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The Bangladesh Bank has projected that real growth rate of the gross domestic product is likely to be between 6.3 per cent and 6.8 per cent in the current fiscal year.
   The central bank has also projected stability of the annual rate of inflation at 7 per cent in the current year if the tight monetary stance is continued for the second half of the fiscal year.
   The projections were made in the bank’s first monetary policy review, issued on Monday, which is designed to present a view of the real sector and monetary developments in the immediate past quarters and project the expected developments in the immediate future.
   The policy research unit of the research department of the central bank has prepared the monetary policy review for the first time and will publish the review bi-annually (April and October each year). The growth projection of the central bank is based on five crucial factors: stronger consumer demand, agricultural growth, stable industrial growth, robust service growth and steady growth of remittances, offsetting the trade deficit.
   The validity of its projections will depend on stable import regime including petroleum price behaviour, stability in the foreign exchange rate and adequate credit to the private sector.
   Bangladesh Bank has struck a cautionary note on inflationary pressure in the coming days, but linked it with global phenomenon like the spectre of rising real interest rate in the global economy, led by US.
   In this connection, associated increase in the inflationary expectations in the industrial countries that are the source of most of our imports may push the inflationary pressure further.
   The bank also hinted at another round of hikes of fuel prices in the country in the near future.
   It, however, struck an optimistic note by saying that bumper harvest of aman would contribute to checking any further hike in food prices.
   The review recommended continuation of a tight monetary stance as well as additional coordination with the fiscal policy stance of the government to cap the inflationary pressure.
   ‘Taking the above factors into account, and assuming that tightened monetary policy stance will be maintained, the review predicts that the 12-month average inflation in FY06 is unlikely to exceed 7 per cent,’ said the central bank’s press release on monetary policy review.
   The review mentioned that the overall goal of the monetary policy will be to contain inflationary expectation, maintain currency stability and ensure smooth credit flows to the productive sectors that support real output growth.
   The central bank projected that the agricultural sector’s growth rate would range from 3.8 to 4.3 per cent and the crop sub-sector would make the maximum contribution.
   Regarding the industrial front, the Bangladesh Bank has projected a lower growth rate for the current fiscal year (2005-06) compared to 8.6 per cent growth in the last fiscal year.
   ‘The likely industrial growth for FY06 will range from 8 to 8.5 per cent,’ the review said.
   The central bank projected that the service sector would grow at a rate between 6.5 and 7 per cent.
   The review, however, mentioned that for achieving the goals of price stability and sustained output growth, policy coordination is essential.

The foreign and trade ministers of seven-member BIMSTEC are due to arrive in Dhaka next week to attend the 8th ministerial meeting that would mainly focus on trade, poverty alleviation, terrorism and trans-nation crimes.
   The forum comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand will hold the formal meeting on December 19 at the Sheraton Hotel in Dhaka. The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, will inaugurate the BIMSTEC moot.
   The one-day ministerial meeting will be preceded by the 10th BIMSTEC senior officials meeting to be represented by foreign secretaries of the member states.
   A senior foreign ministry official told the news agency Monday that a free trade area in the BIMSTEC region would come into force on January 1, 2006. BIMSTEC experts will meet in Kathmandu from December 21-27, to finalise the negotiations on the FTA in goods.
   But a comprehensive FTA comprising trade in goods, services and investment in the BIMSTEC region will be effective on January 1, 2008. The forthcoming ministerial meeting to be chaired by the foreign minister, M Morshed Khan, would identify the priority areas of cooperation and set the future direction of the forum launched on June 6, 1997.
   The meeting will also discuss external linkages of BIMSTEC-renamed after entry of Bhutan and Nepal in 2004, as Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation.
   On December 18, the senior officials of BIMSTEC would consider a series of reports on trade and investment, transport and communications, tourism, energy, technology, agriculture, fishery and textiles sectors.
   They would also discuss the issues of people-to-people contact, BIMSTEC business travel card and ADB’s cooperation with the forum. The first BIMSTEC summit was held in Bangkok on July 31, 2004 with the participation of the heads of state and government. The next summit is likely to be held in India in 2007.

Trade ministers from 149 countries gathered in Hong Kong Monday to work on a deal to open world markets and lift the global economy at the sixth WTO ministerial conference opening Tuesday.
   Hopes for a deal have been low since preparatory talks failed to reach a breakthrough on the key area of agriculture subsidies and tariffs.
   On Monday, US trade representative Rob Portman put responsibility for success or failure squarely on the shoulders of the 25-member European Union which pays out billions of dollars each year in farm subsidies.
   Earlier this year, the United States offered to cut farm aid by 60 per cent by 2010 if the EU scraps 80 per cent of its subsidies. So far the Europeans have refused to budge.
   ‘The US made a bold agricultural proposal in October that is yet to be matched by others including the European Union,’ Portman told reporters in Hong Kong.
   Adding its voice to the dispute, Brazil, one of the leading developing countries at the talks, warned Monday that no deal would be made unless the European Union made bigger concessions on agriculture subsidies.
   ‘Unless the European Union improves its offer on agriculture, I do not believe we can complete the Doha cycle,’ Brazilian Foreign Minister Celsio Amorim told reporters.
   And Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon told AFP the developed countries, led by the EU, had to offer more ground.
   ‘More has to be given than received by the developed countries,’ McKinnon said.
   Agriculture is not the only issue to be discussed at the talks, which will also cover industrial goods and the service industries such as banking and insurance.
   And a rather embattled EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said Monday he would not be offering any new concessions on agriculture, saying the emphasis had to go to other areas. He made it clear that his coming to Hong Kong ‘doesn’t mean I will be tabling a new agricultural offer.’ The trade diplomat has been effectively barred by some EU member countries led by France from giving much ground on subsidies.
   Nevertheless, WTO director general Pascal Lamy said Monday that developing nations will succeed in gaining concessions on agriculture because they form a majority in the global trade organisation.
    ‘And you can rely on the fact that, with two-thirds of the members being developing countries, a consensus will not happen without something serious in this direction,’ he said.
   In total, some 6,000 official trade delegates, from 149 countries are expected at the talks, with Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil and India among the big players.
   Fearing a repeat of the violence which has occurred at some previous meetings, the authorities in Hong Kong have mobilised a huge security operation, deploying over 9,000 police and sealing off the area where delegates are due to meet.
   A first march passed off peacefully Sunday but further protests are due on Tuesday and next Sunday.

Developed nations have ‘a history of acting in bad faith’ during world trade meetings and need to fundamentally change the way they view less developed nations, Nobel economics laureate Joseph Stiglitz said Monday.
   Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, conducted a study showing that the last wide-ranging global trade pact during the 1986-93 Uruguay round left poorer countries worse off than they were before World Trade Organisation meetings.
   Nearly 150 member nations of the WTO are meeting in Hong Kong this week to try to jump-start talks aimed at reducing agricultural trade barriers.
   But Stiglitz said that troubling trends will continue until developed counties such as the United States realise that providing more help to its poorer neighbours is in their best interests and stop protecting certain industries. ‘We’re giving (developing countries) aid. We ought to be thinking about enhancing opportunities,’ said Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University and former adviser to President Bill Clinton.
   ‘Eliminating cotton subsidies is good for the United States,’ he said, referring to one hot-button issue. ‘This is an anti- special interest agenda.’
   West African cotton-producing nations have sought special compensation and a definite date for rich nations to eliminate their cotton subsidies. Countries like Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Chad say their economies are heavily dependent on cotton exports and are losing millions of dollars a year because US subsidises to its growers depress prices.
   Stiglitz, who has just released a book called ‘Fair Trade for All,’ noted that the lifting of subsidies raises global efficiencies and makes developed countries better off, while also improving the economies of less developed nations.

A meeting between the government and the petroleum retailers ended inconclusive Monday.
   This was the second meeting this month between the energy and mineral resources division and Bangladesh Petroleum Dealers’, Distributors’ Agents and Petrol Pump Owners’ Association on the demands for raising sales commission and compensating for operational loss.
   Both the sides decided to sit again within a week, the meeting sources said.
   The association leaders said the government recognised that the fuel oil traders should get compensation for operational loss for octane and petrol.
   ‘We hope everything will be settled in the next meeting,’ the association president, Nazmul Haque, told New Age.
   The association has long been demanding that the government should take steps to check fuel adulteration, fix a new commission rate, and compensate for operational and evaporation losses.
   In Monday’s meeting, the government agreed to compensate fuel oil traders for their losses, but failed to fix the rate.
   The dealers, distributing agents and pump owners now get 1.9 per cent commission for selling petrol and octane and 2.06 per cent for diesel.
   The association has been demanding five per cent sales commission for all types of fuel oil.
   Nazmul Haque said the energy adviser, Mahmudur Rahman, suggested that the commission rate could be raised in phases, considering its immediate impact on domestic fuel prices.
   The association leaders had another meeting on December 1, where the energy adviser assured them of taking effective steps against fuel adulteration by December 31.

The Microsoft Bangladesh on Monday launched the SQL (Structured Query Language) 2005 programme.
   Simon Piff, regional solutions manager of Microsoft Southeast Asia, inaugurated the programme at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.
   Piff highlighted the point of ‘SQL server 2005’ being Microsoft’s next generation data management and analysis solution.
   The programme would deliver increased security, scalability, and availability to enterprise data and analytical applications while making them easier to create, deploy, and manage, Piff said.
   Feroz Mahmud, country manager of Microsoft Bangladesh, thanked the audience and sought their help to make programme more frequent and foremost product in the local market.

The central anti-money laundering taskforce has again asked the commercial banks to submit reports on suspicious transactions to the central bank regularly.
   Only 12 such reports were forwarded to the anti-money laundering department of the central bank in last two months, the bi-monthly meeting of the taskforce was told on Monday.
   The meeting observed that commercial banks were not responding duly to the instructions, given time and again, for keeping the taskforce updated on suspicious transactions.
   Presided over by the Bangladesh Bank executive director, Nazmul Hasan, the meeting also stressed the need of the bank officials concerned to be trained adequately for detecting money laundering.

Speakers at a workshop here Monday underscored the need for remobilization of micro finance programmes at grass-root level with a view to facilitate the poorest among the poor in the country to change their lot. They said the successes of micro finance are enormous in terms of creating employment generation, primary health care, women empowerment, increase literacy rate, rural development and also reduce poverty. However if there is any financial crisis in the county in future, micro finance institutions will be the most losing concerns, they opined.
   In these circumstances they said Bangladesh Bank must provide legal support for further strengthening of micro finance to face any kind of trouble in this respect in future.
   They were making their view points at the workshop styled as ‘Partnership in micro finance to increase outreach’ organized by Credit and Development Forum at CIRDAP here.

Country’s 2nd Knit Expo 2005 begins today at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufactures and Exporters Association source said. Knitwear exporters are expecting huge foreign buyers, including from EU and US, at the 2nd Knit Expo 2005.
   The prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, is expected to inaugurate the fair.
   The finance and planning minister, Saifur Rahman, and Adviser to the commerce minister, Barkat Ullah Bulu, will be present as chief guests.

The Navana Group has opened a new biscuit factory recently in Dhaka.
   According to a press release, Navana Biscuit Factory, a wing of Navana Distributions Ltd, was inaugurated by the group chairman, Shafiul Islam Kamal, where other senior officials of the group were also present.
   The factory that has been set up with the most modernised foreign technology will cater biscuits in different flavours to its consumers.
   The new biscuit factory will generate employment for both the educated and the uneducated people, the release claimed.
   Navana Distributions already manufactures and distributes products like atta, maida, suji, mustard oil, chutney, lychee gel, chanachur and orange C.

The British American Tobacco Bangladesh Limited and the Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh— two clients of IT service provider Business Automation Limited, were rewarded at the recently concluded SOFTEXPO 2005, as best IT users said a press release.
   The two organisations were awarded for best use of information solutions namely, ‘SMS Plus’ and ‘Loan Locator’ respectively in their business operations.

The WTO decisions on trade and farm subsidies, as expected from the December 13-15 ministerial conference in Hong Kong, would hit hard the livelihoods of the poor in countries like Bangladesh, worker rights groups said in Dhaka Monday.
   Further liberalisation of trade would make the country a market of foreign goods, hit production and throw workers out of jobs, they feared at a discussion meeting on ‘Homeworkers issue and WTO context.’
   The Bangladesh Homeworkers Women Association and Homenet Bangladesh jointly organised the meeting chaired by the BHWA general secretary, Dilruba Anguri.
   Among others, the meeting was also attended by Niazi Sultana, Monira Akhtar, Nilufar Yasmin, Salma Begum, Nahid Sultana, Kawsar Parveen and Tahera Khanam.

The Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, pledged Monday to bring down tariffs to promote trade with Southeast Asia and predicted that business with the region would double to $30 billion by 2007.
   Singh, speaking on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, said India’s growing middle class and ongoing liberalisation offered ‘immense opportunities’ to overseas entrepreneurs.
   ‘We are committed to bringing down tariffs to levels prevalent in ASEAN countries, to dismantle unwarranted barriers and to expand global capital flows,’ he said.
   ‘I believe we can double the present level of bilateral trade by 2007, reaching a target of $30 billion,’ he added.
   Singh is due to attend the inaugural meeting of the East Asian Summit here on Wednesday. The grouping brings together the 10-member ASEAN bloc as well as Japan, South Korea, China, New Zealand and India.
   It is hoped the new grouping, which accounts for about
   half the world’s population, could be the precursor of an eventual free-trade East Asian Community.
   Singh told business leaders that liberalisation policies were transforming India into a ‘vibrant marketplace’ with significant investment potential.
   ‘In the past year and a half our polices relating to investment, taxation, foreign trade, foreign direct investment, banking, finance and capital markets have evolved to make Indian industry and enterprise more competitive globally,’ he said.
   ‘We have launched a massive programme for rural renewal which will upgrade rural infrastructure...and new policies are enabling public-private partnership in the modernisation of roads, railways, ports, airports, power and urban infrastructure,’ he said.

OPEC ministers will agree to keep oil supplies at a 25-year high Monday to hold prices in check, members of the cartel said, and delaying difficult decisions over cutting their output until early next year.
   OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah spoke to fellow ministers, including OPEC’s most influential voice Saudi Arabia, over the weekend. He found unanimous support for retaining near-maximum production, with prices within sight of record highs and the onset of winter in top consumer the United States.
   ‘All the delegates are willing to maintain our production levels,’ Sheikh Ahmad, Kuwait’s oil minister, told reporters after a meeting of OPEC’s monitoring committee late on Sunday.
   The committee, made up of Kuwait, Iran and Nigeria, will hand its recommendations to OPEC’s full meeting at 0700 GMT Monday. The ministers will likely put off haggling over production until a special meeting a few weeks into 2006.
   ‘I believe we will have a late January or early February meeting to discuss the second quarter,’ Sheikh Ahmad said on the day, as he arrived at the meeting venue in the Sheraton Hotel.
   Some members are worried that, if they keep output at today’s 30 million barrels per day — prices will fall sharply in the spring as stocks build in consumer countries.
   OPEC members, supplying more than a third of the world’s oil needs, have grown accustomed to oil prices at the highest level for a quarter of a century in real terms.
   Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, seemed relaxed about a possible dip in second quarter demand.
   Strong buying from the United States, China and India has fuelled a two-year rally that has seen a doubling in the oil price. A shortage of refineries to churn out oil products like gasoline, diesel and heating oil has added impetus.
   OPEC offered up all of its two million bpd of spare oil capacity for a three months period from October 1 to rein in prices that had raced to a record $70.85 a barrel.

Corporate merger and acquisition deals in Asia up to November rose 39 per cent to a record $370 billion and were the main driver behind a double-digit jump in transactions globally, a study said Monday.
   The study by accounting firm KPMG showed there were 24,806 deals worth $2.06 trillion globally from January to November, up 19 per cent from 20,888 transactions worth $1.74 trillion during the same period in 2004.
   ‘The significant rise in deal numbers shows that this year’s growth is underpinned by a real improvement in activity levels and not simply skewed by a few larger deals,’ KPMG said.
   With 6,921 deals worth $370 billion, the first 11 months of 2005 was the busiest-ever period in Asia for corporate deal makers, with agreements also up 50 per cent by volume, it said.
   The region’s biggest merger took place in Japan when Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc completed its merger with UFJ Holdings Inc. in October in a deal worth $59.1 billion.
   Japan accounted for the biggest share of regional merger and acquisition activity with almost $200 billion, while China was a distant second with $35.6 billion.
   ‘I think the big two in Asia, Japan and China, are driving the deal activities in the region,’ said Vishal Sharma, KPMG’s director of corporate finance in Singapore.

South Korean activists promised Monday to escalate protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting, refusing to rule out committing suicide.
   South Korean farmers and workers were planning to protest in Hong Kong this week against the WTO talks that could see the country’s rice market opened up to international competition.
   At least two members of militant South Korean farming groups have committed suicide since 2003 in protest at the
   liberalisation plans.

The US agriculture secretary, Mike Johanns, on Sunday voiced satisfaction after Japan gave the final go-ahead to resume imports of some US beef after a two-year ban.
   ‘I’m very pleased to announce that the Japanese market is now open to US beef products,’ Johanns said in a statement. ‘Resuming beef trade with Japan is great news for American producers and Japanese consumers, as well as an important step toward normalised trade, based on scientifically sound, internationally recognised standards.’
   Japan barred imports of US beef in December 2003 after cases of mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, were discovered in cattle in the country.

Gold hit its highest level in nearly 25 years in Asia on Monday as fund buying resumed, particularly in Japan, consolidating a rise of more than 20 per cent in value since the start of 2005.
   A rally in gold lifted other precious metals, with platinum hitting its highest since March 1980 and silver trading at its best level since May 1987.
   Fund managers have been buying gold as part of a strategy to diversify portfolios due to concerns about rising energy costs, fear of terrorist attacks and expectations the dollar will fall because of the U.S. trade and budget deficits.
   A build-up in long positions in New York failed to dent the bullish outlook in gold, and dealers said fresh buying had offset profit-taking in the last few days.
   Spot gold rose to $535.75 an ounce, its highest since March 1981, before easing slightly to $535.00/535.75 in afternoon trade, up from $526.50/527.20 in New York on Friday when the metal rose around $7 an ounce.
   Gold, used as jewelry and investment, hit a record high of $850 an ounce in January 1980.
   ‘The momentum is too strong at the moment. It is not unreasonable to assume we might try $550 and $580. There has been selling and profit-taking but it’s not big,’ said one dealer in Singapore.
   The speculative net long position in New York’s COMEX gold climbed to 167,413 contracts in the December 6 week from 158,905 contracts as of November 29, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s latest Commitments of Trades report showed on Friday.
   The key gold futures contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange rallied by its daily 50-yen limit to 2,155 yen per gram, the highest since December 1987 as a weak yen and persistent concerns about inflation ignited buying from funds and investors.

Oil rebounded to $60 a barrel on Monday after a sharp fall at the end of last week, with forecasts for another US cold spell offsetting OPEC's plans to keep output at near full-throttle through the winter.
   US crude rose 55 cents to $59.94 a barrel, recovering from a 2.1 per cent slide on Friday, while London Brent crude was up 69 cents to $58.00 a barrel.
   Oil raced to its highest level in five weeks on Friday and natural gas set a second consecutive record-high above $15 per million British thermal units.

Dividend
   Gachihata Aquaculture Farms Ltd did not recommend any dividend for the year 2004-2005. The annual general meeting of the company is scheduled to be held on December 31 at 11.00 am at Gachihata College at Katiadi in Kishoregonj. Book Closure is from December 27 to 31.
   Bangla Process recommended 6 per cent cash dividend for the year 2004-2005. The annual general meeting is scheduled to be held on December 27 at 12.30 pm.
   Mita Textile recommended 3 per cent cash dividend for
   the year 2004-2005. The annual general meeting is
   scheduled to be held on December 29 at 10.00 am at Factory Premises at Sreepur in Gazipur. Book Closure is from December 24 to 29.
   
   Profit
   As per audited accounts for the year ended June 30, 2005, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation reported net profit of Tk 33.25 crore as against last year’s net profit of Tk 15.25 crore. The company also reported a positive per share earning of Tk 166.25 in the same period of time.
   
   Spot trade
   Trading of the shares of Usmania Glass is also be allowed in spot market with cum benefit from December 13 to 14 as book closure will start from December 18.
   Trading of the shares of Modern Dyeing is also be allowed in spot market with cum benefit from December 13 to 14 as book closure will start from December 16.
   Source: DSE, CSE

3 NCBs to network SME financing
The government is bringing more branches of three nationalised banks throughout the country under a common network to finance the SMEs and women entrepreneurs outside the capital. The branches of the three nationalised commercial banks - Sonali Bank, Janata Bank and Agrani Bank Ltd - will be used to channel the funds for SMEs under the Small Enterprise Fund operated by the Bangladesh Bank. Two lead banks - Bangladesh Small Industries & Commerce Bank and BRAC Bank - will be the lead banks for financing the SMEs through the NCBs branches across the country. The initiative was taken based on an Asian Development Bank funded project named ‘Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development Programme’, which was launched Monday at RDEC of LGED Bhaban. Industries Ministry’s SME Cell and ADB have jointly organised the programme.
— BDNEWS

Bahrain to announce new recruitment
rules
The Kingdom of Bahrain is set to announce new recruitment rules for expatriate workers in order to put an end to exploitation of migrant workers by manpower agents. The Bahrain Recruiters’ Society and the ministry of labour are drafting new rules through a series of consultations. The measures included a one-contract norm especially for housemaids regardless of their nationalities. ‘One important measure being considered is to categorise the recruitment agencies ranking them as Class A—for good facilities and a good track record, Class B—with standard facilities, and so on,’ The Bahrain Tribune quoted a source as saying. ‘This could help embassies and partner companies identify the best agencies they can deal with. This can also push out fly-by-night recruiters and those who give the labour market a bad name,’ the source said. When contacted, the state minister for ministry of expatriate’s welfare and overseas employment, Mohammed Quamrul Islam, told the news agency that he is not aware of this new development. He said over 50,000 Bangladeshis are working at the oil-rich kingdom of Bahrain and every year some 8,000-10,000 Bangladeshis are getting employments there.
— BDNEWS

Mashiur Rahman new IFIC Bank MD
Mashiur Rahman has been appointed Managing Director of IFIC Bank Limited. Prior to this appointment, he was the Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, said a release here Monday. Rahman joined IFIC Bank in 1983 and held responsible positions in different capacities.
— BSS

84 products to get duty-free access
to China
An array of 84 Bangladeshi products can enter China without tariffs from January 1—only 19 days from now—as the Chinese offer for free market access comes into effect six months ahead of schedule. The special tariff concession China providing Bangladesh under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement, previously known as Bangkok Agreement, was due to be effective from July 1, 2006. However, Chinese ministry of commerce sent a note-verbal to Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing announcing its decision to advance the date by six months, said an official announcement Monday. It said the Bangladesh Embassy in Beijing ‘sent a note verbal confirming the acceptance of the note from the Chinese side, which would constitute an agreement between the two governments in this regard’. The products to enjoy the duty-free access to the Chinese market include readymade garments, textiles, frozen foods, leather, jute and jute goods, soap, plastic ware and photo accessories. Bangladesh is a lone LDC in the six-member regional grouping consisting of China, India, Republic of Korea, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Sri Lanka.
— UNB

Brazil wants enhanced trade with Bangladesh
Brazilian ambassador based in India Jose Vincente de Sa Limentel Monday suggested enhanced interactions between business communities and officials from both countries for boosting bilateral trade and investment. ‘We should try to organise missions of government officials and businessmen from both countries to know each other better,’ said ambassador Limentel, who will present his credentials Tuesday to become concurrent ambassador to Dhaka. He was speaking at a discussion meeting organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at its auditorium with chamber president Sayeeful Islam in the chair. About a possible mission to Brazil the ambassador said, ‘With the organisation of the mission we would have a chance of having government-to-government dealings because trade is a two-way street.’ Regarding a huge trade deficit between Brazil and Bangladesh, the ambassador of the largest country in South America with a population of about 180 million said Bangladesh should export more to Brazil. Earlier, in his speech, the DCCI president informed that in 2004-05 fiscal year, Bangladesh export to Brazil was worth $4.31 million while import $147.40 million. He, however, mentioned that the bilateral trade between the countries has been growing.
— UNB

Micro credit fair in Dhaka on Dec 28-29
A two-day micro credit fair will be held at the Engineers' Institute premises in Dhaka on December 28-29.Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation has organised the fair to mark the micro credit year-2005, declared by the United Nations. Different commodities, produced by the micro credit recipients will be on display at the fair. Besides, photographs, books and reports on their activities will also be on display at the stalls of different organisations at the fair. The PKSF will also organise a concluding ceremony at the Engineers' Institute Auditorium on December 29 on the occasion of conclusion of 'International Micro Credit Year-2005'. Four associate organisations of PKSF will be awarded at the function for carrying out micro credit programme. - Dhaka, Dec 12 .A cultural programme has also been organised on December 29. Micro credit recipients and their children will take part in the programme. Besides, a seminar titled ' Micro credit: prospect and challenge', organised by the PKSF, will be held at the CIRDAP auditorium on December 26. PKSF is observing elaborate programmes through out December to mark the conclusion of International Micro Credit Year-2005.
— BDNEWS