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The Rajshahi divisional customs and excise department has initiated legal actions against 70 jewellery shops of the city for not paying value added tax since long.
   Customs people, led by assistant commissioner of the department Jewel Ahmed, raided a number of jewellers’ shops in the city late last month and seized selling receipts and account vouchers.
   After scrutinising the documents, the customs department found 70 jewellery shops depriving the exchequer of crores of taka for years in VAT.
   Pramanik, Feroja, M Roy, Heera, Haque, Manik, Ekram, Shahina, Naz, Gold Palace and Shumi are among the jewellers’ shops brought under customs’ dragnet. Sources said, out of the city’s 130 jewellery shops, only 63 have VAT registrations.
   The customs and excise department sources said, though the famed jewellers have been selling ornaments of gold and other precious metals worth lakhs of taka per month, their highest monthly payment of VAT was Tk 300.
   Sources said, the department issued show-cause notices on the 70 jewellery shops after filing cases against them.
   The assistant commissioner, Jewel Ahmed, said, a jeweller might be fined maximum Tk 3 lakh for evading VAT.
   Talking to the newsmen, Rajshahi City Jewellery Traders Association general secretary Mokhlesur Rahman said, ‘Rajshahi is not a developed place, so full payment of VAT from Rajshahi is impossible’.
   He said, the customs and excise department raided nine shops of the city, but filed case against 70 shops. He said, the traders are yet to receive any show cause notices that the customs authorities claimed to have served.

Stocks witnessed a moderate decline in the past week amid IPO binge that started early this month and would continue in next couple of months.
   The DSE general index dipped 57 points or 3.36 per cent to 1635.72 on sustained selling pressure throughout the week as investors re-directed funds to the primary market, stockbrokers said.
   They believed that sizeable amount of funds had already been seeped away from the market and more is expected to be withdrawn as investors find it lucrative to invest in primary shares.
   Market observers said that frenzied investors were spurred by the trading of Popular Life Insurance that made debut on Tuesday. The shares of the company traded as high as Tk 400 against the face value of Tk 100.
   ‘The IPO is one of the main reasons that weakened the market,’ DSE member Shakil Rizvi told New Age.
   The Agrani Insurance completed its public subscription early this month while the Grameen Mutual Fund opened its subscription on Monday.
   Seven more are on the pipeline. They are Prime Finance and Investment, Summit Power, Asia Pacific General Insurance, Nitol General Insurance, Premier Leasing, Islami Finance and Investment and Progressive Life Insurance.
   Brokers feel that present sentiment is likely to prevail in the next couple of months.
   ‘Market seems to remain weak throughout July,’ said Sharif Ataur Rahman, managing director of the SAR Securities Ltd.
    ‘I think it will take some time to balance the market,’ he said, hoping that market would bounce back in September-October ahead of the next series of corporate declarations of the companies that end year on June 30.
   The All Share price Index slid 42.6 points or 3.29 per cent to 1251.2 points while the DSE top 20 index plunged by 61.6 points or 3.34 per cent to 1783.4 points.
   Average daily turnover increased to Tk 21 crore from Tk 17.5 crore a week back.
   The Exim Bank and the South East Bank topped the most active list on the back of their corporate announcements.
   A 40 per cent stock dividend pushed the Exim Bank stocks by 3.2 per cent to Tk 655 while lower-than-expected results pulled down the share price of the South East Bank by over 10 per cent to Tk 594. The bank declared 30 per cent stock dividend.
   Drug maker Beximco Pharma, which declined marginally, remained in the most-active list on speculation of its betting on raising fund from the London Stock Exchange.
   Top-rated Square Pharma back in the top active category on speculation of its upcoming corporate disclosure.
   Prime Bank, Pubali Bank, Popular Life Insurance, Apex Footwear and Lafarge Surma Cement and Beximco were also on the list of the most active shares during the week.
   Twenty-five issues gained while 159 declined of 204 issues traded during the week.
   Shares in category A saw less transaction while that of categories B and Z witnessed higher transaction.
   Category A hogged 83.8 per cent of total turnover of Tk 125.82 crore, while the rest is controlled by B and G.
   In Chittagong Stock Exchange, All Share Price Index lost around 98.5 points or 3 per cent 3194.4 points.

The Bahrain-based International Islamic Financial Market plans to help set up a secondary market for Islamic bonds, that could be worth $10 billion by 2006, and help unify Sharia financial standards, its new head said on Thursday.
   IIFM’s chief executive officer, Ijlal Ahmed Alvi, said merging Islamic financial standards and creating an inter-bank market between Islamic banks were needed steps towards a regulated Islamic banking market.
   Regional financial hub Bahrain joined Malaysia, Indonesia, Sudan and the Islamic Development Bank in 2001 to set up the IIFM to help boost Islamic banking and provide guidelines for more than 200 Islamic banks and finance houses.
   The body’s membership, including observers, has since grown to 24 institutions from the Far East, the Gulf Arab region, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Europe.
   Alvi, who took up his post in April, told Reuters, that IIFM was studying ways to develop a secondary market for Sukuk, or Islamic bonds, to encourage their trading and make them globally accepted.
   He said he expected this market to grow to $10 billion by 2006 from $6.7 billion at end-2004.
   ‘Now there is not enough supply of Islamic Sukuk. We will look how to facilitate a secondary market. We can play the role of the independent regulator, explore possibilities (of more issues), and create links between banks,’ Alvi said.
   He said the IIFM plans to set up a database for issuance and trading of the secondary market which could help oversee the market and provide transparency.
   ‘Our aim is also to unite the Sharia boards in the three regions of Africa, the Gulf, and East Asian Muslim countries, but this cannot be achieved in the short term,’ Alvi said.
   ‘We are trying to have a wide Sharia standard. There is talk between us, the IDB and other parties.’ Economists say different approaches to Islamic principles has delayed the development of unified Islamic banking products, and limited the scope of an inter-bank market between Islamic institutions.
   Alvi said a secondary market and unified regulations could pave the way to creating an Islamic inter-bank market.
   ‘There is a requirement for this inter-bank market. Coordination between banks is currently lagging, but could be activated with more products and further issues of Sukuk,’ Alvi said.
   IIFM is holding a conference in Pakistan in October on banking and the money market.

City’s kitchen markets saw fresh rise in prices of all vegetables and pulses, and some spices in the past week that ended on Friday.
   Though the prices of green chili and farm chicken marked some decline, off-season tomato sold at exorbitant price.
   Fish prices gained further in the week while rice prices remained as high as before.
   Different city markets saw that prices of different kinds of vegetables increased by Tk 2-5 per kilogram. Even the price of tomato has been doubled as against the price a week back.
   Tomato a kilogram was sold at Tk 80, up Tk 32 from the previous week, and okra, bitter gourd, and aubergine at Tk 24 as against Tk 20 in the previous week.
   Cowpea jumped to Tk 20 from Tk 16 and snake gourd to Tk 16 from Tk 14. Radish sold at Tk 24, cabbage (small) at Tk 20-25 per piece, lalshak at Tk 20, potato (white) at Tk 10 and potato (red) at Tk 16.
   The price of green chili, however, came down to Tk 20 per kg as against Tk 80 in the previous week. Traders claimed that the availability of the item was abundant.
   The prices of different pulses like red lentil (mashur), green pea (matar), and Bengal gram chickpea (chana) increased from their week ago levels.
   Lentil sold at Tk 52 a kg, up Tk 2, green pea at Tk 38 as against Tk 34 and chickpea at Tk 40 from Tk 38 in the previous week. Traders blamed hoarding by a section of businessmen for the price hike of lentil.
   Besides, the price of some spices like raisin (kishmish) also jumped to Tk 150 from Tk 130-140 in the previous week. The price of cinnamon (daruchini) remained static at Tk 120 a kg despite a rise in wholesale rate.
   The price of farm chicken declined to Tk 70 from Tk 72 on sufficient supply, traders said. But the price of all sorts of fish remained high.
   A 800-gm hilsha sold at Tk 250 while ruhi (Burmese) at Tk 100 per kg, katla Tk 140, bele (medium) Tk 180 and big Tk 250, baim Tk 250, kechki Tk 200, pangas (local) Tk 200, shrimp (medium) Tk 250 and sarpunti Tk 80.

The World Bank loans to developing countries rose by $2.2 billion to $22.3 billion in fiscal 2005, which ended June 30, with the bulk going to fast-growing emerging economies, the development institution said yesterday.
   The bank said about $13.6 billion went to emerging economies like India, Turkey, Brazil and China—an increase from $11 billion.
   The bank’s poorer borrowers received $8.7 billion in the form of no- interest loans or grants. This compares to $9 billion in fiscal 2004.
   India was the bank’s largest borrower last year at $2.89 billion, followed by Turkey with $1.8 billion, Brazil at $1.77 billion, China at $1 billion and Indonesia at $917 million.
   India was also the biggest recipient at $1.1. billion from the World Bank’s International Development Association, its lowest cost borrowing facility for impoverished countries, followed by Vietnam at $700 million and Bangladesh at $600 million.
   “While the volume of lending was on the increase, overall lending quality also rose,” the bank said.
   It said total outstanding commitments at risk of not achieving their development objectives declined significantly to 13.5 percent at the end of the year, from 15.9 percent in the previous year.
   Of total loans, grants and guarantees, $15.7 billion was for investments, while $6.6 billion was for policy and development initiatives.
   “We are particularly encouraged by the turnaround of two declining trends: the bank’s financial assistance to middle income countries, and the volume of investment lending,” said James Adams, vice president of operational policy and country services.

World tea output rose two per cent to a record high in 2004 as many countries expanded output and thirst for the brew increased in Europe, Japan and the United States, the UN Food and Agriculture Agency said yesterday.
   The FAO said output reached a record 3.2 million tonnes, with the growth mainly to increases in Turkey, China, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, offsetting declines in India and Bangladesh.
   ‘In China, tea output for 2004 approached the 800,000 tonnes milestone as policy initiatives to promote production and trade of tea began to have an impact on the sector,’ the Rome-based FAO said in a statement presenting its report on tea.
   Turkey’s tea production soared 32 per cent on 2003 to 205,500 tonnes, the report said.
   Indian tea production, on the other hand, was down 4.3 per cent to around 820,200 tonnes due to unfavourable weather conditions and the closure of up to 70 tea gardens in Assam.
   Net imports rose 1.5 per cent to 1.42 million tonnes, with imports to the United States up 5.3 per cent, the European Union up 2.4 per cent and Japan up 2 per cent.
   ‘Most of the growth in these markets is reportedly in response to promotional efforts on the health benefits of tea consumption,’ the FAO said.
   Exports increased by 4.4 per cent in 2004 to 1.47 million tonnes.
   The FAO said tea prices have proved to be among the most stable in agricultural commodities, falling just 2 per cent between 1993/1995 and 2001/2003, compared with falls of 39 per cent for cocoa and 38 per cent for coffee.
   In 2004, tea prices opened at $1.56 per kilogram in January and closed at $1.73 in December, the FAO said.

The first of Emirates SkyCargo's three Airbus A310-300Fs from EADS EFW took off on July 7 from the latter's facility in Dresden, Germany. Headed for Emirates' home-base in Dubai, this was the aircraft's first flight its new livery.
   Emirates SkyCargo took delivery of its first A310-300F recently, says a press release. The two A310-300Fs on order will enter Emirates' fleet by the end of the year.
   The A310-300F, with its gross payload of 39 tonnes, joins Emirates SkyCargos fleet of six wet-leased Boeing 747s.
   With orders for four more Airbus freighters - two A31OFs and two A38OFs - Emirates SkyCargo's total freighter fleet will expand to eleven aircraft by 2008.

The vice-president of the Australia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ABCCI) and convenor of the Import, Indenting & Internal Trade Standing Committee of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Obaidur Rahman, laid emphasis on the need of enhancing transparent knowledge and skills of the business community commensurate with the global trends of business.
   Obaidur, also the former director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said this while distributing certificates among the participants of the training course on Import & Indenting Procedures organised by the DCCI Business Institute (DBI) on Institute premises Wednesday.
   He urged the participants to disseminate ideas and knowledge they gained through training course among their colleagues with a view to enhancing skills in the competitive age.
   The joint secretary (Project & Training) and course co-ordinator, Hasanur Rahman Chowdhury, moderated the certificate awarding ceremony.
   The managing director of the Farco Syndicate and convenor of the Customs, VAT, Tariff and Taxation Standing Committee of the DCCI, Sheikh Md Farid, was present at the function.
   Md Ali Akbar, controller of Dhaka Division office of the Controller of Import & Export, Azhar Ali Mia, SVP & Head of Audit, Bank Asia Limited, Md Rashed Ali, chairman of GC Limited and Sheikh Md Farid, proprietor of the Farco Syndicate were invited to conduct the course.
   The course aimed at familiarising the following topics: Introduction to Import Trade in Bangladesh, Formalities and Legal Documents for operating an Import House, Indenting Business in Bangladesh, Market Exploration and Apprising the Principals/Suppliers/Manufacturers for the Imported Products, Looking for the Principals/ Supp-liers/Manufacturers and reaching an understanding with them as Indentor, International Tenders-Different types of International Tenders and Techniques of Hand-ling, Indenting in Private Sector, How to Collect proforma Invoice/ Indent and Formalities of Opening the L/C, and Duties and Taxes for Importable products in Bangla-desh, Functions of C&F Agents.
   A total of 21 participants from different business organisations attended the training course.

Reserve Bank of India Governor YV Reddy said on Thursday global uncertainties had increased compared to what the central bank had expected but it was sticking to its April monetary policy forecasts for now.
   The central bank holds its first quarterly monetary policy review on July 26 and analysts say federal bonds are pricing a quarter percentage point rise in the short-term interest rate due to a surge in domestic demand and costlier oil. ‘The formal response will come at the time of the monetary policy (review),’ Reddy told reporters after a board meeting of the central bank.
   ‘As of now, till the monetary policy is (ready), we still stick to our basic projections. But the global uncertainties have certainly increa-sed compared to what we had estimated. So we are analysing.’
   The yield on the actively traded 7.27 per cent bond maturing in 2013 rose to 7.1203 per cent from 7.1105 per cent before the comment. It had closed Wednesday at 7.1440 per cent—its highest since mid-May.
   At its annual policy statement in April, the central bank announced a surprise quarter-per centage-point increase in the benchmark short-term reverse repo rate, raising it to 5 per cent, to contain the threat of higher inflation.
   It had forecast 2005/06 economic growth at 7.0 per cent and inflation based on wholesale prices to end the financial year to March 2006 at 5.0- 5.5 per cent.
   But global prices of crude oil, India’s biggest import, have gained more than 10 per cent since the April decision and analysts say higher prices could accelerate inflation, which stood at 4.14 per cent for the 12 months to June 25.

Pakistan’s textile mills continued to buy cotton from the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan over the past week while awaiting supplies from the fresh crop, dealers said on Thursday.
   Pakistan’s cotton crop is planted in April and May, and harvested between May and August.
   The new crop from the southern province of Sindh is expected to start arriving later this month, and in the main growing area, the central province of Punjab, in August.
   ‘There is no stock with the traders, so the mills have no option but to buy from the TCP,’ said Naseem Usman, a Karachi- based dealer.
   ‘This has been the case for nearly two months now, and mills are turning to the TCP to meet their requirements,’ he said.
   The TCP was conducting regular auctions to sell its stocks, and dealers said demand from millers was rising.
   Dealers said the corporation had so far sold nearly a million bales of cotton (375 lb each), of which some 100,000 bales were sold to foreign buyers.

Asian holdings of foreign exchange reserves rose $132 billion in the first six months of 2005 to total $2.58 trillion, led by a steep climb in China’s holdings, central bank figures showed.
   China’s reserves alone grew $101 billion in the first six months as speculation of a yuan revaluation and a mounting trade surplus led to inflows of foreign money into the country.
   China’s trade surplus was $39.65 billion in the first half of 2005, compared with a deficit of $6.8 billion a year earlier.
   China said on Thursday its reserves had risen $20 billion in June.
   Excluding China, total reserves in the rest of Asia fell in May and June. Many of the regional central banks had intervened to sell dollars in those two months as a strengthening U.S. economy pushed up the U.S. dollar.
   The euro also fell nearly 6 percent against the dollar in May and June, pressured by the euro zone’s economic woes and political uncertainty. With an estimated 20 percent share of world reserves, the euro’s fall would have caused revaluation losses for reserve-holders.
   Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Bangladesh suffered falls in reserves in dollar terms in the first half of the year.
   Taiwan, which is used as a proxy market to bet on the yuan, and Malaysia, whose ringgit peg is also a target for speculators, saw the biggest rise in reserves, after China.
   Asia ex-Japan’s reserves increased by $173 billion in the last quarter of 2004, which analysts said was a record quarterly jump. China’s reserves alone rose more than $95 billion in the final quarter of 2004 to a record $609.9 billion. Latest foreign exchange reserve holdings:
   In December 2003, China used $45 billion of foreign exchange reserves — about 10 percent of its holdings at that time — to bail out two banks. Those funds are not included in this figure.

The European Union wants to see concrete steps before granting China market economy status, a move it will not make before a bilateral summit in September, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday.
   Britain, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, had said it hoped for a deal on the status, which would give China greater protection from anti- dumping duties on its exports, in time for the annual EU-China summit on September 5.
   But speaking to reporters at the start of a visit to China, Barroso said the time was not ripe for a decision on the issue because a lot of work still needed to be done.
   ‘It will not certainly be before the summit. That would be impossible. And it even would be very difficult to take that decision during the summit,’ he said.
   ‘What I can say is that I believe we could launch a process now—speeding this process—if we see goodwill on the Chinese side to give us some assurances about some conditions in terms of rules and investment.’
   Barroso declined, ahead of his meetings, to detail the criteria China must meet before winning market economy status.
   But, speaking broadly of economic ties, he said he wanted to know whether China was fully open to EU imports; why EU banks and service providers were not as strong on the ground in China as elsewhere, and whether China was enforcing intellectual property rights.
   ‘The European public, to see China’s economic power not as a threat but as an opportunity, needs some concrete results,’ Barroso said. ‘It takes two to tango.’
   EU diplomats said Britain wanted to be able to grant China the trade benefit to avert tension at the summit and to compensate for the EU’s failure to lift an arms embargo against Beijing imposed after the 1989 crushing of the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.

Opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced a bill Thursday aiming to cut the massive trade deficit with China by targeting what they called unfair trade practices.
   ‘The unrelenting, sky-high trade deficits with China reflect a failure by the Bush administration to adopt trade policies that promote the interests of US workers, businesses and farmers,’ said Representative Charles Rangel, one of the sponsors.
   ‘We can’t keep whistling into the wind and ignoring these deficits. They are undermining our economy and causing hard-working Americans to lose jobs.’
   Although introduction of a bill does not guarantee passage, the move highlighted the growing discontent in Congress over China, which has been accused of manipulating its currency to help exports and squelching competition through use of state-controlled companies.
   The bill would allow US workers and businesses to challenge Chinese subsidies to manufactured and agricultural exports, and make clear that ‘currency manipulation’ is an unfair trade practice.
   The bill would also revive the ‘Super 301’ provisions of US law to direct the administration to identify barriers to US exports and an other unfair practices, including failure to protect intellectual property rights.
   The action comes as the US trade deficit with China reached 15.8 billion dollars in May, the highest this year and third-highest on record.
   Rangel said President George W. Bush has failed to get a level playing field with the Chinese.
   ‘Time is up, and the Bush administration’s China trade policy has flunked every test,’ he said.
   ‘The growth in China’s economy is one of the most important and predictable developments of the 21st century and yet the Bush administration is like a deer caught in the headlights,’ he said.
   ‘Since the president has no viable policy for dealing with trade with China, Congress must step in on behalf of America’s working families and small businesses.’
   Meanwhile, House Republicans introduced their own legislation to monitor China’s trade practices — the United States Trade Rights Enforcement Act — which would impose tariffs on nonmarket economies such as China’s.
   The bill, introduced by Republican Representative Phil English, also would monitor.

The US economy got a double-dose of good news Thursday with consumers resuming a shopping binge and inflation staying tame in June.
   Retail sales jumped by 1.7 percent in the month, the Commerce Department said, well above the 0.9 percent increase expected on Wall Street. Excluding autos, which tend to be volatile, sales were up 0.7 percent.
   Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity and so is a crucial indicator of overall health. The Federal Reserve could normally be expected to fret if retail sales go up too strongly.
   But the US central bank will have been comforted by the latest reading on the Consumer Price Index from the Labor Department, which showed headline inflation stayed flat in June.
   That was better than the increase of 0.3 percent expected by economists. The so-called core rate, excluding food and energy costs, was up a modest 0.1 percent.
   In the past year, the CPI is up 2.5 percent, the lowest year-over-year gain since September. The core CPI is up 2.0 percent in the past 12 months, in the middle of the Fed’s comfort zone on inflation.
   The positive data helped drive Wall Street higher, with the Nasdaq share index hitting a new 2005 peak of 2,152.89 and the broad stock market reaching a four-year high.
   ‘The data support the view that the (first-quarter) hump in inflation is behind us, although the recent jump in oil prices suggests residual upside risk for July,’ said Rich MacDonald, research director at Action Economics.
   Fed chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues have hiked interest rates nine times in the past year to stay ahead of inflation. Most analysts expect rates will rise to 3.50 percent at the Fed’s next meeting on August 9.
   Further clues on Fed thinking will come next Wednesday when Greenspan gives mid-year testimony at Congress.
   The modest CPI report could give the Fed room to pause later this year, Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner said.
   ‘Quiescent inflation readings may also make it possible for the Fed to hold off hiking short-term interest rates later this year, if the economy cools off to the point that such a move is warranted,’ he said.
   Set against that, the robust retail sales reading would suggest the world’s biggest economy is heating up.
   Analysts said the headline increase was driven by a massive discount programme offered by General Motors to shore up flagging sales, which has now erupted into an all-out price war among US car makers.
   ‘Put an ‘on sale’ sign on, and they will come,’ said Avery Shenfeld, economist at CIBC World Markets.
   ‘A combination of discounts on clothes and autos, and favourable weather, brought out the shoppers in droves.’
   Wachovia said that retail sales were helped also by the US jobless rate falling to a four-year low of 5.0 percent in June.
   ‘An improving job market is filling consumer wallets with cash,’ the bank said.

Japanese researchers on Friday showed off a bendable electronic paper that uses almost no power whilst displaying images, making it useful for advertising on buildings and vehicles.
   Electronics maker Fujitsu said the electronic paper was the first that can preserve images in vivid color and without distortion when they are folded or bent.
   It said the paper has an image memory function that means it has no need for electricity other than a minimal amount when changing the picture.
   ‘Electronic paper offers all the same characteristics of paper such as being thin, flexible and lightweight,’ Fujitsu said in a statement.
   It said the product would be suited to public advertisements on trains, buses or buildings as it could be updated more frequently than signs made of traditional paper.
   It could also be put to use in stores or restaurants or as part of mobile telephones.
   Fujitsu said it will keep testing the paper’s practical uses with the aim of commercializing it in the fiscal year ending March 2007.

The dollar softened in rangebound Asian trade Friday as the market waited for fresh US economic indicators later in the day to confirm a series of solid data on the US economy, dealers said.
   The dollar fell to 112.15 yen in late Tokyo afternoon trade from 112.30 yen in New York late Thursday.
   The euro rose to 1.2098 dollars from 1.2079 dollars while easing to 135.72 yen from 135.77 yen in New York.
   The dollar’s softness ‘was simply due to technical adjustment in directionless trade after the recent yen selling,’ said Masashi Hashimoto, currency analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
   The dollar edged up overnight against major currencies supported by better-than-expected US retail sales figures and flat consumer inflation data for June.
   The dollar failed to get a major lift from the figures because although they showed robust economic activity, tame inflation could allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates relatively low.
   US data due Friday includes factory gate prices and industrial output for June, with the market waiting for further confirmation the US economy is on solid ground.
   ‘If today’s economic indicators confirm the strong nature of US economic activity and enhance the perception that the US Fed will maintain its interest rate hike cycle, the dollar could test the strong resistance level of 112.50 yen once again,’ said Mitsubishi Securities foreign exchange manager Minoru Shioiri said.
   The euro could also rise as worries ease over political risks in the European Union, dealers said.
   In early afternoon trade, the dollar fell to 55.885 Philippine pesos from 55.970 on Thursday, to 1.6887 Singapore dollars from 1.6912, 31.398 Taiwan dollars from 31.969 and to 41.810 Thai baht from 41.895.

Tourist arrivals in Cambodia jumped 38.4 percent to 682,431 in the first half of 2005 compared to the same period last year, figures from the tourism of ministry showed Friday.
   The sharp jump puts the kingdom on track to beat the 1,055,202 arrivals recorded for all of last year, when tourism bounced back after a dismal 2003 when the SARS outbreak and anti-Thai riots in Phnom Penh kept visitors away.
   Cambodia was most popular over the first half of 2005 with South Koreans, who comprised 14.9 percent of all visitors, while Japanese arrivals made up 8.8 percent, US nationals 8.1 percent and the United Kingdom 5.1 percent.
   Arrivals via direct flights to Siem Reap, the northwestern gateway town to Cambodia’s top tourism attraction Angkor Wat, made up 29.0 percent of the total, up slightly on last year’s 26.3 percent.
   Cambodia’s government is trying to persuade tourists to stay longer and see more sights than the World Heritage-listed temple complex.

More Japanese disapprove of than support Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as he faces a tough fight in parliament on his cherished plan to privatize the post office, a survey said Friday.
   Some 38.3 percent of respondents opposed Koizumi’s government while 38.0 percent supported it, in the first time since April that his disapproval rating was higher, said the poll by the Jiji Press news agency.
   The survey was taken of 2,000 adults from July 8 to 11, just after the postal reforms squeaked through the lower house of parliament.
   Koizumi has threatened to call early elections if postal privatization is voted down by the upper house, where his coalition holds a slimmer majority.
   His approval rating was down 2.4 percentage points from the previous Jiji Press survey a month earlier.
   The main reason cited by those who backed the cabinet was that there was no alternative as Japan’s leader to Koizumi, the longest-serving premier in two decades.
   At the same time, the main reason for disapproval was a sense among respondents that there is no hope for the future under Koizumi.

A bill requiring the White House to monitor European arms sales to China failed in the US House of Representatives on Thursday, but supporters said it was only a temporary setback.
   House members voted 215-203 in favor of the bill but failed to get the two-thirds of votes needed to pass the measure, which is aimed at discouraging the European Union from lifting an arms embargo on China.
   The embargo was imposed after the Chinese government’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in 1989.

Shares in Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC Ltd. fell 4 per cent on Friday as investor worries grew about a possible bidding war with Chevron Corp. over US oil firm Unocal Corp.
   Late on Thursday, a crucial Unocal board meeting to discuss competing bids from Chevron and CNOOC ended without any public statement on the outcome.
   State-run CNOOC is bidding $18.5 billion in cash for Unocal, topping a more than $16 billion cash-and-stock offer from Chevron, the second-largest US oil company. Unocal management has been backing the Chevron bid partly on concerns the Chinese deal may not pass US regulatory hurdles
   Reflecting investors’ expectations of a bidding war ahead, Unocal shares have risen steadily to $66.29 per share on Thursday, just below CNOOC’s offer of $67 apiece. Chevron’s offer is currently valued at just above $60 per share.
   Unocal’s management is still in talks with CNOOC but is not expected to make any decision on CNOOC’s offer immediately, said a person close to the situation.
   Shares in CNOOC fell 5.6 per cent at one point before edging back to close at HK$4.675, down 4.1 per cent and lagging Hang Seng Index, which gained 0.1 per cent. CNOOC’s American Depositary Receipts fell more than 3 per cent overnight.
   ‘CNOOC shouldn’t pay so much money and raise the bid. Is it worth it?’ said John Koh, fund manager at Daiwa Asset Management, which holds CNOOC shares.
   ‘It may be, if the oil price is $60 a barrel. Is it going to go up to $75? It’s anyone’s guess.’
   CNOOC has already tweaked its bid to provide additional assurances for California-based Unocal.
   Fine-tuning its offer, CNOOC is setting aside $2.5 billion in an escrow account in the United States that would be paid to Unocal shareholders if the Chinese firm walked away from the deal.
   CNOOC won’t owe any money if the US government blocks the deal, as long as it meets all conditions set in its contract to address US national security concerns, said source close to the situation.
   CNOOC is also putting an additional $500 million in escrow, which will be used to pay Chevron as break-up fee if Unocal accepts the Chinese bid, the source said.
   Chevron has stood by its agreement signed in April, though some analysts and investors expect the company to sweeten its bid as a crucial vote by Unocal shareholders on Aug. 10 draws near.
   CNOOC has been battling Chevron as well as US politicians who say a purchase by a Chinese company could jeopardise national security interests.
   Sliding oil prices also put pressure on energy stocks for a second day running. Crude oil prices fell more than $2 overnight to $57.80 a barrel on a weaker world demand forecast and expectations that Hurricane Emily could spare offshore oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
   ‘The deal makes sense if oil prices are high, but it’s not that attactive if oil prices are falling,’ said BOCI analyst Lawrence Lau.
   Shares in CNOOC’s rivals PetroChina Co. and Sinopec Corp. fell 2.44 per cent and 0.82 per cent, respectively, on Friday.

Oil prices rose 1.4 per cent on Friday, bounding back over $58 a barrel as dealers fretted over potential US production disruptions, even though a major Caribbean hurricane looked set to spare key offshore facilities.
   US light sweet crude for August delivery bounced 80 cents higher to $58.60 a barrel, clawing back a portion of Thursday’s deep $2.21 losses that took the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) to its lowest closing price in two weeks.
   London Brent crude for September was up 79 cents at $57.75 a barrel.
   Hurricane Emily missed OPEC member Venezuela’s oilfields and forecasters said it looked likely to avoid the US Gulf of Mexico, home to about a quarter of domestic output.
   But the early arrival of a succession of storms stoked worries about supplies there with several months until the end of the traditional hurricane season.
   Emily grew as it swept into the southeastern Caribbean Sea late on Thursday, but Accuweather said there was an 85 per cent chance the storm would stay on its current path toward northeastern Mexico or far south Texas.
   Last week’s Hurricane Dennis briefly shut most oil and gas output, but companies were quick to restart operations.
   Oil prices have fallen $3 from their $61.35 a barrel peak on July 6, with losses accelerating this week after US data showed a bigger than expected increase in stocks of distillates, the high-demand fuel group that includes heating oil and diesel.
   Stockpiles that were pulled to below-average levels by exceptionally robust summer demand are now finally back in the upper half of their average range, the US government said.
   This should give traders slightly more confidence about refiners’ ability to meet demand this winter, when consumption spikes in northern hemisphere countries, although many still worry about tightness in refining capacity.

Bangladesh tea export declines
Though the tea export of Bangladesh decreased by more than 1 per cent during the last fiscal over the fiscal 2003-2004, the world tea production last year reached a record 3.2 million tons, according to a report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Thursday. The report released that the tea export increased by 50,000 tons which is more than the production in 2003, but production of the major exporters like India and Bangladesh has decreased. The FAO report was prepared for the Intergovernmental Group on Tea meeting in Bali (20-22 July 2005) to review the current world tea market and its medium-term outlook. Increase in export was due mainly to record production in Turkey, China, Kenya, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The growth in output from these countries more than offset declines in other major producing countries, including India and Bangladesh.
— BDNews

Ghorashal Bridge to open soon
The newly built Ghorashal bridge on Sylhet-Ghorashal-Kaliganj road will be opened soon for traffic to ease traffic jams in Dhaka city. Communication Minister Barrister Nazmul Huda informed this Friday while visiting the site of the bridge over Sitalakhya river to see final touches being given on the project, being implemented with the government’s own funds. With the implementation of the project, all modes of vehicles from Sylhet, Comilla and Chittagong would ply to 16 northern districts crossing through the bridge and bypassing the capital city. Department of Roads and Highways executed the works on the 422-meter bridge, involving Tk 40 crore, said an official handout. Work on a 100-meter approach road and two underpasses in Kaliganj end and 890-meter approach road and an underpass in Ghorashal end have also been completed.
— UNB

Ghorashal thermal power plant nears closure
Power generation at the Ghorashal thermal power plant might stop for want of overhauling of the plant for over three decades. The 940-MW power plant, installed at a cost of Tk 2,700 crore, might face a major disaster at any time resulting in disruption of power distribution in Narsingdi and rest of the country. In January 1974, the plant first started its operation by producing 55 megawatt of electricity. The first unit was commissioned at a cost of Tk 150 crore. The plant’s second unit with 55-MW capacity, built at a cost of Tk 175 crore, went into production in February 1976. The 210-MW capacity third unit of the plant was built at a cost of Tk 550 crore and commissioned in September 1986. The 210-MW fourth unit, also built at a cost of Tk 550 crore, went into production in 1989 while another 210-MW fifth, costing Tk 600 crore, was commissioned in 1994. Finally, the other 210-MW capacity sixth unit was installed in January 1999 at a cost of Tk 700 crore. Russian Technogram Export Company installed the unit. The production capacity of the units is valid for 20 years.
— UNB

Four lakh saplings sold at Ctg fair
A total of four lakh saplings of various species worth about Taka 22 lakh were sold at the fortnight long “tree plantation movement and tree fair-2005” here. The number of saplings sold last year was two lakh valued about Taka 15 lakh. Visit by huge tree-lovers and selling of the huge number of saplings marked the concluding day today of the fair organised by Chittagong North Forest Division (CNFD) in collaboration with the local district administration at Laldighi Maidan. Organisers said the city dwellers including many females who visited the fair not only roaming rather they returned to their homes with some saplings. Various types of fruit-bearing and flower-bearing saplings were the main attraction of the visitors, they said. Former commerce minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, MP, attended as the chief guest the concluding function held on the fair premises. About 50 stalls from different parts of the district including the CNFD and the Department of Environment participated in the fair. Rahe Bhandari Nursery was adjudged as the best stall followed by Azmir Nursery and Arannyak Nursery as the second and third best stalls.
— BSS

BSTI fines Tk 5.21 lakh in Rajshahi div in 2004
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) filed 511 cases and realized Taka 5.21 lakh as fine from 16 districts under Rajshahi division during the last fiscal. Official sources said the BSTI conducted drives with 86 mobile courts in order to maintain standard of industrial and consumer goods and proper implementation of the metric system of weighing. The court filed cases against the unscrupulous manufacturers and sellers and realized Taka 5.21 lakh through disposing of 494 cases at the field level. Besides, 165 cases were also recorded after conducing 61 sudden drives. Various weights and measurements of 4391 business establishments were also testified during the operation.
— BSS

Tk 500cr CHT rural dev project this month
The Asian Development Bank funded Tk 500-crore development project under the Chittagong Rural Development Project (CHTDRP) kicks off this month aiming at changing the socio-economic condition of the hilly people. The Regional Coordination Committee (RCC) Wednesday at a meeting in Rangamati approved the project implementation guideline paving the way for launching the project. CHT regional council chairman and RCC president Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Santu Larma presided over the meeting. High officials of the ADB, Rangamati Chakma Circle Chief Raja Barrister Debashish Chakma, Bandarban district council member Lusai Mong, Rangamati district council member Japan Chakma and executive engineer of Khagrachhari district council Ashish Kumar Biswas were present at the meeting. The meeting changed the proposed guidelines to ensure that 10 percent money of the project would go to the local people who will get it through their labours. In 2002, the ADB declared the Tk 500-crore development project for the CHT. After a long delay, the project implementation guideline has received the nod from the local level.
— BDNews