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The government is set to adopt a medium-term budgetary framework from the next fiscal year with four key ministries preparing their own revenue and development outlay for the next three years in the initial phase, sources in the finance ministry have told New Age.
   The finance ministry has already set a guideline for the agriculture, education, social welfare, and women and children affairs, asking them to prepare their budgets for the next fiscal year with projected expenditures for 2006-07 and 2007-08.
   Once prepared, the budgets for the next fiscal will be placed before the parliament for approval while the projections will be considered as ‘indicative’, says the guideline.
   The development projects in the budgets must have the mention of possible sources of financing, and the ministries have to consult with the Economic Relations Division about availability of external finance, adds the guideline.
   The objective of the medium-term budgetary framework, first of its kind in Bangladesh, is to strengthen capacity of the administrative ministries to prepare budget and ensure their involvement with the government’s development perspective under its medium-term macroeconomic framework, says the guideline.
   ‘Besides strengthening the administrative ministries, the MTBF would have a development planning of ministries concerned for a longer period that would help implementing different projects successfully and develop the planning thought of government officials,’ said a finance ministry high official.
   The move will also help achieve targets of poverty reduction and raise the growth of the gross domestic product, he said.
   Officials concerned of the four ministries have been given a technical briefing at a meeting held on April 16 in the finance ministry, with the joint secretary (budget), Mohammed Tarek, in the chair, the sources said.
   The number of ministries under the framework could be raised between 10 and 15 from the 2006-2007 fiscal year as the government has plans for all ministries to prepare their own budgets by 2015, sources said. The Planning Commission is currently prepares development budget.
   The government has not yet decided what different development wings of the commission will do once all the ministries start preparing their own budgets, the sources added.

The government is planning to withdraw the provision of the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) by this year, the NBR chairman said on Wednesday.
   ‘The government is thinking to withdraw the PSI system to ensure transparency in revenue collection as well as stop all kinds of harassment in the country’s export-import trade,’ said Khairuzzaman Chowdhury, chairman of the National Board of Revenue.
   The NBR chairman made this disclosure while exchanging views with the leaders of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).
   He reiterated that tax holiday scheme will no longer exist, but instead entrepreneurs would be provided with alternative incentives.
   The NBR chairman stressed the need for increased revenue incomes to mobilise more internal resources for funding development schemes.
   Earlier, the Chittagong chamber president, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed referred to various harassments faced by the traders during customs checking from both customs people and PSI agencies.
   In response, the NBR chairman said that the government had already undertaken a programme to reform the revenue administration to facilitate the businessmen by easing the revenue collection system.
   Khairuzzaman said that the government decided to appoint a permanent bond commissioner in Chittagong in this regard soon.
   NBR members ATM Sarwar Hossain, Jahir Mohammad, Commissioner of Chittagong customs house AM Mashrur Ahmed, commissioner of Customs Excise and VAT Nur Mohammad Mia, bond commissioner Enayet Hossain, member (finance) of the Chittagong Port Authority Abul Kashem and senior vice-president of the CCCI SM Nurul Haque also spoke at the function.

Agora superstore introduces Malaysian baby products of Japlo brand with special offer at its Gulshan outlet on Wednesday.
   Japlo has brought a total of 130 baby items including lotion, shampoo, diaper, feeding bottle and nipple.
   As part of promotional campaign, Agora offers special discount on each of the items.
   Some other products have also been brought under Agora’s special sales programme.
   Lee Cher Ling, representative of Takasso – the parent company of Japlo TD Pakir, Shams Haider, executive of Rahimafrooz Superstores Ltd- the operator of Agora and Nurul Islam, director of Tanro Ltd, the sole distributor of Japlo products in Bangladesh were present at the product launching ceremony.

Import and export trades through Benapole land port resumed on Wednesday afternoon as the Indian port users withdrew their strike.
   The three port user organisations at Petrapole land port in India including Transport Workers’ Union, Truck Owners Association and Customs Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) Agents Association called the strike as the Border Security Force imposed ban on entrance of truck helpers to Benapole.
   The port user organisations withdrew their strike as the ban was lifted following a meeting with the BSF men.
   Earlier on Monday, the BSF suddenly imposed a ban on truck helpers entering Benapole from Petrapole with their loaded trucks. Only the drivers were allowed to enter Bangladesh. Protesting the BSF ban, truck drivers called an indefinite strike.
   Over one thousand trucks loaded with various goods including perishable ones remained stranded at Petrapole land port.
   Mohshin Milon, joint secretary of Benapole C & F Agents Association told New Age that perishable goods worth about Tk one crore have already been damaged. Cross border movement of C & F agents also resumed after the meeting.
   BSS reports from Rangpur: Two major land ports in the country’s northern region has remained inoperative.
   Sources at the land ports said all activities remained suspended at Hilli Land Port at Dinajpur border on Wednesday following an indefinite strike called by Hilli Exporters’ and Customs Clearing Agents’ Association of Hilli Land Customs Station on Indian side of Dakkshin Dinajpur district.
   The secretary general of the association, Ashoke Kumar Mondal, Said this in a letter to president and secretary of the Clearing and Forwarding Agent’s Association (CFAA) of HLP in Bangladesh on Tuesday evening.
   The letter says the association called the indefinite strike protesting double tax collections by their authorities while purchasing goods from Indian markets and before exporting those to Bangladesh through HLP.
   The sources also said that all import and export activities have remained suspended along the Burimari border since 2 pm on Tuesday following an indefinite work abstention called by the clearing and forwarding Agent’s Association of the Burimari land port.
   The CFAA of Burimari land port resorted to this step protesting alleged misbehaviour by a customs official with the clearing and forwarding agents in the name of imposing some new rules. However, customs sources denied any incident of misbehaviour.

The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh has urged the government to lower the apartment registration and handover tax to 9 per cent.
   The association, in its budget proposal for fiscal year 2005-06, also demanded zero tariff on all goods and services used in housing sector.
   ‘The present 14.5 per cent registration and handover tax along with one per cent municipal tax makes a tax burden of 15.5 per cent, which is the highest in real estate sector in the world,’ said Toufiq M Seraj, president of the REHAB.
   The association also proposed 5 per cent registration and handover tax for second-time ownership transfer.
   ‘We need a secondary market for real estate industry as limited income group people prefer used apartments due to low cost while some people want to shift to new apartments,’ he told New Age.
   Toufiq was of the view that imposing the same amount of tax for the second time handover is a major hindrance to the growth of secondary apartment market. The association president said that interest rate on housing loan should be single digit.
   In its budget proposal, the association also urged for easing tax procedures on income earned from the housing sector.
   It proposed two per cent tax on the deed value or Tk 100 per square metre for apartment, which one is higher, for Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations and one per cent tax of deed value or Tk 20 per square metre, which one is higher, for divisional and district headquarters.
   Moreover, the association is in favour of continuing section 19-B of income tax manual under which people who purchase apartments paying certain amount of tax on flat rate would not be questioned further by income tax authority.
   ‘It would encourage people to pay tax without concealing their real income.’
   At present, real estate sector contributes 12 per cent to the GDP.

Nepal is keen to invest in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in Bangladesh.
   A five-member Nepalese delegation led by Commerce Secretary Bharat Bahadur Thapa said this while talking to Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury at his secretariat office in Dhaka Wedesday.
   After the talks, the minister told journalists that a proposal for duty-free access of Nepalese products to Bangladesh was given at the meeting.
   Besides, another proposal for duty reduction for Bangladeshi products to Nepal was also made.
   The Nepal’s commerce secretary proposed for introducing Dhaka-Kathmandu bus service.
   He also proposed for simplifying visa procedure for the Nepalese tourists, students and businessmen so that they could visit Bangladesh easily.

Private limited companies will be converted into public limited ones if their paid-up capital crosses ‘certain’ ceiling, which has not yet been set but will not be less than Tk10 crore.
   The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday took the decision at its board meeting presided over by chairman Mirza Azizul Islam.
   Subsequently, if any company wants to further raise its paid-up capital, it has to float initial public offerings (IPOs) in the capital market.
   ‘We will make it compulsory for each private company to turn into a public limited one once its capital goes up to a certain amount,’ Aziz told New Age after the meeting.
   ‘We are yet to finalise it [amount]. But we will do it soon, hopefully, within two weeks,’ he said.
   The capital market regulator took the decision with a view to building a broad-based industrial capacity in the country as well as making the capital market vibrant.
   ‘We hope that this will help bring good shares [in the stock markets],’ the SEC boss said.
   Earlier in October 2004, the commission made it mandatory for any private company to seek prior permission from the commission for raising capital above Tk 10 crore.

One Group looks set to debut its food products in the world market within four months, initially targeting the Bangladeshi-owned restaurants in the United Kingdom, company officials said.
   The One Consumer Products Limited will gradually expand its market in several Asian, Middle Eastern and North American destinations, Giasuddin Al Mamun, managing director, told a press conference in Dhaka Wednesday.
   Around 10,000 restaurants in the UK offer a huge market for Bangladeshi food items, said Tommy Mia, chairman of the company.
   Products include spices, cookies, candy, chanachur, nut, muri, chira, pickle, noodles, semai, purified mineral water and ice. Rajib Siraj, director of the group, said the food products are of international standard.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has asked China for duty-free access of Bangladeshi garments.
   The request was made by BGMEA leaders when they made a courtesy call on the Chinese ambassador in Dhaka Chai Xi at his office Wednesday. BGMEA leaders also asked the Chinese ambassador for technical support and training.
   Besides BGMEA leaders sought simplification of Visa procedure for Bangladeshi exporters.

Minar Industries Ltd., the country’s first knitwear exporting company, won the ISO 9001: 2000 certificate, says a press release.
   Moodi International, the international standard certification organisation, gave the certificate to Moodi Industries.
   The commerce minister, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, handed over the certificate to the chairman of Minar Industries, Md Mozammel Hoque, at a function on Tuesday.
   MA Awal, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association, Anisul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Manzurul Hoque, managing director of Minar Industries, among others, were present on the occasion.

Tele Barta Limited signed an inter-connection agreement with the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) on Wednesday, says a press release.
   Engr. Md Nurul Islam, chairman of BTTB and ANM Golam Sarwar, managing director, Tele Barta Ltd. signed the agreement on behalf of the respective sides.
   Fazlul Huq, Mesbahuddin Ahmed, members of BTTB, Hossain Al-Masum, chairman of Tele Barta, Abu Mohammad Syeed, Lokman Hossain, Jahangir Alam, directors of Tele Barta and senior officials of’ BTTB, Tele Barta and Motorola were present in the signing ceremony.

Shahnoor Electronics Ltd., distributor of TCL brand products in Bangladesh, recently signed a supply and sponsorship agreement with Concord Entertainment Co. Ltd., says a press release.
   Under the agreement, TCL will supply its electrical equipments to Concord Amusement World — Foy’s Lake.
   Shahriar Kamal, director of Concord Group and Nur E Alam, proprietor of Shanoor Electronics Ltd., signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Vietnam, the world’s second- largest rice exporter after Thailand, said on Wednesday it has contracted to sell 3 million tonnes of the grain so far this year, or 75 percent of its initial target for the whole of 2005.
   Nguyen Thi Nguyet, general secretary of the Vietnam Food Association, told Reuters nearly 1.02 million tonnes of the 3 million tonnes contracted had been loaded and another 400,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes would be shipped this month.
   Vietnam aims to export 3.8 million to 4 million tonnes of rice in 2005, valued at $1 billion, against 3.9 million tonnes last year.
   “We do not have any fixed target for the year, but what we are doing is to sell all the rice of export quality and aim for a good price,” he said.
   The rice export contracts include around 500,000 tonnes for Cuba and 350,000 tonnes for the Philippines. Other key buyers are African nations, followed by Iran, Malaysian, Russia and Japan.
   Dealers in Pakistani said Tuesday rice prices rose over the past week after recent rains damaged thousands of tonnes of stocks, and will rise further on demand from exporters
   in the coming months.
   “Heavy rains earlier this year damaged the quality of thousands of tonnes of rice,” said Haji Abdul Majeed, a Karachi- based exporter. “The grains have turned yellow and need extra polishing, which means higher processing cost,” he said.
   Pakistan expects its rice output this April-November season to exceed 4.8 million tonnes, compared with 4.0 million last year, leaving more than 2.4 million tonnes for export.
   Some dealers estimate that at least 150,000 tonnes of rice was damaged by rain, but others say the figure was even higher.
   Majeed said Pakistan faced tough competition in the export market from cheaper rice from Thailand and Vietnam.
   “The demand for our rice is low even in Pakistan’s traditional markets such as West Africa, where sufficient stocks of Vietnamese and Thai rice are available,” he said.
   But Pakistani exports were expected to bounce back in the coming months on fresh demand in Africa and the Middle East, dealers said.

General Motors Corp. Tuesday posted a first-quarter net loss of $1.10 billion, its worst result since the industrial icon skirted bankruptcy in 1992, due to weaker US sales and growing costs for employee health care and raw materials to build cars.
   The world’s largest automaker, which alarmed the markets last month when it slashed its outlook, said its automotive operations lost $1.98 billion in the quarter, with a loss in North America alone of $1.56 billion.
   GM had a cash outflow of $4.7 billion in the first quarter, including $1.7 billion for job cuts in Europe and a payout to Fiat SpA to dissolve a partnership with the Italian automaker.
   ‘The lack of 2005 guidance will alarm some,’ JP Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel said in a research note.
   GM may be withholding a forecast because it is working with the United Auto Workers union to try to cut health-care costs, and ‘during this politically-sensitive time, it will likely want to keep its cards close to its chest,’ Patel said.
   The loss was the biggest since GM lost $21 billion in the first quarter of 1992, when changes in accounting procedures required companies to include health-care costs in earnings.

Kenyan teas met fair demand at this week’s auction, with prices varying because of a wider range of quality, traders said Tuesday.
   Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said in a report that demand for some grades fell, leading to lower prices, but others fetched higher prices and more competition.
   Prices of Brighter Best Broken Pekoe Fannings Ones (PF1s) grades ranged from $0.05 to $0.10 lower to $0.20 higher than last week.
   They sold at $1.63-$2.35 per kg compared with the last auction’s $1.70- $2.15.
   Brighter Best BP1s fetched $1.88 -2.32 compared with $1.84- 2.54. A total of 119,035 packages were offered, with 12,457 unsold. At the last auction 98,436 packages were offered, with 8,539 unsold.
   ATB said that Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries bought at levels similar to last week.
   Russia and eastern Europe bought less than they did last week, while Britain remained a selective buyer.

Japan and Australia agreed Thursday to hold two years of discussions on a potential free-trade agreement (FTA) after Canberra sealed a similar and potentially historic deal with fast-growing China.
   But it is not certain the discussions would lead to an agreement. Japan's agricultural minister has already said the two countries had no need for a deal. Japan is already Australia's biggest market.
   Australian Prime Minister John Howard and his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi announced the beginning of FTA negotiations after a summit in Tokyo.
   'We attach enormous importance to the longstanding close economic relationship,' Howard told a joint news conference.
   'I welcome the fact that both countries have agreed to elevate and enhance the economic relationship including studying the feasibility of a free trade agreement,' Howard said.
   Koizumi was cautious, saying the study would also consider the disadvantages of an FTA.
   'In the agricultural sector there could be some difficult problems' in reaching an FTA, Koizumi said.
   'The feasibility study does not necessarily mean reaching an FTA. However, we want to spend two years to study the merits and demerits of it,' Koizumi said.
   Howard came to Japan after a visit to Beijing where he signed a deal to begin talks on an FTA and recognize China as a market economy.
   If successful, the FTA would be the first between China and a developed country.
   Since 1967, Japan has been Australia's biggest export market, with Japan buying 2.1 trillion yen (19 billion US dollars) of goods ranging from beef to natural gas last year, according to the Japanese finance ministry.
   Australia is Japan's fourth largest source of imports, at 1.28 trillion yen (12.2 billion US dollars).

Cotton farmers in Africa face ruin unless rich nations deliver immediately on promises to reform trade laws to help the world’s poorest continent, the EU’s trade chief said Tuesday.
   Peter Mandelson called in a speech on members of the Geneva- based World Trade Organisation (WTO) to deliver on last year’s promise to fast-track cotton in the agricultural side of talks aimed at reaching a new global free trade accord.
   “Time is not on our side,” he said in a speech to West African cotton producers in Mali, a copy of which was made available by his Brussels office. “Collapsing prices today threaten the future of your industry tomorrow.”
   “So you cannot afford to wait while talks in Geneva move slowly towards a conclusion. You should not be held hostage to the resolution of other issues and problems in the world trade round.”
   African states, which say they have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in income because U.S. farm subsidies depress world prices, last year gave up a demand that cotton be treated as a separate chapter within WTO farm negotiations.
   In return they won a promise that cotton would be treated with “appropriate prioritisation” and that a special WTO panel would be set up to monitors cuts in rich nation subsidies.
   “The special sub-committee on cotton that has been set up in Geneva must now deliver results,” Mandelson said, apparently referring to complaints from aid organisations that the panel has done little to advance the cause of vulnerable African producers such as Benin, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali.

China’s economy expanded 9.5 per cent in the year through the first quarter, faster-than- expected growth that will put pressure on Beijing to further tighten investment and credit curbs.
   That figure compared with a median forecast of 9.1 per cent in a recent Reuters survey of 10 economists and 9.5 per cent growth in the year through the third quarter for an economy whose thundering expansion has been a key driver for global metals and oil markets.
   ‘We are still arguing for some more policy tightening, through both higher interest rates and a stronger currency. We are looking for a tightening sooner rather than later, but no draconian measures,’ said Ben Simpfendorfer, an economist with JP Morgan in Hong Kong.
   Since mid-2003 China has tried to cool its heated economy through regulatory steps such as lending limits on banks, bans on some new projects in the metals and property sectors, and making it tougher to win approval to convert land for industrial use.
   In October the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in nine years, increasing the benchmark lending rate by 0.27 percentage point to 5.58 per cent.
   Many analysts expect China to further raise interest rates this year, with their timing and scope dependent on inflation and fixed-asset investment data.
   Much of Beijing’s cooling campaign has focused on reining in fixed- asset investment, which covers spending on projects such as roads, power plants and factories.
   Fixed-asset investment grew 22.8 per cent in the year through the first quarter. Fixed-asset investment in January and February combined was up 24.5 per cent on the year.

Japan’s top three auto makers are expected to report mixed results for the latest quarter but are forecast to post more growth ahead as bumper sales and cost cuts offset a jump in raw materials costs and a weaker dollar.
   The success stories seen continuing at Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. will highlight the polarisation of the global auto industry between East and West as US car makers wither under sales erosion at home and massive liabilities related to health care.
   A persistent rise in prices of steel and other materials would continue to weigh on profits but should be offset by a sales expansion in nearly every major market, analysts said.
   Analysts say, however, that how Japanese auto makers gauge their own growth prospects depends heavily on exchange rate levels they budget for the year that started on April 1.
   With the dollar trading around 107 yen, many analysts are assuming a rate of 105 yen, signifying a relatively tame 2 yen weakening in the US currency from the business year that ended last month.
   After a bumper year in 2004, Toyota, Nissan and Honda are still enjoying robust sales growth in the United States, where they make three- quarters or more of their profits.
   The escalating difficulty at US car makers could also stoke political friction between the two countries, one analyst said, possibly providing grounds for a weakening of the dollar.
   For the January-March quarter, Toyota is expected to report an 8 per cent drop to 459 billion yen after booking a massive pension-related gain in the same period last year.

The battle to head the World Trade Organisation will be a two-horse race between Europe and Mauritius after Uruguay drops out, the Indian Ocean island’s candidate for the top post said yesterday.
   Former European Union trade chief Pascal Lamy took the lead in the first round of consultations that saw the Brazilian contender knocked out, whittling the field down to three.
   Mauritian Trade Minister Jaya Krishna Cuttaree said Uruguay’s nominee Carlos Perez del Castillo, its former envoy to the WTO, would be eliminated in the next round on April 25.
   ‘The Uruguayan candidate is far behind Lamy and myself,’ Cuttaree told reporters in Brussels on the margins of a meeting with the European Parliament trade committee.
   ‘It would be logical to expect that Castillo moves out in the next round.’
   The WTO, which sets the rules for world trade, aims to find a successor to current Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi by the end of May.

Yahoo Japan Corp., the largest online auction operator in the country, said Wednesday it posted record profits in the year ended to March driven by robust advertising as companies switched to the Internet to do business.
   Yahoo Japan, which is also the nation's largest online advertising business, posted a net profit of 36.5 billion yen (341 million dollars), up 47.1 percent and in line with its own forecast while revenue rose 55.4 percent to a record 117.8 billion yen and above its estimate.
   "Our online advertising business did better in the fourth quarter (to March) than we had earlier thought," Yahoo Japan president and chief executive officer Masahiro Inoue told a news conference.
   Nationwide advertisers, such as cosmetics and beverage makers, are increasingly aware of the impact of the Internet, which has boosted advertising placements, he said.
   Ad placements from such national clients, who used to prefer conventional media such as television, rose to 2.87 billion yen in the January-March quarter from 2.61 billion yen in the previous three months.
   "We believe that the online advertising market, which stands at 180 billion yen a year, could expand to one trillion yen in the next few years," Inoue said.

The deadlock over freer farm trade in Geneva jeopardizes reform of US cotton subsidies ruled to violate world trade rules, a US trade official said Tuesday.
   Agricultural negotiators ended a week of talks without progress in the so-called Doha round at the World Trade Organization. The stumbling block was how to express import duties in per centages, which would be considered for cuts.
   After losing a WTO ruling on cotton, the United States has said revisions in its supports should be part of a global trade pact.
   ‘We’re disappointed that farm trade reform within Doha, including our progress on cotton, has been delayed due to the failure of some members to agree on a method to provide essential data for substantive farm trade reform negotiations to take place,’ said a US trade official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bankrupt British car maker MG Rover, which last week axed 5,000 jobs at its central England car factory, more than doubled its financial losses during 2004, The Times newspaper said Wednesday, quoting administration sources.
   Losses at the country’s last high volume automaker, whose collapse was prompted by a failed tie-up with a Chinese partner, rocketed by about 170 per cent to 250 million pounds (366.6 million euros, 478.4 million dollars) in 2004 from 92.6 million pounds the previous year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday issued show-cause notices to the directors, managing directors, and secretaries of three companies due to non-payment of declared dividends. The companies are Bangladesh Chemical Industries Ltd, BD Zipper Ltd and BD Dyeing Ltd.
Treasury bonds trading starts at DSE
Trading of the government treasury bonds, which have been issued on April 4, will start at the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Thursday. Trading code for the five-year bond is '5Y7.5%0410' and ten-year bond is '10Y8.5%50415' while company codes are respectively 88017 and 88018. The interest rate of the former type of bond is 7.5 per cent while the later one is 8.5 per cent.
Mercantile bank director to transfer share
Md Abdul Jalil, chairman of the bank, has reported his intention to transfer 15,750 bonus shares out of his holdings of 78,751 shares of the bank to his wife Rena Jalil by a way of gift outside the trading system of the exchange.
Glaxo SmithKline trading suspended
Trading of the shares of the Glaxo SmithKline will remain suspended on Thursday on account of record date. The shareholders who hold shares of the company till Wednesday will be entitled for the dividend for the year 2004.
Trading of Phoenix Insurance to resume Wednesday
Share trading of the Phoenix Insurance Company Ltd will resume on Thursday as announced earlier.

Asian stocks closed mostly firmer Wednesday in subdued cautious trade as investors remained far from convinced that the worst is over after recent heavy losses, dealers said.
   They said that while Wall Street gains provided some support following strong quarterly results from US chip giant Intel, the downside half of the picture was higher-than-expected headline figures for US producer prices and a very sharp fall in US housing starts.
   TOKYO: The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 22.72 points to 11,088.58, off the day's high of 11,199.38. The broader TOPIX index of all first section shares gained 4.82 points or 0.43 per cent to 1,1.31.53.
   HONG KONG: The Hang Seng index closed up 57.54 points at 13,501.63, off a low of 13,489.13 and high of 13,567.94, on turnover of 12.05 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.5 billion US dollars). The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index was down 2.10 points or 0.05 per cent at 4,652.06.
   SEOUL: The KOSPI index closed up 4.91 points at 937.36, off a high of 948.73 and a low of 930.06 on volume of 404 million shares worth 2.19 trillion won (2.2 billion dollars). Gains led declines 449 to 269, with 85 stocks unchanged.
   TAIPEI: The weighted index closed down 55.34 points at 5,693.01, off a high of 5,799.85 and a low of 5,683.00, on turnover of 63.72b Taiwan dollars ($2.02b). Declines led gainers 732 to 137, with 138 stocks unchanged.
   SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices closed flat with few fresh leads strong enough to inspire investors after a roller coaster ride over the past few days, dealers said.
   The Straits Times Index was up 0.54 points at 2,129.25. Volume totalled 751 million shares worth 601 million Singapore dollars (366 million US). Losers led gains 221 to 190.

ADB urges govt to strengthen ACC
The visiting director general of South Asian Department of Asian Development Bank Kunio Senga Wednesday urged the government to make the anti-corruption commission (ACC) effective. Responding to the ADB demand, Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman said, the government would take steps to make the ACC operative within a month. The minister was talking to journalists after a meeting with the ADB official at his Finance Ministry office. ‘We are trying. This is a new institution and takes time to be functioning,’ Finance Minister added. He told the journalists that the ADB has expressed its interest to continue its supports to the government in health, education, energy sectors. The ADB official also hailed Bangladesh for its achievement in micro-level and building of capacity to tackle natural calamities like last year’s flood. Talking to journalists, Kunio Senga said there is no new plan for Bangladesh and the ADB will continue financing to those sectors, which have been funding. However, the ADB DG of South Asian Department said ADB’s development planning for Bangladesh would be on the basis of the PRSP.
— BDNews

DSE closes down
All shares price indices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Monday experienced a fall at its benchmark, as the major losing issues outplayed the gaining ones. The DSE all share price index (DSI) shed 23.25 points or 1.71 per cent to close at 1333.48 from 1356.74 points on Tuesday. DSE General Index (DGEN) declined 28.95 points or 1.63 per cent to close at 1742.28 from Tuesday’s 1771.24 points. The DSE-20 (DS20) index also declined 27.56 points or 1.44 per cent to close at 1874.97 from Tuesday’s 1902.54.A total of 171 issues traded Wednesday. Of them, 34 gained, 121 declined and 16 remained unchanged. Some 4.17 million shares and debentures worth Tk 241.45 million changed hands Wednesday against 5.80 million shares and debentures valued Tk 511.33 million on the previous trading day. Market capitalisation stood at Tk 214.18 billion against Tk 215.97 billion on Tuesday.
— UNB

CSE closed lower
Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange closed lower Wednesday with the losers dominated the gainers. The CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) decreased by 1.82 per cent or 62.07 points to close at 3340.84 points from 3402.90 points on Tuesday. The CSE-30 Index also shed by 1.71 per cent or 53.36 points to close at 3067.35 points from 3120.71 points on the previous trading day.A total of 60 issues traded Wednesday. Of them, 10 gained, 47 declined and three remained unchanged.Some 1,433,007 shares and debentures worth Tk 5.42 crore changed hands against 1,970,820 shares and debentures worth Tk 7.37 crore on Tuesday. The market capitalisation stood at Tk 210.06 billion against 204.89 billion on Tuesday.
— UNB

Indian stocks
rebound 1.77 pc
Indian share prices closed 1.77 per cent higher Wednesday, taking their cue from firm regional markets despite concerns about a weaker earning outlook for domestic software companies, dealers said. The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share benchmark Sensex index rose 108.88 points to 6,243.74, snapping a three-day losing streak.
— AFP

Asia FX reserves growth slows
Growth in Asia’s foreign reserves slowed in March as talk of faster U.S. interest rate rises lured speculators back to U.S. assets, reducing pressure on Asian central banks to buy dollars to hold down their currencies. Total foreign reserves at Asia’s 10 biggest holders increased by $21.7 billion in March to $2,486.7 billion, according to data published by regional authorities. That compares with an average $24.7 billion monthly increase in January and February and an average increase of about $44 billion a month in 2004. But analysts said the slowdown, which followed a surge in reserve accumulation from the second half of 2004, may be short-lived as investors have already scaled back expectations of more aggressive tightening in the U.S. after recent economic data. And investors are again flocking back to Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore on renewed optimism China will let its currency appreciate, which would encourage regional rivals to let their units strengthen.
— Reuters

Hugo Boss raises full-year sales forecast
German fashion house Hugo Boss said on Wednesday it would increase its full-year sales forecast for the current year after business got off to a favourable start in the first three months. Hugo Boss said in a statement that bottom-line net earnings rose by 17 per cent to 51.7 million euros (67 million dollars) in the period from January to March on a 14-per cent increase in sales to 405.6 million euros. For the year as a whole, Hugo Boss raised slightly its sales forecast despite sluggish demand in the ready-to-wear fashion sector, predicting a 10-per cent rise in sales, up from an earlier prognosis of seven-to-nine per cent. Furthermore, the company said it was pencilling in full-year net profit of around 100 million euros, an increase of 13.6 per cent from 88 million euros in 2004. Previously, Hugo Boss had expected earnings to rise in line with sales this year. ‘We have grown a lot faster than the market as a whole,’ boasted chairman Bruno Saelzer.The women’s collection, Boss Woman, was again the main engine of growth, with sales rising by 37 per cent to 36 million euros.
— AFP

Carmakers head for Shanghai expo
Top world automakers will showcase new models in China’s commercial center of Shanghai this week in hopes of reviving languishing domestic sales. General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other major industry players will be showing dozens of vehicles at trade show Auto Shanghai 2005, part of Shanghai’s push to establish itself as a hub for the world’s auto industry. New models on display will include concept cars such as GM’s hydrogen fuel cell powered Sequel, unveiled earlier this year. Visitors will also get a chance to see luxury sports models from Jaguar, Lamborghini and Porsche, according to show organizers. China’s auto market has grown at a torrid pace in recent years as families with growing incomes shift from bicycles and scooters to their first sedans.
— Xinhuanet