countries against export
orders due mainly to the lack of Ad
Confirmation.
The intelligence report said as most of
the exporters failed to get Ad
Confirmation from their foreign
buyers, repatriation took more time.
President of Bangladesh Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters
Association(BGMEA) Shafiul Islam
(Mohiuddin) hailed the decision of
forming the Task Force to solve
disputes arising from export, import
and banking transactions. "The move
is good and long-awaited," Mohiuddin
said.
High-level team suggests
use of three Indian ports
A high-level government team has
proposed
transshipment
of
Bangladeshi
containers
from
Singapore, Malaysia and Colombo to
three Indian ports - Paradip of Odisha,
Visakhapatnam of Andhra Pradesh
and Haldia of Pashchimbanga to
make coastal shipping viable.
If those containers were transshipped
to those ports and introduced coastal
shipping, both cost and time of
Bangladesh's export and import would
be reduced drastically, the team
headed by Commodore Jobair
Ahmad, Director General of Shipping,
made the recommendation after
visiting the Indian ports.
The team submitted a 13-point
recommendation to the Shipping
Secretary on the viability of coastal
shipping and also said the
government has to introduce a strict
monitoring regime to protect possible
'oil smuggling', because oil price
varies between the two countries.
It recommended preparing a fit list
from the existing pool of ships to
launch bilateral coastal shipping with
India. A government team that
recently visited India to commence
coastal
shipping,
made
the
recommendations last week. It
recommended the government to
separately prepare a list of qualified
masters for the proposed shipping
routes.
"Owners of about 2000 small ships
are willing to enlist their vessels in the
proposed routes, but all are not fit for
15
National Economy
plying coastal areas. We need to
identify the technically fit ships from
the pool," Jobair Ahmad explained in
his recommendation paper.
The team asked the government to
collect necessary information about
the standard requirements for a
coastal ship and vessel master from
International Maritime Organisation
(IMO),
International
Standard
Organization (ISO) and Marine
Survey Office (MSO). It also
recommended, if the coastal shipping
lines
are
implemented,
the
government can make it mandatory to
maintain IMO-required standards in
building new ships both in private and
government sectors in future.
Bangladesh had earlier tabled the
idea of using the coastal belt of the
Bay of Bengal to transport goods
between the two countries, on
grounds of time and cost-efficiency. At
present, local importers have to go
through a two-week wait to take
delivery of their imported wares, as
they come via Sri Lanka, Singapore or
Malaysia, according to Ahmad. "But
using coastal routes to carry freight
between the two countries will allow
us to cut time to three days, and
thereby, costs," said Ahmad.
Earlier, local shippers proposed to the
government to strike a deal to carry
goods through the coast of the Bay of
Bengal, to put to use the country's
2,000 cargo ships, many of which
remain unutilised.
Between September 25 and 29,
Jobair Ahmad, along with five other
senior officials, met with the chairman
of Paradip Port Trust S Ananta
Chandra Bose, to propose the use of
inland vessels of 2000-tonne capacity
from Paradip to Chittagong and
Mongla ports.
16
"The port is near Bangladesh and it
has a deep harbour. It will help
transport gypsum, food items and
other goods easily, compared to the
ports in Haladia and Visakhapatnam,"
the DG, Shipping said.
Bangladesh has bright prospects for
earning a substantial amount of
foreign exchange by operating its
vessels to carry goods to and from
neighbouring countries through the
coast of the Bay of Bengal.
Mansur said the food inflation that
remained downward in recent months
might reverse following rise in the
prices of food items in the
international market. He said the
central bank has been considering
further moves to tighten the monetary
supply situation for reining in the nonfood inflation.
Non-food inflation up by
1.0 pc in September
Zaid Bakht, head of research of
Bangladesh Institute of Development
Studies (BIDS), said the rise in power
prices is the main reason for the
surging non-food inflation last
September. Bakht said both food and
non-food inflation might rise in the
coming months as the election is
nearing when the supply side is
usually disrupted leading to rise in the
prices of most consumer items.
The rate of inflation at the national
level, measured on the basis of CPI,
remained almost the same at 4.96 per
cent last month, with 2005-06 as the
base year. However, the rate of food
inflation at the national level
decreased to 1.75 per cent on a pointto-point basis in September.
Businesses involved in the country's
manufacturing sector said the rise in
non-food inflation is a piece of bad
news for them as the prices of inputs
may go up. Non-food inflation, being
higher, could mean more bad news for
the manufacturing sector, as it
signifies an upward pressure on input
prices, according to such circles.
In January, Bangladesh and Myanmar
agreed on a similar deal and adopted
a draft Standard Operating Procedure
to promote and facilitate trade and
commerce between the two countries
using the coastal belt.
The country's non-food inflation
edged up by nearly 1.0 per cent to
10.18% in September last, which
analysts
suggest,
is
mainly
attributable to rise in prices of utilities.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
(BBS), the country's national
statistical organisation, released the
data of consumer price index (CPI)
and the state of the situation about
inflation for the month of September.
The non-food inflation sharply
increased in urban areas to 10.36 per
cent in September against 8.10 per
cent during the same period in 2011.
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of
Policy Research Institute (PRI) of
Bangladesh, told the FE: "The nonfood inflation surged in September
mainly due to rise in house rents and
in fares for different types of
transportation services." According
BBS, the non-food items like
electricity, clothing, house rents and
gold increased in September.
He said the government might take up
implementation of some unproductive
projects as the election is knocking at
the door which may push the rate of
inflation further up in the months
ahead. Bakht, however, stressed the
need for ensuring disbursement of
foreign aid from the pipeline which, he
considered, may help reduce the rate
of inflation.
The ready-made garment (RMG)
sector, the country's major industrial
one, is already reeling under the
effects of higher prices of power and
slow buy-orders following the
economic crisis in Europe. Anowar Ul
Alam Chowdhury Parvez, managing
director of Evince Group, said the rise
in non-food inflation will lead to higher
production cost as the garment
workers will demand a salary-hike to
meet the costs of accommodation and
transportation.
SAARC News
Nepalese envoy seeks to boost economic
cooperation with Pakistan
Nepal greatly values its relations with
Pakistan that are based on mutual
respect, trust and shared perceptions
on regional and international issues.
These remarks were made by
Nepalese Ambassador Bharat Raj
Paudyal while talking to the
Islamabad Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (ICCI) President Zafar
Bakhtawari during his visit to ICCI
office for congratulating Bakhtawari
on his appointment as ICCI president.
The ambassador said that exchange
of business delegations, single
country exhibitions and a proactive
involvement of business community of
both the countries could enhance
bilateral trade relations between
Nepal and Pakistan.
Paudyal was of the view that the
exhibition would not only provide an
opportunity to the exporters of
Pakistan to showcase their products
but it would also provide an
opportunity to people of Nepal to
strengthen their economic ties with
Pakistan. He hoped that arranging
exhibition could be the most feasible
option for strengthening mutual
economic, cultural and trade ties
between Nepal and Pakistan.
Speaking
on
the
occasion,
Bakhtawari said that he considers
Nepal one of the best friends of
Pakistan as people of Nepal have
great love and affection for Pakistanis.
He said that technology transfer,
investment and economic cooperation
were the areas in which both
countries could collaborate for mutual
benefits.
The ICCI president said that the
business communities of Pakistan
and Nepal have to play a vital role for
the promotion of bilateral trade and
their greater mutual interaction is
needed to achieve the ultimate
objectives. He suggested that the two
countries should focus on enhancing
cultural exchange programmes and
people-to-people contract along with
focusing on strengthening trade ties.
He further informed the ambassador
that ICCI has planned to organise an
International Industrial Expo in the
federal capital to promote the export
of country’s industrial products. He
further said that businessmen from all
over the world would also be invited to
this expo that would give a boost to
trade and exports. The ICCI president
invited Nepalese counterparts to
actively participate in that event,
which would provide an opportunity to
the business community of both the
countries to come closer to each
other.
Pakistan to get EU trade
concession in exports
It is believed that Pakistan would get
much longer concession period in
2014, when the new Generalised
System of Preferences (GSP)
scheme would come into effect where
Pakistan would be well-placed to
benefit from duty-free treatment under
GSP Plus status.
Pakistan will get trade concession up
to an average of 20 percent export
growth to the European markets.
Pakistan’s trade with European
countries under European Union (EU)
Autonomous Trade Preference (ATP)
scheme will start from November 1
and EU notification to this effect is
expected by October 28, 2012.
Around 27 EU-member states by a
single EU ambassador in February
2012 completed approval process for
Pakistan-specific EU trade package.
These concessions would only be
temporary and are intended for a two
to three-year period as a bridging
mechanism till 2014.
Pakistan-specific EU trade package
ATP would allow tariff-free export of
75 Pakistani products to EU markets
over the next two to three years.
However, the main items of the textile
sector bedware, readymade garments
and cotton fabrics, which hold 38
percent, 20 percent and 12 percent
share, respectively in textile exports to
the EU are not included in the
concession package.
After the concession from the EU, the
sub-textile sectors of dishcloth,
duster, knitted tracksuit-making units,
weaving industry, towel, gloves and
socks-making units will benefit,
Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association
senior member Ghulam Rabbani said.
The selected product lines amount to
almost 900 million euros in import
value, accounting for about 27
percent of the EU imports from
Pakistan. The total imports amount to
3.3 billion euros. The EU trade
package is aimed at helping Pakistan
deal with economic losses caused by
the unprecedented floods in Pakistan
in 2010. The EU applied for the WTO
waiver in January 2011. Around 150
members supported the request for
waiver of the 152 members of WTO.
India opposed it and Bangladesh
expressed
certain
reservations
demanding compensation. Later
these countries
withdrew their
17
SAARC News
reservations. He said the recession in
Europe would not affect Pakistan’s
exports to Europe after the duty-free
access for 75 products. “The austerity
measures being taken by the
European nations would face
economic
hardships
on
the
consumption and import of luxury and
higher-end products,” he maintained.
This will make Pakistan and a few
other countries eligible to apply for
GSP Plus, provided they fulfil the
other criteria such as the commitment
to
effectively
implement
27
international conventions relating to
good governance, human rights and
sustainable
development
etc.
Pakistan would not be affected by the
planned removal of tariff preferences
as only EU imports from countries
where per capita income has
exceeded $4,000 for four years. This
would possibly hurt countries like
Brazil, Argentina, Russia and Saudi
Arabia.
The formal loss of GSP status for
Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Chile,
Algeria, Colombia and Peru is not of
any consequence as these countries
already have good market access
through free trade and other
preferential deals.
The update will reduce the number of
countries that enjoy preferential
access to EU markets from 176 to
around 75.
Pakistan’s threshold level of exports
has been raised from less than 1.0
percent to less than 2.0 percent of the
EU’s total GSP imports. Pakistan’s
share in the total EU imports is 0.3
percent.
18
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association
has hailed this decision and hoped
Pakistan textile industry would fully
benefit from the opportunity of better
market access to the EU.
Pakistan’s FDI plunges
by 67 per cent
Foreign investment is becoming rare
commodity for the country while the
outflow has been increasing rapidly as
was witnessed during the first quarter
of this fiscal year.
The foreign direct investment (FDI)
fell by 67 per cent to $87 million
during the July-September of 2012-13
compared to $263 million the same
period last year.
The rise in portfolio investment
supported the overall Foreign Private
Investment (FPI) which fell by 15pc to
$183.5 million during the quarter.
However, the FDI outflow from almost
all sectors except the oil and gas
exploration registered significant
increase.
The portfolio investment, which is
considered as temporary investment,
rose to $96 million in July-Sept period
compared to an outflow of $47 million
during the same period last year.
Most of the sectors registered an
outflow of foreign investment
including the extremely popular
telecommunications sector. During
the first quarter the sector note an
inflow of $78.3m while the outflow was
$179.2m making a net outflow of
$100.9 million.
bail the country out from the current
mess of failures.
The only attraction for foreign
investors is the oil and gas exploration
which succeeded to receive an
investment of $114 million during the
first quarter of this fiscal year.
However, it was less than the $180
million the sector received in the same
period last year.
The country is facing energy crisis
which offers great opportunity for the
investors but the sector could not
receive any significant investment. In
fact, the sector lost almost all
investment as the net investment in
the sector was just $0.7 million
compared to $14 million it received in
the same period last year.
The country is under enormous
pressure of falling foreign exchange
reserves and speedy payments of
debts and interests on debts to the
IMF and other donors.
The repayments have slashed the
reserves and shaken the exchange
rate as the local currency has
continuously been losing value
against the US dollar.
India inflation rises, dampens
rate cut hopes
The overall inflow of FDI during the
quarter was $286 million while the
outflow was $199m giving a dismal
picture of the economy having no
attraction for the global investors.
Indian inflation accelerated to its
highest level this year, hitting 7.81 per
cent in September, data showed on
Monday, outpacing market forecasts
and reducing the chances of an
interest rate cut.
An exporter of textile products said
poor economic performance of the
economy during the last five years
gave a sense that the economic
policymakers were lacking vision to
The Wholesale Price Index – India’s
most widely watched inflation
measure – rose 7.81 per cent year on
Analysts said the trust deficit among
the foreign investors is increasing as
the government makes tall claims but
fails to deliver.
The country’s hawkish central bank
will meet at the end of the month to
consider its interest rate policy as it
faces calls from businesses to cut
rates to spur economic growth that
has slowed dramatically.
SAARC News
year last month – just exceeding
market forecasts of 7.7 per cent.
The reading was up from 7.55 per
cent the previous month and 6.87 per
cent in July, which was close to a
three-year low.
Developing countries such as China,
South Korea and Brazil have lowered
borrowing costs in a bid to protect
their economies from the effects of the
eurozone debt crunch.
But India’s central bank still is
targeting inflation, which remains
stubbornly above its “comfort” level of
five per cent.
September’s inflation rise comes after
the government recently hiked statecontrolled diesel prices by some 14
percent in an effort to lower massive
fuel subsidies that have contributed a
bloated fiscal deficit.
The price hike was hailed by some as
a sign of readiness by the government
to tackle tough economic reforms and
the widening hole in the public
accounts.
But critics said it would spur inflation
at a time when growth has slowed
sharply to around 5.5 per cent from
near double-digits in recent years.
Most analysts predict the central bank
will keep lending rates on hold until
inflation shows a decisive downward
move. The bank last cut rates in April
after raising borrowing costs 13 times.
Nepal government to ease
vehicle import soon
The government will ease vehicle
imports, correcting some technical
mistakes in the emission standard
after it adopted the Nepal Vehicle
Emission Standard III (NVES-III) on
August 13. The standard is popularly
known as Euro III among Nepalis.
The Ministry of Environment, Science
and Technology –– concerned
ministry –– has made a correction to
the standard. “There were some
technical mistakes and we are
rectifying them,” said under secretary
of the ministry of environment,
science and technology Rajendra
Kharel in a programme. “It will ease
the import of vehicles.”
About 2,000 vehicles — from buses,
trucks to small cars — have been
stranded at customs points for the last
two months due to the new emission
standard.
The problem arose because of
technical mistakes in its publication in
Nepal Gazette.
“All concerned people have agreed to
the standard, so there will not be any
problem in implementing it after the
mistakes are rectified,” said Kharel.
According to him, due to the absence
of arithmetic signs like plus, minus,
and equal in the standard, it confused
customs authority in allowing the
import of vehicles with Indian
emission standards — Bharat Stage
III and IV.
Nepal
Automobile
Dealers’
Association said that it will welcome
the decision.
“We are not against Nepal Vehicle
Emission Standard III, but it should
not create a hurdle in the import of
vehicles,” said vice-president of the
association Shekhar Golchha.
Nepal Vehicle Emission Standard III is
a 21st century standard that permits
low emission in vehicles. For
example, dust particles emitted by
vehicles should not be more than 0.5
per cent. Similarly, the standard seeks
low carbon and sulphur emission.
Consumer activists had urged the
government to be strict about the
vehicle emission standard.
“The government must enforce Nepal
Vehicle Emission Standard III, but at
the same time it must not discourage
Nepali traders and entrepreneurs,”
said the president of National
Consumer Forum Premlal Maharjan.
People prefer mass transportation
and not small cars because they
cannot afford private vehicles, he
added.
The central bank will “approach
easing with caution, keeping a keen
eye on inflation and further policy
progress out of Delhi”, said Leif
Eskesen,
HSBC
chief
India
economist.
The higher inflation comes as the
Congress-led government of Premier
Manmohan Singh is hoping the
economy will pick up as a result of a
string of market-opening steps in the
past weeks that ended years of policy
paralysis.
19
Asia Pacific
IOR-ARC to consider ways to tap economic
potentials of Indian Ocean Rim
The 12th meeting of the Council of
Ministers of Indian Ocean Rim
Association for Regional Cooperation
(IOR-ARC), held in Gurgaon of India
decided to consider ways to utilize
vast economic potential, including that
offered by blue economy, for
increased intra- and inter-regional
trade for the benefit of all member
states.
In a communiqué issued at the end of
the meeting, the IOR-ARC reiterated
its commitment to free trade as it saw
trade facilitation measures as an
important dimension in the context of
regional trade and investment
expansion. In this regard, the Council
of Ministers welcomed the regional
workshops
on
Customs
harmonization and Trade Policy held
this year as potentially contributing to
ease of business, and direct the
Working Group on Trade and
Investment to take these initiatives
forward.
The meeting noted that the
connectivity provided by the Indian
Ocean has played an important part in
shared history and will continue to
shape collective destiny. Enhanced
connectivity can have a catalytic
effect on economic integration by
drastically reducing the costs of doing
business, and the IOR-ARC decided
to find ways of enhancing regional
connectivity to realize the full potential
of economic cooperation.
20
The IOR-ARC meeting recognised
development of port and harbour
infrastructure in the region as
assuming critical importance. It
directed the Working Group on Trade
and Investment to explore the
potential of cooperation in this sector,
including
investment
in
and
upgradation of shipping infrastructure
and logistic chains in the region. This
would act as an economic multiplier,
facilitating growth in individual rim
economies, the meeting said.
China tipped to be 2nd biggest
luxury market by 2017
China is set to become the world’s
second biggest market for luxury
goods after the United States in five
years, overtaking France, Britain, Italy
and Japan, an industry report said
Tuesday.
Developed countries still dominate the
personal luxury market but economic
woes are reducing demand while
rising middle classes in emerging
economies take up the slack,
consumer
research
group
Euromonitor said.
Luxury-goods sales could top $302
billion worldwide this year, up 4.0
percent from 2011, as buyers from
developing nations snap up designer
handbags,
clothes,
jewellery,
watches, fine wine, champagne and
spirits, it said.
“Benefiting from a fast-growing middle
class and a fast-developing luxury
distribution network, sales of luxury
goods in China have consistently
outperformed the global market,”
Euromonitor said.
Japan is currently the world’s second
biggest market for luxury goods but its
share has been shrinking as the
country struggles with economic
problems.
Demand for luxury goods has been
lackluster this year in developed
Western markets and Japan due to
rising prices and mounting insecurity
over jobs and pensions, Euromonitor
said.
However, emerging markets led by
the so-called BRIC grouping – Brazil,
Russia, India and China – are making
up for the shortfall.
The BRIC countries will account for 11
percent of total luxury sales with a
combined retail value of over $33
billion this year, up from only 4.0
percent in 2007, it said. This is
forecast to rise to $59 billion, or 16
percent of global sales, by 2017.
Asia Pacific
The world’s four biggest luxury goods
markets – the United States, Japan,
Italy and France – still accounted for
almost half the value in sales this
year, the report said.
Designer apparel are expected to
remain the best-selling items,
accounting for 42 percent of total
luxury goods revenue by 2017, but
jewellery and timepieces are fast
gaining popularity, it said.
While China’s importance to luxury
goods makers has soared in recent
years, signs have emerged of
demand growth easing.
Last month saw shares in luxury
clothing and accessories group
Burberry tumble after the British firm
issued a surprise profit warning which
analysts blamed on China’s economic
slowdown.
Expat wealth heads to
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has come to the fore
as a leading destination for expat
earning potential according to the
latest findings from HSBC Expat’s
Expat Explorer survey. The largest
global survey of expats shows that
Singapore this year tops the Expat
Explorer Economics league table,
which ranks countries based on a
number of factors such as earning
levels, disposable income and ability
to
accumulate
luxuries.
Four
additional countries in the region also
make the top ten, including Thailand
(3rd), Hong Kong (4th), China (7th)
and Vietnam (10th).
In the midst of wider global turmoil,
expats in Southeast Asia continue to
benefit from increased earnings with
Singapore holding the largest
proportion of wealthy expats of any
country.
More than half (54%) of Singaporebased expats who took part in the
Expat Explorer survey earn more than
$200,000 per year, compared to a
global survey average of only 7%.
Furthermore, four in five (80%) expats
in Singapore saw an increase in their
disposable income since relocating.
This trend for increased earnings is
mirrored across other Asian countries,
with expats in Hong Kong (79%),
Malaysia (72%) and China (69%)
benefitting from an increase in
disposable income since moving to
the country.
The annual Expat Explorer survey,
now in its 5th year, is the largest
global survey of expats. HSBC
Expat’s Expat Explorer surveyed
5,339 expats from nearly 100
countries worldwide; making it the
largest ever sample to date.
The findings reflect the views of
survey respondents living and
working abroad. Commenting on the
findings, Dean Blackburn, Head of
HSBC Expat says: “The Expat
Explorer survey provides a wealth of
information and is a valuable resource
for the expat community, especially
for those looking at trends in the
migration of expat earning potential
from country to country.
While Southeast Asia has historically
been a popular choice for those
looking for increased quality of life,
we’re also seeing a steady increase in
the levels of expat wealth heading to
the region.
These two factors combined indicate
that the region is fast becoming an allround top expat destination.” Despite
strong outlook, many Middle Eastern
expats only plan a short term stay
Expats in the Middle East show higher
levels of satisfaction in the state of
their economy (Oman, 90% satisfied;
Qatar, 89%; Saudi Arabia, 83%; UAE,
77% and Kuwait 68%) than expats
globally (59%) and many have
reported being better off financially.
Roughly two-thirds of expats in Qatar
(67%), Bahrain (66%), and Oman
(65%)
have
reported
higher
disposable income since relocating to
their current country, compared with
only 52% of expats globally.
Despite the positive outlook, many
expats are actively looking to leave
the region. Roughly one third of
expats in Saudi Arabia (34%), Qatar
(30%) and Oman (29%) are actively
looking to leave their current country
for either another posting or to return
to their home country, compared to
just over one in ten (13%) globally.
However, the desire to leave doesn’t
seem to indicate that expats are
unhappy in their current posting.
Instead, the survey shows that many
expats who head to the region retain a
much stronger affiliation with their
home country than expats in general
(Qatar, 90% identify strongly with their
home country; Saudi Arabia, 90%;
UAE, 88%; Bahrain, 87% and Oman,
77%).
This suggests that many expats
always intended to move to the region
for a set period of time, potentially to
take advantage of the higher income
available, before moving elsewhere or
back to their home country.
European expats are willing to
weather the euro-zone storm. Expats
across Europe have reported feeling
the impact of the euro-zone storm but
those in Spain are feeling the effects
most acutely. Spain-based expats are
twice as likely (39%) to feel that their
country is off on the wrong track than
the global average (19%) and more
than half (58%) report that the country
they are residing in is getting worse
for expats.
Although not quite as pronounced as
Spain, the sentiment that the country
is economically getting worse as a
place to live and work for expats is
echoed across other European
nations including the UK (44%),
Netherlands (43%) and France (33%).
Satisfaction with the euro-zone
economies is similarly bleak. While
21
Asia Pacific
those in Spain are most likely to report
dissatisfaction with the current state of
the economy (92%), expats in the UK
(68%) and France (48%) are also
more likely to be unhappy with the
current state of the local economy
than satisfied.
Despite the pessimism towards the
current economic environment, expats
in Europe are proving resilient to wider
euro-zone woes. While more than one
in ten (13%) expats globally are
actively looking to leave their current
country, no expats (0%) in Spain are
actively looking to leave and threequarters (74%) are intending to stay.
UK- and Francebased expats exhibit
similar figures with 71% and 69%
respectively intending to stay put
(compared to a global average
of 62%).
Asian markets lose ground
on Europe fears
Asian markets fell on Monday as
concerns over the eurozone debt
crisis overshadowed surprisingly good
US jobs data which showed
unemployment close to a four-year
low. An underwhelming return for
Shanghai after a week-long holiday
added to the glum outlook for the day,
while the euro erased gains made in
New York. Sydney eased 0.28
percent, or 12.5 points, to 4,481.9
while Seoul closed off 0.67 percent, or
13.28 points, at 1,981.89.
Hong Kong was 0.89 percent lower,
shedding 187.82 points to 20,824.56,
and Shanghai closed down 0.56
percent, or 11.75 points, at 2,074.42
Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
22
Wall Street gave an anaemic lead
despite Labor Department figures
showing the official jobless rate fell to
7.8 percent in September, the lowest
level since President Barack Obama
took office in January 2009. The data
from its establishment survey was
less buoyant, showing a modest
114,000 net new jobs produced. But
previous months were revised higher,
underpinning the better showing in the
September data.
US investors initially sent shares
soaring after the numbers were
released before those gains were
wiped out. The Dow closed up 0.26
percent, the S&P 500 ended flat and
the Nasdaq eased 0.42 percent. And
while the closely-watched jobs data
provided some hope for the world’s
number one economy, the ongoing
crisis in Europe continued to take its
toll on sentiment.
There was a cautious tone as the
European Stability Mechanism (ESM)
was to launch with an inaugural board
meeting, and European Union finance
ministers were due to meet. Lastminute disagreements over key ESM
commitments have surfaced, with
Germany, the Netherlands and
Finland arguing that the fund should
not be used to help banks already
bailed out before it became
operational.
This represents a potential blow for
the likes of Ireland, which went bust
after trying to keep its lenders afloat,
and for Spain, which has also
recapitalised some of its banks and
secured 100 billion euros from its
eurozone partners to do more.
There are concerns Greece will not
get its next tranche of much needed
bailout cash as it struggles to resolve
differences with its EU, European
Central Bank and International
Monetary Fund creditors over its
austerity budget.
And despite its parlous finances Spain
continues to refuse to ask for a rescue
that would also allow the ECB to enter
the debt market to lower Madrid’s
borrowing costs. “We saw the jobs
data come out that was in line with
expectations in terms of the payrolls,
and US unemployment ticked down…
Focus has moved back towards
Europe,” Jason Hughes, head of
premium client management for IG
Markets Singapore, told AFP.
“It looks like we’re still going to have a
wait-and-see approach from Spain.
There isn’t much pressure in the
secondary bond markets at the
moment to cause them to need to
really act quickly,” Hughes added. The
euro was trading at $1.2973
compared with $1.3031 late Friday in
New York, while it was at 101.58 yen,
from 102.48 yen. The single currency
lost the advances it had made on the
wake of the US jobs data.
The dollar fetched 78.31 yen from
78.64 yen. Shanghai’s negative return
also weighed on Hong Kong dealers,
with expectations dashed that a slight
uptick in manufacturing activity would
spur buying on the mainland.
On oil markets New York’s main
contract, light sweet crude for delivery
in November, shed $1.38 to $88.50 a
barrel in the late afternoon. Brent
North Sea crude for November fell
$1.12 to $110.90. Gold was at
$1,768.52 at 0810 GMT compared
with $1,789.90 on Monday.
China, India consumer spending
to triple by 2020: study
Consumer spending in emerging
market powerhouses China and India
is expected to triple by 2020 to a
combined $10 trillion a year,
potentially helping to boost economic
growth and corporate profits in the
developed world, researchers said.
The study by Boston Consulting
Group (BCG) is based on a survey of
24,000 consumers as well as
interviews with business leaders. The
business
strategy
consultancy
predicts consumers in China and
India will spend a combined total of
$64 trillion on goods and services in
the decade leading up to 2020.
Annual spending on consumer goods
will be three times the level spent in
2010, according to "The $10 Trillion
Prize: Captivating the Newly Affluent
in China and India".
Asia Pacific
"We are at a turning point in history
where relative wealth will shift from
the West to China and India, but
absolute wealth, including in the
West, should increase," said Michael
J. Silverstein, a senior partner at BCG
and the book's co-author.
Some of the enthusiasm for India,
China and other emerging markets
has dimmed in recent months due to
slowing economic growth, weak
progress with structural reforms and
political risks. Emerging equities have
also not performed as well in recent
years as their developed peers.
But the book's authors played down
these worries, saying India and China
were experiencing the inevitable
volatility in emerging economies.
The middle class in the two countries
is expected to reach 1 billion by 2020,
BCG said, noting that in India, the
proportion of middle-class people is
expected to grow to 45 percent in
2020 from 28 percent in 2010.
BCG said Western companies need to
win over the growing middle class of the
two countries via long-term strategies
adapted to the future spending habits of
these new consumers.
It named Kraft, Yum! Brands,
PepsiCo, Gucci, LVMH, BMW, and
Pernod Ricard as companies that
have deployed successful strategies
in these countries.
China's currency foray augurs
geopolitical strains
"It's our currency and your problem,"
US Treasury Secretary John Connally
famously said of the dollar in 1971.
More than 40 years later, China is
doing something about it.
Fed up with what it sees as
Washington's malign neglect of the
dollar, China is busily promoting the
cross-border use of its own currency,
the yuan, also known as the renminbi,
in trade and investment.
The aim is both narrowly commercial to reduce transaction costs for
Chinese exporters and importers and sweepingly strategic.
Displacing the dollar, Beijing says, will
reduce volatility in oil and commodity
prices and belatedly erode the
'exorbitant privilege' the United States
enjoys as the issuer of the reserve
currency at the heart of a post-war
international financial architecture it
now sees as hopelessly outmoded.
Zha Xiaogang, a researcher at the
Shanghai Institutes for International
Studies, said Beijing wants to see a
better-balanced
international
monetary system consisting of at least
the dollar, euro and yuan and perhaps
other currencies such as the yen and
the Indian rupee.
Competition among major currency
issuers and a wider menu of options
when investing, trading or seeking a
store of value would produce better
results for the world economy, Zha
argued.
"The shortcomings of the current
international monetary system pose a
big threat to China's economy," he
said. "With more alternatives, the
margin for the US would be greatly
narrowed, which will certainly weaken
the power basis of the US"
While Beijing sees opportunities in
using the yuan beyond its borders,
others see risks - not least to China
itself: relaxing capital controls so
foreigners
can
reinvest
their
accumulated yuan in China's
securities markets is one of the
preconditions of reserve currency
status.
Yet allowing market-driven money
flows to drive exchange and interest
rates would weaken the ruling
Communist Party's tight grip on two of
the main economic levers, potentially
sowing the very instability it abhors.
John Williamson, one of the foremost
academics on exchange rates, went
back to basics and questioned the
assumption that reserve currency
status confers vast benefits.
Whereas China, Brazil and others
have lambasted the United States for
deliberately cheapening the dollar
through loose monetary policies,
Williamson argued that US exchangerate flexibility is actually limited
because the dollar is the anchor of the
system. It is other countries that
adjust their rates; the dollar then
adjusts as a "residual".
Zha's comments were in a paper
prepared for a seminar in Bahrain this
week on the geopolitics of currencies
organized by the International
Institute for Strategic Studies, a
London think tank.
Of course, the United States gets to
finance its payments deficits more
cheaply because of demand for
dollars from reserve managers, but
this might not be enough to outweigh
the loss of freedom to manage its
exchange rate.
But with no obvious alternative to the
dollar for now, the timing and extent of
any shifts in the existing order are
inherently unpredictable, much like
exchange rates themselves.
He identified only two ways that US
power in the world economy is
enhanced by the dollar's dominant
role, which he does not expect to be
challenged in the next quarter century.
The great financial crisis, alongside
the ascent of China and other
emerging markets and the existential
threat to the euro, is prompting
policymakers in the West, too, to
question the established monetary
order. Change is in the air.
"It is not surprising that many
economists have therefore concluded
that a reserve currency role is not
advisable," said Williamson, a senior
fellow at the Peterson Institute for
International
Economics
in
Washington.
23
Middle East
Iran currency crisis not yet enough to threaten regime
The protests that have rocked Tehran
over Iran’s plunging currency expose
an undercurrent of tension and the
effects of sanctions, analysts say, but
do not yet signal a real threat to the
regime.
Despite hopeful talk from Israel of a
“Persian Spring”, experts said the
regime remains firmly in power and
the majority of Iranians continue to
support its nuclear ambitions despite
sanctions.
“People are not happy with the
economic sanctions but will that push
them to overthrow the regime? I don’t
think so,” said Thierry Coville of the
Paris-based Institute of International
and Strategic Relations.
The protests erupted after the rial hit
an all-time low against the dollar and
shed around 40 per cent of its value,
as Western sanctions worsen Iran’s
underlying economic problems.
Money changers said virtually no
transactions were taking place in the
market, making any valuation
unreliable, but the rate was estimated
to be around 36,000 to the dollar.
The fall has made it more difficult for
ordinary Iranians to afford basic
goods and seen import businesses
lose millions of dollars.
Earlier hundreds of police and
security personnel flooded central
Tehran, closing foreign currency
exchanges
and
rounding
up
unlicensed money-changers. Scuffles
broke out with stone-throwing men,
trash dumpsters were set alight and
16 people were arrested.
24
The rare display of public anger
prompted Israeli Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman to suggest: “The
Arab Spring will be followed by a
Persian Spring, instability is spreading
in Iran, and not just in Tehran.”
Western officials said the protest was
a sign that pressure is having an
effect.
“The sanctions are biting,” said a
senior European official, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
The goal, the official said, is “to bring
the (Iranian) economy to its knees”
and European officials are working on
a new set of sanctions that may be
approved later this month. But experts
were cautious.
“After the protests were violently
crushed following the fixed elections
in 2009, Iranians do not want to go
back to the streets. They’re in a
holding position,” said Francois
Nicoullaud,
a
former
French
ambassador to Iran.
Mideast hubs are ‘driving
force of change in aviation’
“Middle East hubs and airlines are
leading the way to confront and
overcome the serious challenges to
global aviation growth and stability
and bring about positive change in the
industry.” That was the message
given by James Hogan, Etihad
Airways’ President and Chief
Executive Officer, in his keynote
address to delegates at the
International Air Transport Association
(IATA) World Passenger Symposium
taking place in Abu Dhabi.
Hogan spoke in depth about the
positive impact the Middle East is
having on the global economy and
how the focus is shifting from the
traditional, more established markets
to
the
emerging
economic
powerhouses in the Middle East, Asia,
South America and Africa.
“In an uncertain world,” Hogan said,
“The Middle East is one of the “strong
pockets” for growth in aviation.” In
addition to capitalizing on its strategic
geographical
location,
Hogan
explained that the Middle East region
works because of a new approach –
highlighting Abu Dhabi as a prime
example of a new aviation hub.
“There’s an unprecedented focus on
service, we are able to work from a
new cost control template and there’s
no ‘legacy’ airline baggage,” he said.
Hogan said: “The connectivity
provided by Etihad Airways is key to
Abu Dhabi’s regional competitiveness
and we relish our integral role in
inbound tourism and the promotion of
Middle East
Abu Dhabi as a leading global
destination.
“Abu Dhabi has a growing,
diversifying economy – backed by a
Government with the vision, the will
and ability to invest in the future. “The
doubledigit growth we are seeing is
largely supported by the government’s
vision for the future which is backed
by considerable investment in tourism
infrastructure and Abu Dhabi’s
willingness to embrace best practice
and knowledge in other key areas
including manufacturing, education
and health.
Kuwait Energy makes new
oil discovery in Gulf of Suez
Kuwait Energy, one of the fastest
growing independent oil and gas
exploration and production companies
in the Middle East announced a new
oil discovery of Ahmad-2 well, located
in the Area A license in the Gulf of
Suez, Egypt, adjacent to the Shukheir
North West field.
Kuwait Energy is the operator of the
Area A license under a service
agreement with Egypt’s General
Petroleum Company (GPC). Kuwait
Energy holds a 70% working interest
in the license, and the remaining 30%
interest is held by Petrogas E&P, of
Oman.
The Ahmad-2 well encountered oil in
the Rudeis formation for the first time
in the Shukheir North West field and
Ahmad area, and initial tests showed
a production flow rate of 1,300 barrels
of oil per day (bopd).
This is the fifth exploration success in
the Area A concession, and the 19th
discovery in Egypt for Kuwait Energy
since 2008. Kuwait Energy’s Chief
Executive Officer, Sara Akbar, said,
“We are delighted to announce yet
another exploration success at the
Area A concession, which follows the
discovery of the West Ahmad-1X well
earlier this year.
Area A is now our largest producing oil
asset in Egypt and we look forward to
more successes.” Kuwait Energy
started operating in Egypt in 2008 and
its operations there contribute the
largest share to the Company’s
current
total
working
interest
production. In Egypt, the Company
operates three oil blocks, Area A, Burg
El Arab development lease and the
Abu Sennan concession, and has
interests in two other non-Companyoperated blocks, namely the Mesaha
concession and the East Ras Qattara
development lease.
Palestinians seek work in
Israel as crisis deepens
For Palestinians, the Israeli military
coordination office on the outskirts of
Jerusalem is a symbol of Israel’s
decades-long control over their lives.
Now it has also become an unlikely
source of hope for employment.
In response to an economic crisis
gripping the West Bank, Israel has
increased the number of permits for
Palestinians to work in Israel. This has
drawn large crowds of desperate men
to the gray edifice each morning in
chaotic scenes of long lines,
frustrated
faces
and
heated
arguments as they try to secure a
coveted permit.
At
a
time
of
double-digit
unemployment in the West Bank,
Palestinian workers, particularly
people working in manual jobs like
furniture moving, gardening and
maintenance work, have few other
options. “It’s a dream to get a permit
and work in Israel,” said Kayed
Ashkar, 45, who is unemployed and a
frequent visitor to the Israeli Civil
Administration office.
“I used to work there. I used to earn
enough money for my family,” said the
former waiter, whose wife’s modest
salary in a local wedding hall supports
their five children. Israeli authorities
have granted an additional 10,000
permits this year to work in Israel,
raising the total number to 40,000. It’s
still well below the peak level of
200,000 in the 1990s, but the most
since a violent Palestinian uprising
erupted in late 2000.
The uprising was characterized by
suicide bombings and other attacks
carried
out
by
West
Bank
Palestinians, prompting Israel to
revoke most permits. An additional
25,000 Palestinians work in Israeli
settlements in the West Bank,
underscoring their dependence on the
Israeli economy.
The Palestinians as a rule harshly
oppose the existence of the
settlements on land they claim for
their state. UN figures say
unemployment in the West Bank is 17
percent, a figure that may well underrepresent the severity of the crisis,
given the large numbers of
underemployed in the West Bank. The
tough times have fueled an angry
mood among Palestinians.
Last month, in a rare move,
thousands demonstrated against
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad,
blaming the US-educated economist
for their deepening impoverishment.
The Western-backed Palestinian
Authority, the local autonomy
government, has paid only partial
salaries to its 114,000 civil servants in
the West Bank, about 15 percent of
the local work force, over the past few
months because of a shortfall in its $4
billion budget.
The public sector is by far the biggest
employer in the West Bank, forming
the backbone of the Palestinian
economy, so the government’s
inability to pay has rippled throughout
the economy. October’s salaries
haven’t arrived yet, and the
government has further angered
Palestinians by announcing plans to
25
Middle East
fix the minimum wage at $345 a
month, below the local poverty line.
Also, taxes and prices for basic goods
have risen.
The crisis has several causes. The
Palestinian Authority is heavily
dependent on foreign donors, and key
backers, including the US and Arab
countries, haven’t delivered promised
aid. Adding to the challenger, Israel
continues to control 60 percent of the
West Bank, constraining Palestinian
growth and development. Israeli
security
policies
also
limit
Palestinians’ ability to import and
export. Israel has taken steps, such
as removing military checkpoints, to
ease movement in and out of the
territory, but the World Bank and
others say it must do more.
On the Palestinian side, attempts by
Fayyad to increase taxes have been
met with fierce resistance. In a report
to donors last month, the World Bank
appeals to them to urgently prop up
the Palestinian government. “But
even with this financial support,
sustainable economic growth cannot
be achieved without a removal of the
barriers preventing private sector
development,” it warned. It’s a far cry
from Fayyad’s grand vision, unveiled
in 2009, that aimed to end Palestinian
dependency on Israel and lay the
foundation for independence.
Fayyad, a former International
Monetary Fund official, promised new
roads, schools, an airport and other
development projects. The money
would come from donors and
increasing tax revenues. The goal
was to generate employment in the
West Bank, the heartland of a future
Palestinian state, ending the need for
laborers to find work in Israel.
26
To
stop
Palestinians
from
inadvertently supporting Israel’s
Jewish settlement enterprise, his
government banned the sale of items
produced there. He also tried to halt
Palestinian laborers working in Jewish
settlements, especially construction
jobs building new homes. Palestinians
say the settlements are preventing
them from building their state by
cutting up the West Bank. Despite
Fayyad’s best intentions, investors
shied away, deterred by a deadlocked
peace process, a global economic
slowdown and regionwide turmoil.
Alternative efforts by Palestinian
leaders to unilaterally carve out
independence through international
recognition are making little progress.
Yet Israel has a strong interest in
keeping Fayyad’s government afloat.
The Palestinian Authority’s collapse
would wreak chaos on Israel’s
doorstep and endanger key security
cooperation that has helped maintain
years of relative calm. In a separate
report to donors last month, Israeli
officials boasted of a series of
measures it was taking to bolster the
Palestinian
economy,
including
increasing work permits. Israelis and
Palestinians remain bound together,
though their stated goals are separate
states. “There’s no way for us to
disconnect the Palestinian economy
from Israel’s, before it ends its
occupation,” said Palestinian Labor
Minister Ahmed Majdalani.
On a recent day, some 200
Palestinians gathered outside the
military building to apply for permits,
clutching applications in plastic
envelopes, waiting for an unseen
soldier to open a gate to usher them
in. Eligible Palestinians -those who do
not have a record of activity against
Israel – peaceful or violent – receive a
magnetic card allowing them to enter
Israel. They find jobs through friends
or contacts on the Israeli side. Emad
Misbah is one of the lucky ones.
He has a special permit that allows
him to stay overnight in Israel during
the week, avoiding the lengthy daily
commute that most face while waiting
to cross checkpoints. The 49-year-old
gravedigger works 10 hours a day,
and sleeps in a trailer in the cemetery.
Global oil market balanced:
Kuwait
Kuwait Minister of Oil Hani Hussein
said yesterday that the global oil
market is balanced with no disparity
between supply or demand. Prior to
his departure, the minister made the
remarks in a press statement
following the conclusion of the 31st
meeting for the GCC oil and energy
committee meeting held earlier at the
General Secretariat of the GCC in
Riyadh.
The minister added that current prices
reflect the current state of the market,
noting that market’s mechanism do
control the way to determine prices.
Hussein added the meeting here were
important in bolstering coordination
and consultation among GCC
countries, in particular on oil
production prices and formulating ides
ahead of the upcoming GCC summit
next December.
In relation to hosting the Petroleum
Media Forum in Kuwait, Hussain said
that GCC oil ministers agreed on the
importance of the forum which would
reflect positively on the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) and
highlights its role on the regional and
global arenas, especially in the fields
of energy and mining. Saudi Oil
Minister Ali Al-Naimi said yesterday
that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom will work
to satisfy global energy markets and
to moderate prices.
“We will provide the markets with what
they need,” Naimi told reporters on
the sidelines of a ministerial meeting
in Riyadh. “We will work to moderate
prices.” He said that oil prices remain
high and that he wished to see them
at a lower level.
“They are still high and we would like
to see Brent at 100 dollars,” he said,
adding that the “market determines
the prices.”
International
British annual inflation slows to near 3-year low
Annual inflation in recession-hit
Britain slowed to 2.2 percent in
September, the lowest level for almost
three years, official data showed on
Tuesday, but analysts warned that the
decline would soon reverse.
The 12-month rate compared with
inflation of 2.5 percent in August, the
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
said. The Bank of England’s target
rate stands at 2.0 percent.
“The Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
annual inflation stands at 2.2 percent
in September 2012, down from 2.5
percent in August. This is the slowest
rate of inflation since November 2009,
when it was 1.9 percent,” the ONS
said in a statement.
September’s level matched analysts’
consensus forecast, according to a
survey by Dow Jones Newswires. The
CPI advanced 0.4 percent in
September on a month-on-month
basis.
“The (annual) rate of inflation has now
more than halved since its peak last
September, bringing welcome relief to
the budgets of families and businesses,”
a Treasury spokesperson said.
The ONS added the inflation rate
dropped last month as energy price
rises in September 2011 were not
repeated.
However over the past week, British
energy companies have announced
new large increases to domestic gas
and electricity prices.
“UK inflation fell to within a whisker of
its 2.0 percent target in September,
although the fall is likely to be the last
for a while,” said Vicky Redwood,
chief UK economist at Capital
Economics research group.
“Inflation might now edge up a bit over
the next couple of months. The
recently announced utility price
increases will add 0.1 percent to
inflation for each of the next three
months.
“And food prices could start to rise as
past commodity price increases feed
through, while the rise in (university)
tuition fees will boost inflation in
October,” she added.
In a sign of stubborn inflationary
pressures, the ONS also revealed on
Tuesday that the price of goods
leaving factories in Britain increased
last month on the back of higher fuel
costs.
Producers’ output prices rose 2.5
percent in September from the same
month a year earlier, official data
showed.
That compared with a 2.3-percent
gain in August and beat market
expectations for a September
increase of 2.2 percent.
Economist Chitraj Channa, at the
Centre for Economics and Business
Research consultancy, agreed that
inflation was likely to climb in the
coming months.
“On balance, whilst annual consumer
price inflation fell in September, the
presence of upward pressures in the
pipeline indicate that this is likely to be
the trough before the climb.”
EU to police banks
European leaders agreed to police
thousands of eurozone banks
beginning next year as they sought to
boost growth in their austeritybattered economies and create muchneeded jobs. By the close of a twoday summit, France and Germany
had patched up differences over how
to beat the debt crisis, although the
new watchdog for 6,000 banks will
come too late to re-float Spanish
lenders via a dedicated rescue fund.
Leaders also hailed a 120-billion-euro
($155-billion) package of measures to
try and kickstart a climb out of
recession as social and political
unrest hits Greece and Spain. Ideas
included using proceeds from a
proposed tax on financial transactions
to tackle youth unemployment
currently running in these two
countries at more than 50 percent.
Difficult decisions remain to be taken
in two more summits before
Christmas, as Britain’s David
Cameron threatened to veto the
European Union’s budget for the rest
of the decade and snub the Nobel
Peace Prize-giving ceremony in Oslo
in December.
Conflicts in Syria and Mali, as well as
Iran’s disputed nuclear programme
also figured among their chief
concerns. But with market pressures
considerably eased since the
summer, eurozone and EU leaders
found common ground with the fresh
commitment to bird’s eye bank
supervision led by the European
Central Bank.
This is supposed to anchor a redesigned economic and monetary
union that leaders are beginning to
believe-after three years in full crisis
mode-can make the euro more
attractive to EU states still outside the
currency bloc.
After an 11-hour session into the wee
hours to reach the bank supervision
deal, German Chancellor Angela
Merkel said it was not about “trying to
bargain for extra days or months,” but
rather ensuring a “solid legal
framework” could be found by yearend.
“We need democratic legitimacy,” she
said, plus further clarity on dealing
with eurozone banks in non-euro
27
International
territories, especially the global
financial centre of London, and viceversa. “There will not be a retroactive
direct recapitalisation,” she said.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said
a Merkel plan to create a “supercommissioner” with powers to
intervene directly in states’ tax-andspending plans flopped.
French President Francois Hollande
said the summit outcome was “a good
deal” but he resisted a German push
to change the EU treaty next year
after a December summit that is
meant to nail down “concrete” moves
to tighten centralisation of economic
policy.
Hollande said he didn’t see the “utility
of adding new mechanisms.” He did,
however, suggest that the fruits of a
financial transactions tax (FTT) that a
group of EU states want to start next
year be “dedicated to youth training”
to get a lost generation of European
youths into employment.
The French leader also urged a “quick
decision” on the resumption of
Greece’s long-paused bailout.
Recent EU-wide praise for Greece
has suggested a more sympathetic
hearing for a two-year extension
Athens seeks on its commitments,
though leaders urged the coalition
government to stick to the goals of its
debt bailout.
“The country’s reserves are only
sufficient until November 16,” Greek
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said,
while adding that “the climate has
changed” among partners in Brussels.
28
Hollande, who will shortly follow
Merkel in visiting Greece himself, also
warned against “adding austerity to
austerity”
by
imposing
harsh
conditions on Spain if it were to
request a full sovereign European
bailout. In a clear sign that social
unrest is far from over, Spain’s main
unions called a general strike for
November 14.
Striking Greeks protest
austerity
Greek police clashed with antiausterity protesters hurling stones
and petrol bombs on the day of a
general strike that brought much of
the near-bankrupt country to a
standstill.
In the second major walkout in three
weeks almost 40,000 protesters
marched in Athens in a bid to show
EU leaders meeting in Brussels that
new wage and pension cuts will only
worsen their plight after five years of
recession.
Tensions mounted when a small
group of protesters began throwing
pieces of marble, bottles and petrol
bombs at police barricading part of the
square in front of parliament,
prompting riot police to fire several
rounds of teargas to disperse them. A
65-year old protester died of a heart
attack, hospital sources told Reuters.
Another three people were injured.
Police detained about 50 protesters
suspected of attacking them. Most
business and public sector activity
ground to a halt at the start of the 24hour strike called by the country’s two
biggest labour unions, ADEDY and
GSEE. “Enough is enough.
They’ve dug our graves, shoved us in
and we are waiting for the priest to
read
the
last
words,”
said
Konstantinos Balomenos, a 58-yearold worker at a water utility whose
wage has been halved to 900 euros
and who has two unemployed sons.
It was the third time since late
September that tens of thousands of
Greeks have taken to the streets
holding banners and chanting slogans
to show their anger at austerity
policies imposed by EU and IMF
lenders in exchange for aid. Some
were carrying Greek, Spanish and
Portuguese flags and shouted: “EU,
IMF out”.
“Agreeing to catastrophic measures
means driving society to despair and
the consequences as well as the
protests will then be indefinite,” said
Yannis Panagopoulos, head of the
GSEE private sector union, one of two
major unions that represent about 2
million people, or half of Greece’s
workforce.
Greece is stuck in its worst downturn
since World War Two and must make
at least 11.5 billion euros of cuts to
satisfy the “troika” of the European
Commission, European Central Bank
and IMF, and secure the next tranche
of
a
130-billion-euro
bailout.
European Union leaders will try to
bridge their differences over plans for
a banking union at a two-day summit.
International
No
substantial
decisions
are
expected, reviving concerns about
complacency in tackling the debt
crisis which exploded three years ago
in Greece. The austerity policies being
pursued in Europe’s indebted
Mediterranean countries at the behest
of Germany and other rich euro zone
members will drive the euro apart,
protesters warned. “This can’t go on.
We sure need measures but not as
tough as the ones (German
Chancellor Angela) Merkel is asking
for,” said Dimitris Mavronassos, a 40year-old shipyard worker who has not
been paid for six months.
The strike emptied streets and offices
in Athens. Ships stayed in port,
Athens public transport was disrupted
and hospitals were working with
emergency staff, while public offices,
ministries, bakeries and other shops
were shut. Newspaper kiosk owners,
lawyers, taxi drivers and air traffic
controllers were among those
protesting over the cuts, which include
further drastic reductions in welfare
and health spending.
Opinion polls show rising anger with
the terms of the bailout keeping the
economy
afloat,
and
Greeks
becoming increasingly pessimistic
about their country’s future. “The new,
painful package should not be
passed,” the ADEDY public sector
union said in a statement. “The new
demands will only finish off what’s left
of our labour, pension and social
rights.”
But with Greece due to run out of
money next month, Athens has little
choice but to push through the
austerity package being discussed
with lenders. Greece and inspectors
from the troika say they have agreed
on most issues. Athens is expected to
secure aid needed to avoid
bankruptcy given EU determination to
avoid fresh market turmoil threatening
bigger economies such as Spain and
Italy.
But the protests are expected to
increase pressure on Greece’s fragile
three-party coalition cobbled together
in June to implement the harsh
austerity terms under its international
130-billion euro bailout agreed in
March.
Emboldened by the strikes, the main
opposition Syriza party turned up the
heat on the government. “Their time is
running out,” said the party’s 38-year
old leader Alexis Tsipras who took part
in the march. “People are taking
matters into their own hands.”
World faces ‘dangerous’
economic cocktail
The world faces a “dangerous”
cocktail of low growth and high
unemployment, OECD chief Angel
Gurria said yesterday, after the global
body warned of gloomier prospects
for major economies.
The Organization for Economic
Cooperation
and
Development
(OECD), in its latest global overview,
said this month leading indicators for
the 34-nation body point to
“weakening growth in coming
quarters” for most major economies.
“You have a problem of high
unemployment especially among the
youth-growing inequalities and low
growth-and in some cases contracting
growth,” Gurria said at an OECD
conference in New Delhi on
measuring global wellbeing. “Like the
James Bond cocktail-when you shake
together and do not stir-you have a
very, very dangerous combination,” he
told a news conference.
Some 50 million people are
unemployed in OECD countries — 15
million more than in 2008 at the onset
of the global financial crisis, he said.
“Five years on, it is still ongoing,”
added Gurria, secretary-general of
the Paris-based organisation that
leading
groups
the
world’s
industrialised
democracies.
Unemployment in Greece is at a
record 25.1 percent as its economy
contracts, while in Spain the jobless
rate is 24.6 percent as the
government implements austerity
measures to fend off a sovereign
bailout. The gap between rich and
poor is now at its widest in 30 years
with governments facing a loss of
confidence in their ability to deal with
boosting growth, tackling debt and
making the financial sector more
stable, Gurria said.
But he also said there also were signs
of progress in tackling Europe’s debt
crisis. He praised the European
Central Bank’s (ECB) plan to launch a
bond purchase scheme for debtwracked countries to safeguard the
euro that has spurred hopes the
financial crisis can be beaten.
“It showed they (the ECB) had the
muscle power, the bazookas” to help
turn around market sentiment towards
the euro and stabilise markets, the
OECD chief said, and he added that a
eurozone “banking union is now on
the table”. Eurozone leaders earlier
this year agreed to common
supervision of lenders by January
2013 — a step toward joint bailouts of
troubled banks and safeguarding
depositors’ money. But there is still
discord over the scope of the banking
supervisor’s powers as well as the
timeframe.
“It (banking union) is going to happennot now-but maybe in January 2014,”
Gurria said later. At the same time, to
avert another blow to the global
economy, he said it was vital the US
Congress clinches a deal on the
“fiscal cliff” facing the United Statesautomatic budget cuts and higher
taxes due to take effect in January.
Lack of agreement on averting or at
least postponing the measures would
“put the US economy into recession”
and the global economy would also
suffer, he warned.
29
International
India ‘key player’ in G20:
US Fed chief
India is becoming an increasingly “key
player” on the world stage, US
Federal Reserve chairman Ben
Bernanke said after talks with the
country’s central bank chief in
Mumbai. Bernanke and US Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner, on a twoday visit to the country to forge closer
ties, met Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
governor Duvvuri Subbarao in the
commercial capital.
“We had a very constructive first
meeting. We discussed policy
challenges facing both the US and
India and global challenges,” said
Bernanke, the first serving Fed chief
to visit the bank.
“We also discussed monetary policy
and banking regulations which are of
mutual interest. India is becoming
more and more a key player on the
G20 stage,” Bernanke added. The
visit is part of Washington’s attempts
to pursue closer diplomatic links with
India as an ally in Asia, as well as
boosting commercial ties and access
for its companies in the huge and
largely untapped South Asian market.
In the capital New Delhi, Geithner
welcomed a blitz of economic reforms
in India which open the door wider to
foreign firms, describing them as
“obviously very promising” after
meeting
Finance
Minister
P.
Chidambaram. In April, Geithner had
criticized
India’s
deteriorating
investment outlook, but last month the
government invited greater foreign
investment in the retail, broadcasting
and aviation sectors.
Last week, the Indian government
went further, proposing bigger
overseas investment in the insurance
and pension industries, but analysts
say the country is still a long way from
returning to a highgrowth path.
30
The economy slowed sharply to 5.5
percent in the most recent financial
quarter. It had logged near doubledigits in the past decade. The central
bank has held interest rates
unchanged since April to keep a lid on
high inflation, despite pressure from
business leaders and the government
to cut borrowing costs and give a
further boost to the flagging economy.
British finance minister
outlines new welfare cuts
British finance minister George
Osborne said that the government will
slash the welfare bill by £10 billion as
it seeks to tame a massive deficit.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne
told his Conservative party that the
world's seventh largest economy was
"healing" but that Britain needed to
stick to the course of tough austerity
measures.
He indicated that young unemployed
people were likely to see reduced
housing benefit and that there could
be a limit to the number of children
covered by benefits for jobless
people.
Osborne also ruled out a so-called
"mansion tax" on big houses, a move
that is likely to anger the Liberal
Democrats, the junior partners in the
coalition government who favour
squeezing the rich.
"The great bulk of savings must come
from cutting government spending,
not raising taxes," Osborne said to
applause from delegates at the party
conference in the central English city
of Birmingham.
"We have to find greater savings in
the welfare bill, £10 billion ($16.1
billion, 12.4 billion euros) of welfare
savings by the first full year of the next
parliament" in 2016/17, he said.
The reductions are in addition to the
£18 billion in welfare cuts that are
already planned by 2015 by
Conservative Prime Minister David
Cameron's coalition, which came to
power in 2010.
Osborne's announcement will please
his centre-right party but risks
cementing a reputation that the leftleaning Independent newspaper
summed up in its headline: "Welcome
to the Nasty Party conference."
Angry protests erupted in late 2010 in
Britain over plans to raise university
tuition fees, cut benefits and slash
costs in the public sector.
The chancellor however defended the
coalition's record in a combative
speech, saying its austerity measures
had inspired other governments as
they battle big deficits.
"We took the risk few political parties
anywhere in the world are prepared to
take before an election," he said.
"The economy is healing. That healing
is taking longer than we hoped,
because the damage was greater
than we feared. But let the message
from this conference be clear: we will
finish the job we have started," he
said.
Osborne said it was unfair that those
on benefits should earn more than
those who have jobs.
"How can we justify that people in
work have to weigh up the costs of
having another child when those out
of work don't?" Osborne added.
"How can we justify giving flats to
young people who have never
worked, when working people twice
their age are still living with their
parents because they can't afford their
first home?"
The Liberal Democrats are opposed
to further welfare cuts unless new
wealth taxes are also introduced but
Osborne rejected their proposals for a
tax on high-value homes.
"It's not a Mansion Tax, it's a Homes
Tax and this party of home ownership
will have no truck with it," he said.
International
The coalition promised to cut Britain's
record deficit when it was elected in
May 2010 but it has struggled with a
double-dip recession.
A mixture of economic worries and a
series of government failures dubbed
the "Omnishambles" by political
commentators in Britain has seen the
Conservatives' poll ratings plummet.
A YouGov poll in the Sunday Times
put the Conservatives on 31 percent,
the Labour opposition on 45 percent,
with the Liberal Democrats on eight
percent and other parties on 15
percent combined.
IMF cuts global growth
forecasts
The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) yesterday presented a gloomier
picture of the global economy than a
few months ago, saying prospects
have deteriorated further and risks
increased.
In its World Economic Outlook, the
IMF slashed its growth forecast for
large parts of the world economy and
warned of a full-blown global slump if
policymakers in Europe or the US
mishandle serious threats.
“Risks for recession in the advanced
economies are alarmingly high. The
intensity of the euro area crisis has
not abated as assumed in previous
projections,” it said.
The warning came from the
Washington-based lender when it
unveiled its outlook in Tokyo ahead of
the IMF-World Bank 2012 Annual
Meetings.
Overall, the lender's forecast for
global growth was marked down to
3.3 percent this year and a still
sluggish 3.6 percent in 2013.
The IMF said advanced economies
are projected to grow by 1.3 percent
this year, compared with 1.6 percent
last year and 3.0 percent in 2010, with
public spending cutbacks and the stillweak financial system weighing on
prospects.
Growth in emerging market and
developing economies was marked
down compared with forecasts in July
and April to 5.3 percent, against 6.2
percent last year. Leading emerging
markets such as China, India, Russia,
and Brazil will all see slower growth.
Growth in the volume of world trade is
projected to slump to 3.2 percent this
year from 5.8 percent last year and
12.6 percent in 2010.
In developing Asia, real GDP growth
will average 6.7 percent in 2012 and is
forecast to accelerate at 7.25 percent
in the second half of 2012. The main
driver will be China, where activity is
expected to receive a boost from
accelerated approval of public
infrastructure projects.
China, the world's second largest
economy, will also see its economy to
grow 7.8 percent this year and 8.2
percent next year. India will grow by
4.9 percent and 6 percent in 2012 and
2013 respectively.
The IMF said the outlook for India is
unusually uncertain: for 2012, with
weak growth in the first half and a
continued investment slowdown, real
GDP growth is projected to be close to
5 percent, but improvements in
external conditions and confidence -helped by a variety of reforms
announced very recently -- are
projected to raise the real GDP
growth.
IMF
Chief
Economist
Olivier
Blanchard said the world economic
recovery continues, but it has
weakened further.
"In advanced economies, growth is
now too low to make a substantial
dent in unemployment, and in major
emerging markets, growth, which had
been strong earlier, has also
decreased."
Blanchard said there are two forces -fiscal consolidation and weak financial
systems -- which continue to pull
growth down.
"In most countries, fiscal consolidation
is proceeding according to plan, and
while consolidation is needed, there is
no question that it is weighing on
demand and, therefore, on output.
And, the evidence increasingly
suggests that in the current
environment, the fiscal multipliers, the
effect of fiscal consolidation on
demand and output, are large."
"The financial system is still not
functioning efficiently. In many
countries, probably more so in Europe
than either in the US or in Japan,
banks are still weak, and their position
is made worse by low growth. As a
result, many borrowers still face tight
borrowing conditions, decreasing their
demand as well."
The forecast said that monetary policy
in advanced economies was expected
to remain supportive. Major central
banks have recently launched new
programs to buy bonds and keep
interest rates low.
But the global financial system
remains fragile and efforts in
advanced economies to rein in
budgetary spending, while necessary,
have slowed a recovery.
The recovery is forecast to limp along
in the major advanced economies,
with growth remaining at a fairly
healthy level in many emerging
market and developing economies.
In the United States, growth will
average 2.2 percent this year. Real
GDP is projected to expand by about
1.5 percent during the second half of
2012, rising to 2.75 percent later in
2013.
In the euro area, real GDP is
projected to decline by 0.4 percent in
2012 overall, about 0.75 percent (on
an annualised basis) during the
second half of 2012.
With lower budget cuts and domestic
and euro area, wide policies
supporting a further improvement in
financial conditions later in 2013, real
GDP is projected to stay flat in the first
half of 2013 and expand by about 1
percent in the second half.
31
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Share Market
Share Market Intelligence
Dhaka Stock Exchange
Company
United Air
Jamuna Oil Co.
Olympic Ind
UCBL
Grameenphone
Keya Cosmetics
Titas Gas
Delta Spinners
Meghna Petroleum
National Bank
Company
Volume
(Shares)
95,135,03
5,133,44
9,247,80
47,889,31
7,096,65
29,077,69
10,951,00
14,248,00
2,492,19
21,332,02
Dhaka Stock Exchange
Grameen Phone
Titas Gas Trans.
ICB
Square Pharma
Islami Bank Ltd.
BATBC
Unique Hotel RL
National Bank
Prime Bank Ltd.
BEXIMCO Ltd.
Currency
US$
EUR
GBP
AUD
YEN
CAD
S’PORE$
Mkt. Cap
(M. Tk.)
2,367.62
80,730
71,868
65,263
52,678
47,548
37,645
35,930
32,106
29,999
(as on 31 October, 2012)
Top 10 Turnover Leaders
Value
(M Tk.)
284.391
167.199
160,790
131.004
124.436
114.343
93.837
67.143
62.010
53.994
Company
12.1
4.13
3.67
3.34
2.69
2.43
1.92
1.84
1.64
1.53
Exchange Rates
Source : The Independent &The Financial Express
Volume
(Shares)
UCBL
United Air
Grameenphone
Keya Cosmetics
Beacon Pharma
BD Submarine Cable
BSRM Steels
Unique Hotel RL
Loympic Ind.
amra Technologies
Top 10 Market Capitals
% of Total
(Mkt. Cap)
Chittagong Stock Exchange
Company
Grameen Phone
Titas Gas Trans.
ICB
Square Pharma
Islami Bank Ltd.
BATBC
Unique Hotel RL
National Bank
Prime Bank Ltd.
Pubali Bank
19,172,19
12,557,72
1,450,00
4,504,20
6,370,50
845,00
1,568,20
87,600
62,200
1,452,50
81.20
105.06
130.68
84.19
1.02
81.36
66.52
52.807
37.427
25.407
17.769
14.798
13.067
12.236
11.231
10.856
8.904
Chittagong Stock Exchange
Mkt. Cap
(M. Tk.)
(as on 31 October, 2012)
Buying
Value
(M Tk.)
2,366,00
80,683
76,781
65,092
52,415
47,910
37,745
36,115
31,470
30,235
% of Total
(Mkt. Cap.)
12.47
4.25
4.05
3.43
2.76
2.53
1.99
1.90
1.66
1.59
Selling
81.22
105.09
130.72
84.24
1.02
81.43
66.56
37
Trade Information
TRADE INFORMATION
Prepared by DCCI Research Cell
October - 2012
10
The following Trade Inquiries have been received in the Chamber from different sources abroad. Interested member-firms may
like to contact them directly without any obligation on the part of DCCI.
FOREIGN EXPORTERS
HANCOLE CORPORATION
Philippines.
Website : www.hancolegroup.com
Items: RMB Coconut Oil, Isopropyl Myristate (IPM), Medium Chain
Triglyceride (MCT), Coco Diethanolamide (CDEA), Coco
Diethanolamide (CAPB), Glyceryl Monostearate (GMS), Sodium
Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Toilet Soap
Noodles, Refined Glycerine, Distilled coconut Fatty Acid, Triple
Pressed Stearic Acid.
Cámara de Comercio of Jaén
Calle Hurtado 29
23001 – Jaén, Spain.
Fax : 953 24 07 38
www.camarajaen.org
Attn : Sr. D. Luis Carfos Garcla Sánchez, President
Tel: 953 24 79 50
Attn: Sra. Da. Olga Martinez
Head of the Foreign Trade department
Tel: 953 24 79 53
Items: Chemical works, Tanneries, Distilleries, Cookies Factories and
Textile Factories.
KOREA INTERNATIONAL WELDING & CUTTING
TECHNOLOGY SHOW 2012
South Asian Trade Fair
FAIR AND EXHIBITION
Date : 21-24 November, 2012
Venue : Changwon Exhibition Convention Center (CECO)
Changwon City, South Korea
Website : www.weldingshow.co.kr
Organizer :
Welding Korea 2012 Secretariat
641-200, Changwon Exhibition Convention Center
362 Wonidacro Uichang-gu, Changwon-si
Gycongsuam-do, Korea.
Tel: +82-55-212-1012, 104 Fax : +82-55-212-1200
E-mail: ylroh@cocx.co.kt
THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL FOUNDRY CONGRESS & EXHIBITION
(IFCE)
Date : 05-06 December, 2012
Venue : Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan
Organizer :
Pakistan Foundry Association
93-B Hali Road Gulberg-11, Lahore, Pakistan.
Tel: +92 42 35023525, 35753619
Fax : +92 42 35755743, E-mail : info@pfa.org.pk,
ifcc@pfa.org.pk
Attn : Mr. Abdul Rashid, Secretary
CHINA INTERNATIONAL FOOD EXHIBITION-2012
Date : 07-09 December, 2012
Venue : China International Exhibition Center
Organizer :
38
Beijing Century Exhibition Co. Ltd.
Add: Room 0904, Building 1, Dongqu International Apartment
No. 1 Ciyunsi, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China.
Tel: +86-10-51265397-886-820, Mob: 0171336.3366,
01911811833
Fax : +86-10-51600509 , E-mail: myy@gmail.com
Attn: Ms. Eva Mu
Date: 14-17 February, 2013
Country: Spain
Contact: www.satradefair.com
www.satradefair.es
Mr. Mahmudul Islam
Commercial Counselor
Embassy of Bangladesh in Madrid
Diego de leon, 69, 2 D-28006 Madrid
Tel: (34)914019932, (34)913092735
Fax: bdembmol@gmail.com
Tech Bangladesh 2012
Second International Exhibition on Agricultural Industry
Date: 13-16 December, 2012
Venue: Rural Development Academy (RDA), Bogra, Bangladesh
Organizer: RDA, LIMRA
Contact: www.limratradefairs.com, www.rda.gov.bd
46th Session of Cairo International Fair 2013
Organizer: Egypt Expo & Convention Authority (EECA)
Date: 19-29 March, 2013
Application Deadline: 15/02/2013
Contact: Tel: +20224032968, +20222607839
Fax: +2022607845, +2022607848
Email: info@cairofair.com, reservation@cairofair.com
23rd Vietnam International Trade Fair
Date: 10-13 April, 2013
Venue: Vietnam Exhibition & Fair Centre, Giang Vo Road
Hanoi, S.R. Vietnam
Contact: Vinexad Exhibition & Event
Email: thuytt@vinexad.com.vn, thuthuyvinexad@yahoo.fr
Tel: +844.38255546 ext:442
mobile: +84.912..58.82
Pictorial
Industries Minister Dilip Barua
(right) speaking at the luncheon
hosted by DCCI in honour of
the visiting delegation from D-8
countries at Ruposhi Bangla
Hotel on October 8. DCCI
President Asif Ibrahim (second
from left), D-8 Secretary
General Dr. Widi Pratikto (third
from right), Deputy Minister for
Industry of Turkey Davut
Kavranoglu,
Minister
for
Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran
Mahdi Ghazanfari are also
seen.
D-8 Secretary General Dr. Widi
Pratikto seen addressing the
Luncheon hosted by DCCI in
honour of the visiting D-8
delegation on the occasion of
D-8 ministerial conference on
Industry at Hotel Ruposhi
Bangla on October 10.
Industries Minister Dilip Barua
(fourth from right), Minister for
Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran
Mahdi
Ghazanfari,
Deputy
Minister for Industry of Turkey
Davut Kavranoglu, Advisor to the
Prime Minsiter of Pakistan Raza
Muhammad Basharat, DCCI
President Asif Ibrahim (fourth
from left), President of ICCBangladesh & former President,
DCCI Mahbubur Rahman (left),
D-8 Secretary General Dr. Widi
Pratikto (second from right) are
seen at the luncheon hosted by
DCCI in honour of the visiting D8 delegation on the occasion of
D-8 ministerial conference on
Industry at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla
on October 10.
39
Pictorial
DCCI President Asif Ibrahim
(right) addressing the 7th
meeting of the working group
on industrial cooperation of D-8
countries at Ruposhi Bangla
Hotel on October 8. Industries
Minister Dilip Barua (third from
left), D-8 Secretary General Dr.
Widi Pratikto (left) are also
seen in the picture.
A partial view of the guests
attended
the
luncheon
programme of DCCI on the
occasion of D-8 ministerial
conference on Industry at Hotel
Ruposhi Bangla on October 10.
40
Coordinating Director, DBI
Standing Committee & former
Vice President, DCCI and Chief
Guest Kh. Shahidul Islam
(centre), Executive Director
Md. Hossain Ali (second from
right), Additional Executive
Director Ashish Kumar Paul
(right), Resource Person Aftab
Mahmud Khurshid (second
from left) and Assistant
Secretary
&
Course
Coordinator Tamanna Sultana
(left) are seen along with the
participants in the certificategiving ceremony of ‘Market,
Sales Promotion and Branding’
training course, organized by
the DCCI Business Institute
(DBI) on October 10 at the
Institute’s premises.

October 2012

Transcription

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