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The government will implement in phases a 20-year strategic plan for revitalising the tea industry to meet growing domestic consumption and also increase export, an inter-ministerial meeting decided Saturday.
   The Bangladesh Krishi Bank will provide Tk 766 crore as loans and the government will earmark Tk 80 crore for commissioning the Tk 846 crore project, Tk 22 crore lesser than the initial estimate of Tk 868 crore.
   To be implemented in four phases (each phase comprises five years), the project will help increase tea production by 100 per cent, according to official projection.
   74 per cent of the tea output was consumed at home while the rest was exported in the 2003-2004 fiscal that fetched Tk 84.89 crore.
   Saturday’s inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by the commerce secretary, Aminur Rahman, asked the officials concerned to finalise the project paper of the master plan by February 20 for submitting it to the Planning Commission for fund.
   The project will have a separate component on research and an amount of Tk 10 crore has been earmarked for the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute in Srimangal.
   The institute will focus research on high yielding and aromatic varieties of tea, demand of which is huge at home and abroad, officials said.
   The institute officials believe that if full potentials of the tea sector are utilised, it will be possible to increase production by 300 per cent.
   The inter-ministerial meeting also finalised the policy on ‘leaf tea factory’ in the northern district of Panchagarh, where tea gardening is gaining momentum these days.
   Secretaries of respective ministries and chiefs of various agencies and departments concerned attended the meeting, which also approved in principle the annual work plan of the tea board.

The strike by traders paralysed the country’s biggest land port for the second day Sunday and no effort was in sight till evening to end the stalemate.
   Hundreds of trucks loaded with goods including perishables were stranded at Benapole, many more at Petrapole on the Indian side, worrying the importers and exporters.
   Trade associations using the port enforced the strike on the New Year’s day protesting a fivefold increase in warehouse rate by the port authority. The associations at a meeting on Sunday afternoon threatened tougher action if the previous rate is not restored.
   The meeting was presided over by Nazimuddin and addressed by about a dozen leading traders.
   They said they were not opposed to tolerable increase in warehouse rate. They demanded development of infrastructure facilities in the port for quick loading and unloading and plugging the hole of pilferage of goods from warehouses and sheds.
   Last month export-import through the land port were suspended for four days also affecting revenue earning of the government. Customs at port collect about Tk 5 crore duty and VAT every day.
   Trade through the Satkhira’s Bhomra port also remained closed since Thursday due to conflict between the traders and the BSF at Ghozadanga port on the Indian side.
   Informed sources said the BSF used to follow harsh measures to discourage import from Bangladesh causing anger of Indian traders. They continued the strike protesting the BSF action.

James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank for the past decade, said he will retire from his post later this year.
   In an interview with the US television network ABC, Wolfensohn said the time had come for him to pass the baton on, after ten years at the helm of the global institution.
   “I had ten years and I think that’s probably enough,” he told ABC television’s “This Week” program.
   Wolfensohn was to wrap up his second five-year term as the Washington-headquartered bank’s president in June.

Rail passengers in the UK face an above-inflation increase in their fares from Sunday.
   Season tickets and saver fares are to rise by an average of 4 per cent, while cheap day returns and advance bookings will increase by between 2 per cent and 7.2 per cent.
   Train firms say the extra cash will improve the nation’s network, but passenger groups say they would rather see improvements first.
   Inflation is currently running at 2.7 per cent.
   Rail Passengers Council spokeswoman Caroline
   Jones said: ‘Most passengers would say that they don’t want to pay more for the same service now.
   ‘What they want to see is that the investment going in is put into getting the trains running on time, because that’s the one thing passengers really want to see.
   ‘And if that’s then happening, then they won’t mind paying a bit more for a better service.’
   The fare hikes were originally announced in December.
   George Muir, director general of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), said: ‘Fares have to rise to pay for the huge investment which the rail industry is currently making in the railways - which is the fastest growing in Europe.’
   He said the money would pay for ‘new trains, better passenger facilities, improved customer information and more security at stations’.
   Regulated fares - set by the Strategic Rail Authority and including season and saver tickets - will rise on average by 4 per cent.
   Unregulated fares - determined by individual rail companies - such as cheap day returns, long distance open tickets and advance purchases will increase by varying amounts, but also averaging around 4 per cent.

Bay-Phones, the first private land phone company, will start its services from February.
   The chairman of the company, Abul Hashem, disclosed this to the minister for post and telecommunications, Aminul Haq, when he met the minister at his secretariat office on Sunday.
   Abul Hashem, a Bangladesh origin American expatriate, informed the minister that the company has imported latest technology from the US and it would provide call waiting,
   call forwarding, call hunting, voice mail, internet and other services.
   The minister appreciated the Bay-Phones’ investment and assured the chairman of providing all cooperation.
   At the initial stage, the company will operate in Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Noakhali and Comilla targeting one lakh subscribers.
   The line-rent has been fixed at Tk 150 and call charge at Tk 1.50 for first five minutes. The phone connection fee will be Tk 9,000 and intended subscribers will get connections within 48 hours.

The foodgrain procurement target in Barisal division is unlikely to be achieved as the prices of paddy and rice set by the government are much lower than the market rate.
   The government has fixed Tk 1,310 for per quintal of rice and Tk 860 for per quintal of paddy while in the open market, per quintal of rice is selling at Tk 1,550 to Tk1,650 and per quintal of paddy at Tk 950 to Tk 1,050.
   Farmers and husking mill owners are not interested to sell rice and paddy to the foodgrain procurement centres due to big price difference between the government and the market rates, sources said.
   The government has set a target to procure 7,645 tonnes of paddy and 614 tonnes of rice from the six districts of Barisal division in the aman season. The procurement drive is scheduled to be closed on February 28, sources in the local food department said.
   As per the procurement targets in the division, 168 tonnes of paddy and 95 tonnes of rice are to be procured from Barisal, 1,400 tonnes of paddy and 161 tonnes of rice from Bhola, 792 tonnes of paddy and 159 tonnes of rice from Pirojpur, 536 tonnes of paddy and 10 tonnes of rice from Jhalakathi, 1,120 tonnes of paddy and 40 tonnes of rice from Barguna and 2,629 tonnes of paddy and 149 tonnes of rice from Patuakhali.

Japan promised 500 million dollars to countries devastated by tsunamis, by far outpledging all other countries which are racing to help victims of one of the world's worst disasters
   The Japanese contribution raises to more than 1.6 billion dollars the money raised for relief and reconstruction from massive seismic waves, which have claimed nearly 126,000 lives.
   Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan, Asia's largest economy, would consider more assistance both in money and expertise.
   ‘Japan will provide assistance to the maximum extent possible in three ways: financial resources, knowledge and expertise, and human resources,’ Koizumi said in a statement.
   ‘For the time being, Japan will extend to affected countries and international organisations concerned up to 500 million dollars of grant money as emergency assistance to cope with the damage,’ he said.
   Koizumi said he would take part in a meeting of world leaders on Thursday in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to discuss aid for the tsunami-hit countries.
   Governments have been rushing to provide assistance, particularly after UN disaster relief coordinator Jan Egeland on Monday accused rich nations of being ‘stingy,’ comments on which the Norwegian later backtracked.
   The United States on Friday increased its aid nearly ten-fold to 350 million dollars after President George W. Bush (news - web sites) was accused of being slow to respond to the massive human disaster.
   China, which is seen as increasingly challenging Japan for influence in Asia, promised 60.5 million dollars, a major sum for a developing nation.
   Japan after foreswearing a military role with its defeat in World War II has used foreign aid as the main thrust of its foreign policy, but Koizumi has tried to broaden Tokyo's influence, notably by sending troops to Iraq (news - web sites).
   ‘Japan will make further contributions by utilising fire-department helicopters and personnel,’ Koizumi said.
   ‘Japan will make further contributions by utilising fire-department helicopters and personnel,’ Koizumi said.
   ‘Japan will also consider, as early as possible, additional contributions by mobilising Japan Self-Defense Forces aircraft, vessels and personnel,’ he said.
   ‘Japan, in cooperation with other countries and international organisations, will extend its maximum assistance possible for rehabilitation and reconstruction.’
   Japan had earlier pledged 30 million dollars to tsunami-hit countries. A foreign ministry spokeswoman said that amount was included in Koizumi's 500 million-dollar pledge.
   The government has separately devoted close to 10 million dollars to Japanese non-governmental organizations working with tsunami victims and dispatched nearly 120 emergency relief workers.
   Koizumi said Japan, one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, would also work to share technology with other countries on predicting tsunamis, the tidal waves which take their name from Japanese.

Janata Jute Mills Ltd declared a 30 per cent dividend and 1:1 bonus shares for 2003-2004 at its 21st annual general meeting held recently, says a press release.
   Presided over by the company chairman, Mofizur Rahman, the meeting was attended by the managing director, Mozammel Huq and directors Najmul Huq, Mahmudul Huq and Syeduzzaman Khan of the company.

The annual general meeting of Asset and Investment Management Services of Bangladesh Ltd was held on Thursday, says a press release.
   Monzurul Haque, Zahidus Salam Mia and Saifullah Hashem were re-elected directors of the company for another term. Monzurul Haque was also re-elected chairman of the company.
   Shareholders present at the meeting pointed out the recent positive movements of the capital market.
   They also stressed the need for introducing more mutual funds and launching other investment products in the market.

Myanmar is to build a deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu, western coastal Rakhine state, to facilitate transit trade through the country, the Flower News journal reported.
   The Kyaukphyu seaport will serve as a transit trade centre for goods destined to port cities of Chittagong, Yangon and Calcutta.
   Kyaukphyu also stands at a point on land route connecting southwestern China’s Kunming city with Myanmar’s Sittwe.
   The building of the seaport in conjunction with an overall road link of the two countries, outlined as Kunming-Mandalay- Kyaukphyu-Sittwe, is under feasibility study, the Ministry of Construction was quoted as saying.
   Kyaukphyu, which has a water depth of 20 metres and is capable of accommodating 4,000 TEU container vessel, will also connect another road link known as Taungkok-Maei-Kyaukphyu.
   Once the 1,943-kilometre Kunming-Kyuakphu road is connected, Myanmar will be benefited from transit trade in terms of revenue from goods exported to China with availability of job opportunities in the region.
   The Kunming-Sittwe development road plan was discussed at workshops held in Mandalay and Kunming respectively in April 2002, also involving experts of Germany and India.
   According to other official sources, as part of the country’s infrastructural construction, the Kyaukphyu deep-sea port will also be equipped with offshore and deep-sea fishing industry in addition to sea lobster farming.
   Kyaukphyu is an area where there exists oil and gas resource potential.
   Meanwhile, under an economic cooperation strategy (ECS) of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, Myanmar and Thailand are also building a deep-sea port at Dawei, southern Tanintharyi division.
   The seaport project and a Dawei- Kachanburi road link are being carried out in one package together with a 1,360-kilometer trilateral highway project between India, Myanmar and Thailand.
   Observers here said, on completion of the project within two years, it will greatly push Myanmar’s transit trade.

A majority of chief executives at big Japanese companies predicted the country’s economy would not improve in 2005 due largely to a possible US economic downturn, an opinion poll showed today.
   The survey was conducted by the Kyodo news agency in mid- December on CEOs at 105 companies including Nippon Steel Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Sony Corp. and Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc.
   Kyodo said that 20 per cent of the business leaders forecast the world’s second biggest economy to slow down gradually while 32 per cent predicted it would remain flat.
   They cited a possible downturn in US economic activity as the number- one reason for their concerns about Japan’s economic outlook, Kyodo said.
   The yen’s appreciation and higher prices of crude oil and raw materials are also among matters of concern.
   On the other hand, 44 per cent expected the Japanese economy to continue its moderate expansion into 2005.
   They pointed out that corporate capital spending would keep increasing while the adverse effect of bad loans in the banking sector would continue to ease.
   Some others based their views on expectations of China’s continued economic growth and a pickup in earnings at Japanese companies.

South Korean exports hit a record high of more than $250 billion in 2004, with the country’s trade surplus doubling year-on-year to some $30 billion, government figures showed Sunday.
   Semiconductors, autos, mobile phone handsets, and ships led the outstanding performance in exports, the commerce, industry and energy ministry said in a preliminary report based on customs clearance.
   Exports jumped 31.2 per cent year-on-year to hit 254.22 billion dollars in 2004, the biggest ever reported by the country, the report said. Imports also rose 25.5 per cent to 224.47 billion dollars last year.
   The trade surplus of 29.75 billion dollars was nearly a two-fold increase from 14.99 billion dollars reported in 2003, it said.
   ‘The country’s annual exports exceeded the $250-billion level in volume for the first time last year,’ the ministry said in a statement, adding the event was the ‘biggest news’ for the trade year of 2004.
   Exports of semiconductors rose 35.4 per cent year-on-year in 2004, while the shipments of telecommunication equipment and cars shot up 41.1 per cent and 39.5 per cent respectively, according to the ministry report.
   Sales of ships also gained 33.1 per cent year-on-year in 2004.
   In December, exports jumped 19.5 per cent year-on-year to $23.58 billion while imports also increased 19.2 per cent to $21.02 billion, the report said.
   The trade surplus and robust exports were achieved despite the won’s strengthening against the US dollars, which usually hurts South Korean exporters in price competitiveness and earnings.
   South Korea, the world’s 11th-largest economy, has been dogged by feeble domestic demand amid high oil prices since a consumer credit bubble burst in early 2003.
   Consumers have also tightened their purse strings because of uncertainty over the country’s 2005 economic outlook amid signs of slowing exports, a key engine for the country’s economic growth.

German companies including Bayer AG and BMW AG say they can weather the euro’s gain to a record against the dollar as protection against currency fluctuation allows them to benefit from another year of export growth.
   Only five of 23 companies surveyed by Bloomberg News this month said the euro’s appreciation may hurt business next year.
   Fourteen of 23 said the effect of the currency’s gains will be limited after they moved production abroad and hedged against exchange-rate risks.
   Most expect the euro to be close to its current value of $1.36 against the dollar at the end of 2005.
   ‘We’re entering the new year with optimism,’ said Werner Wenning, chief executive officer of Leverkusen-based Bayer, Germany’s second-biggest drug and chemical maker, who expects the euro to trade at $1.35 on average next year.
   ‘The currency risk at Bayer is limited’ because the company produces a ‘large share’ abroad and finances that production in local currencies.
   The results of the survey tally with Munich-based Ifo institute’s business confidence report for December, which showed sentiment jumping to an eight-month high as falling oil prices overshadowed concerns about the effect of the euro.
   Germany’s six leading economic research institutes expect exports to drive growth next year, albeit at a slower pace than in 2004.
   German companies have shed jobs, moved production to lower wage countries in Eastern Europe and negotiated longer working hours to cut costs after the longest post-war slump in Europe’s largest economy. For 2005, the government predicts growth of 1.7 per cent,
   compared with 1.8 per cent for this year. That compares
   with the US government’s prediction of 3.5 per cent growth for 2005.

The Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan said it had carried out a threat to cut gas supplies to Russia and Ukraine but was ready to turn the pumps back on in return for higher prices.
   ‘Turkmenistan cut off the supply of gas in the pipelines to Russia and Ukraine from midnight (Friday),’ the foreign ministry said in a statement.
   It said price negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian energy officials had already taken place and would continue in the coming days, with a Russian delegation due to visit Ashgabat in early January.
   ‘Turkmenistan is ready to talk with the new Ukrainian authorities to agree about new prices for the supply of gas,’ it added, referring to the recent victory of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko in Ukrainian presidential elections.
   A source in Ukraine’s gas industry confirmed to AFP that Turkmenistan had cut off shipments of gas to Russia earmarked for Ukraine at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) on Saturday.
   ‘I’m sure a delegation has already flown out to Turkmenistan to negotiate a deal and the situation will be resolved in a day or two resulting in higher gas prices for Ukraine’s industry,’ the source said.
   Turkmenistan wants to increase the price of gas from 44 to 60 dollars (33 to 44 euros) per 1,000 cubic meters.
   Inside Ukraine it is industrial consumers who are likely to be most affected.
   They currently pay around 55 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters of gas internally and probably face a 10-dollar hike in prices, the Ukrainian source said.
   ‘Now they will start opening underground emergency gas stocks with which they can hold out for up to a week,’ said the source.
   Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz confirmed on Friday it had held urgent negotiations with the Turkmen government, and that further discussions involving Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Yelli Kurbanmuradov would be held soon.
   Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas from Russia and Turkmenistan, to meet some 85 per cent of its annual energy requirements.
   Turkmenistan has insisted its demands are ‘not political’ despite the timing of the supply cut less than a week after Yushchenko’s victory in the elections, a major setback for Moscow that had backed his pro-Russian rival.

Sri Lanka’s top brewery normally produces 160,000 bottles of beer a day. Now the plant has turned its technical might to producing a very different beverage: potable water for the survivors of the Asian tsunami disaster.
   There was one hitch at the start for the Lion Brewery. The water it produced looked like beer because of the color and labeling of the bottles.
   ‘So we then made an urgent request to get white glass bottles and they are now coming,’ Naufar Rahim, a senior company executive, said Saturday.
   The company stopped making beer after hearing reports that survivors of the Dec. 28 disaster ran the risk of drinking contaminated water. It quickly summoned workers and executives to the bottling plant.
   The whole plant had to be cleaned and the beer remaining in the system had to be purged.
   ‘We needed every hand because the packing of the water bottles had to be done manually,’ said Rahim. Beer bottling is 100 per cent mechanized, but the executives found that if they ran the system mechanically, it would also paste the Lion Lager sign on the bottles.
   ‘Even our managers got into the act and helped the staff to manually store the bottles in packages,’ she said.
   The tsunami killed more than 28,000 people in Sri Lanka — more than 123,000 around the region. More than a third of Sri Lanka’s coastline was devastated, and sea water contaminated many wells.
   After the disaster, the demand for liquor has dropped considerably, Rahim said.
   ‘But it is a wonderful feeling that we can make you happy with whatever we produce — good water or good beer,’ she said.

Famed stockpicker Bill Miller of Legg Mason Inc has outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 index for a 14th straight year, a feat no other mutual fund manager has accomplished since at least 1960.
   Miller’s Value Trust fund had lagged the returns, including reinvested dividends, of the benchmark index for most of 2004, but ended the year more than 1 per centage point ahead.
   The fund returned 11.96 per cent for the year, while the index rose 10.88 per cent, Legg Mason said, citing data from Lipper Inc., a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
   Propelled by gains in some of its biggest holdings, Value Trust had been the best-performing fund in the large-cap core category over the one- and four-week periods ending Thursday, Lipper data show.
   A report on Monday by Internet retailer Amazon.com Inc that it had logged its busiest holiday shopping season in its 10-year history helped push Value Trust over the S&P for the first time in almost a year.
   Though Amazon, one of the fund’s largest holdings, fell 16 per cent in 2004, it recovered late in the year, after having been down as much as 37 per cent in October.
   Similarly, IAC/InterActive Corp, was off nearly 19 per cent for the year, but up from a 43 per cent decline in October.
   Also helping performance has been Nextel Communications Inc, the fund’s largest holding as of Sept. 30. Nextel rose 7 per cent for the year, a far cry from its nearly 25 per cent decline in August.
   Beating the S&P 500, a broad market gauge made up of mostly large capitalization stocks, is not easy. No other actively managed fund has come close to Miller, with the next-longest streak dating to 1997, according to Morningstar Inc.
   Miller’s forte is sticking by his stock picks.
   He makes big bets, typically holding a mere 35 stocks. He trades as few as one or two stocks in a year, and will hold onto a stock even after the share price has more than
   doubled.
   ‘What I admire about (Miller) is there are too many portfolio managers who are chasing near-term performance, and they’re not successful,’ said Tom Brown, a hedge fund manager at Second Curve Capital who has known Miller since the 1980s.

A US-Australia free trade agreement took effect Saturday, eliminating tariffs on the overwhelming majority of goods sold between the two countries, US officials said.
   The deal survived months of wrangling in Australia and opposition from some sectors in the United States, and a late amendment negotiated to address US concerns about pharmaceutical patents.
   The US Trade Representative’s office (USTR) said that more than 99 per cent of US manufactured
   goods exports to Australia are now duty free. Manufactured goods account for 93 per
   cent of US exports to Australia.
   ‘As President Bush said when he signed the agreement, ‘the US- Australia Free Trade Agreement is a milestone in the history of our alliance,’ said US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
   ‘This is the most significant immediate cut in industrial tariffs ever achieved in a US free trade agreement, and manufacturers are the big winners.’

Asian currencies were up against the dollar over the last week of 2004, as concern persisted over the US economy weighing on the greenback.
   JAPANESE YEN: The yen moved narrowly against the dollar in thin trading ahead of the New Year holidays.
   The Japanese currency stood at 103.67 to the dollar in Thursday afternoon trading, compared with 103.73-76 on December 24.
   While there was no trading in Tokyo on Friday, the yen
   rose to 102.72 in Singapore amid concerns over the US current account and budget deficits.
   The yen is likely to stay
   firm against the dollar, dealers said.
   AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR: The Australian dollar is expected to gain against the greenback in the short term
   but will lose support over
   the longer term in a repeat
   of the currency's rollercoaster performance in 2004, dealers said.
   The "Aussie" ended the week at 77.92 US cents, posting strong gains to build on last week's 76.44 US cents.
   It gained 2.94 US cents during 2004, peaking at a seven-year high of 80.07 in February.
   Economists believe the upward momentum is set
   to continue. The Australian dollar is generally known
   as a commodity currency, as it tends to move with the price
   of its export commodities.
   NEW ZEALAND DOLLAR: The New Zealand dollar ended the week at 71.84 US cents, up from 71.32 US cents the previous week.
   SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The Singapore dollar was at 1.6343 to the US dollar on Friday from 1.6410 a week earlier.
   HONG KONG DOLLAR: Hong Kong's US-pegged dollar was at 7.772 to the greenback on Friday from 7.7819 a week earlier.
   INDONESIAN RUPIAH: The rupiah closed at 9,340/9,350
   to the dollar on Thursday, the last business day of 2004, compared with 9,295/9,300 to the dollar a week earlier.
   PHILIPPINE PESO: The peso closed up slightly against the dollar at 56.28 from 56.20 the previous week.
   SOUTH KOREAN WON: The won gained strength to 1,035.10 won to the dollar Friday, compared with 1,048.40 won a week earlier, reflecting the global weakness of the greenback.
   The won appreciated 15 per cent against the US currency
   in 2004 as government intervention on the South Korean currency eased amid criticism over the increasing cost for keeping the won's value artificially low.
   Dealers said the won was expected to gain ground further to around 1,030 won in the coming week.
   TAIWAN DOLLAR: The Taiwan dollar rose to end at 31.917 against the greenback Friday compared with 32.190 a week earlier.
   THAI BAHT: The baht closed Thursday ahead of New Year public holidays at 38.98-39.03 to the dollar compared with the previous week's close of 38.99-39.01.

BB auction held
The auction of the 28-day, 91-day, 182-day, 364-day and 2-year treasury bills were held in Dhaka on Sunday. A total of Tk 488.80 crore, Tk 10.00 crore, Tk 93.00 crore, Tk 10.00 crore and Tk 30.50 crore were offered respectively for the 28-day, 91-day, 182-day, 364-day and 2-year bills. Of these, Tk 488.80 crore, Tk 90.00 crore and Tk 10.00 crore and 30.50 crore were accepted against the 28-day, 182-day and 364-day and 2-year bills. The ranges of the implicit yields of the accepted bids were 4.00-4.05 per cent, 5.75 per cent 6.16-6.22 per cent and 6.75 per cent per annum respectively. The bid offered for the 91-day bill was not accepted. It may be mentioned here that the bills worth of Tk 497.50 crore will be retired in the current week and as a result, net issuance will be increased by Tk 121.80 crore during this week, said a Bangladesh Bank press release.
— UNB

New Year textile export chaos in Pakistan
A large number of Pakistani export consignments of textile goods could not meet the deadline of December 31, 2004 , because of road blocks on the eve of new year hampering smooth flow of traffic. This resulted in long delays of the trucks loaded with containers in reaching the Quaid-e-Azam terminal for the airlifting of the cargo. The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) through public notice issued on December 23, 2004, fixed December 31, 2004, as last date for availing freight subsidy to those categories which came under US Customs embargo. In the absence of reconciliation of quotas by the EPB, a large number of exporters were still holding valid quotas in their Category Passbooks (CPB). But the US customs in middle of November 2004 had to impose embargo on recording over shipments in most of the fast running categories.
— Dawn

Forbes honours Ratan Tata
Ratan Tata, who is credited with the phenomenal growth of the Tata group in the past dacade, has been named as ‘Forbes’ Asian Businessman of the Year’. His (Tata’s) $14.3 bn family conglomerate is a picture of what was and is India Inc,’ Forbes said in its recent issue. Crediting Sixty-seven-year-old Tata with modernising perhaps one of the most respected business houses of India, the magazine said Ratan Tata has spent the past decade more than doublng the revenue of the corporate giant while dragging it into modern business, where technology combined with cheap labour can make for a potent competitor. ‘Ratan is probably one of the three or four best business leaders I have ever met,’ Henry Schacht, former chief executive of Lucent Technologies and Cummins Engine, where he did business with Tata, who was then running Tata Motors, told Forbes. ‘The genius of Ratan is he understood what needed to be done and he understood how it needed to be done in India,’ Schacht said. Recalling his initial days in the group, Tata said, “I was always put after trying to fix ailing companies’.
— PTI

Indian forex reserves rise to $131.02b
Large-scale flow of funds from overseas propelled India’s foreign exchange reserves to a whopping $131.02 billion in the week ended Dec 24, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday. This represents an increase of $394 million in the country’s foreign exchange pile over the previous week, says the weekly figures issued by the central bank here. During the last weekly period, the country’s foreign currency assets registered a gain of $383 million over the previous week to touch $125.05 billion, said the statement. The RBI said foreign currency assets expressed in US dollar terms include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as euro, sterling and yen held in reserves. During the week ended Dec 24, gold reserves remained unchanged at $4.54 billion. The country’s reserve position in the International Monetary Fund, which is included in the total foreign exchange reserves since April 2, 2004, in keeping with the international best practice, rose by $11 million to touch $1.42 billion.
— IANS

Tokyo bourse faces early slump
Japanese stocks are expected to slip in early 2005 on a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy but should rebound later in the year in tandem with expected stronger growth, analysts said. After seeing the market end 2004 on a positive note, investors are betting that the semiconductor industry will emerge from the current downturn to help drive exports and so the economy by mid-2005. They said other positive factors include an expected recovery in corporate capital spending and stronger consumer sentiment later in the year. “Growth concerns in Japan are most likely to weigh heavily on the equity market in early 2005,’ said Societe Generale Asset Management senior economist Akio Yoshino. “We think that there is the possibility that the Nikkei index could slip to below the 10,000 mark around March, when the Japanese fiscal year ends.’ Japanese shares posted a second consecutive, but modest, annual gain over the past 12 months. The benchmark Nikkei-225 index closed 2004 at 11,488.76, up 7.6 per cent, after hitting a low of 10,299.43 and a high of 12,195.66.
— AFP

India’s mineral worth Rs 810 crores
The total value of mineral production covering metalliferrous and industrial mineral, but excluding fuel, atomic and minor minerals in November, 2004 is estimated at Rs. 810 crore against Rs. 636 crore in November, 2003. According to a press release, total value of these minerals produced during October, 2004, was estimated at Rs. 707 crore.
— ANI