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The government on Sunday decided not to contract out management and production of the Madhyapara hard rock mine in Dinajpur to Nam Nam as the North Korean company repeatedly missed deadlines.
   The company, which has been working to develop the field since 1994, looks set to miss its fifth deadline of June 15, as it could complete only 89 per cent of work till May, energy officials said.
   Nam Nam was supposed to complete the mine development work in six years till June 2000.
   Major works like setting up of wagon line have not yet completed. Ministry officials said that the company would not be able to complete the total development before June 30.
   Meanwhile, the unusual delay, coupled with alleged irregularities of the a section of company and project officials, has added around Tk 600 crore more to the initial estimate of Tk 680, said sources in the energy ministry.
   An Energy and Mineral Resources division meeting on Sunday, presided over by state minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain, decided that Nam Nam would not be given the contract for the management and production.
   The state-owned Petrobangla would extract hard rock through its subsidiary, Madhyapara Granite Mining Company, the meeting decided.
   It was also decided that Petrobangla would hire experts for production from the field, and if needed, would engage workers and experts of Nam Nam.
   When it missed the fourth deadline on February 28, a visiting North Korean delegation, led by Kim Yonl Sul, vice minister for foreign trade, requested the energy and mineral resources division in early March to extend the deadline by three months.
   Usually, the company which develops a field is given the charge of production, sources in the energy division said.
   'Although it missed deadlines one after another, the government extended the company's development contract again and again. Yet the field is not ready,' regretted an official.
   The mine's area, spanning over 1.2 square kilometres, has a reserve of around 174 million tonnes of hard rock and granite.
   About 5,500 tonnes of hard rock would be produced daily once the development of mine is completed.
   The annual demand for hard rock in the country is around 2.5 million tonnes, now met by import. If commercial production starts, the Madhyapara mine would supply nearly 1.65 million tonnes of hard rock a year.
   Operator of the mine, Madhyapara Granite Mining Company Limited, a subsidiary of Petrobangla, extracted a total of 3.25 lakh tonnes of hard rock from the mine during the development period till January, 2005
   About 2.74 lakh tonnes of hard rock were sold to different government and non-govt organisations at Tk 15.55 crore
   Madhyapara hard rocks were used in constructing the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the capital, Dinajpur Medical Collage and Dharala Bridge in Gaibandha

US energy giant Unocal has placed a proposal for gas exploration in Block 7, which covers Barisal and Patuakhali, five years after it signed a production sharing contract with Petrobangla.
   As per a section of the contract, signed on April 2, 2000, the company is required to wait for five years before it makes a proposal for exploring gas.
   The company, however, proposed that instead of drilling two exploratory wells stipulated by the contract, it would drill one well, said sources in Petrobangla.
   In its proposal submitted to Petrobangla in the last week of March, the company said that it would conduct a seismic survey on an area of over 1,000 square kilometres and drill one exploration well in the first phase.
   The sources said Unocal proposed in February that it would conduct the survey over 500 square kilometre areas and drill one well, which was rejected by the Petrobangla.
   The board sought the law ministry’s suggestion whether the company would be allowed to conduct exploratory work and whether there would be any legal bars in awarding the job, said the sources.
   They said Unocal was awarded the block in the second round bidding which took place in 1997.
   Under the contract, the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company will have a 10 per cent stake in the venture without any investment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Sunday asked Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd to explain whether it has complied with the company laws before it intended to raise fund through the London Stock Exchange.
   ‘We asked for legal explanation from the company,’ said Mansur Alam, executive director of the commission.
   Earlier on June 02, the Beximco Pharma, a sister concern of the Beximco Group, in its annual general meeting, announced that it would raise £27 million or about Tk315 crore from the London bourse to finance its expansion plan.
    The company would raise the fund through an instrument called global depository receipt (GDR) and would join alternative investment market of the London Stock Exchange by July 2005.
   ‘We basically want the company to explain GDR issues,’ said Mansur adding that whether it has fulfilled all the legal aspects of the company laws.
   The capital market regulatory body sent the latter to the company addressing its managing director, which reads that ‘it is desirable if you give your comment’, in this regard.
   Official sources said that the company took the decision in an extra general meeting with out any prior notice, which was held on the same day of annual general meeting held on Thursday.
   The sources said that ‘raising capital is price sensitive information’ which should have approved in the extra general meeting with a prior notice of at least 21 days.
   ‘This is the violation of the company laws,’ said one official.
   The Beximco Pharma said that a confusion has arisen on the legal matters as this is for the first time happening in Bangladesh.
   ‘If there is any dispute, the company will do what ever requires making it transparent since the initiative is a good one,’ said M Shamsur Rahman, chief executive officer of the Impact PR, which is the media consultant of the Beximco Group.
   He said that the company would hold an extraordinary general meeting on July 9 to endorse its plan to raise the paid up capital to 200 crore from existing 100 crore.
   The drug manufacturer earlier said that it has already nominated a UK-based firm, Libertas Capital Group Plc, to act as its adviser and broker.

The parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Industries has formed a four-member subcommittee to identify the impediments to investments and to recommend ways for removing those.
   Headed by Golam Mohammed Siraj, the subcommittee includes Shamsur Rahman Sharif, MM Shaheen and Shah Nurul Kabir Shaheen.
   Mahmudur Rahman, executive chairman of the Board of Investment, has been made adviser to the subcommittee, formed at the Jatiya Sangsad body’s meeting on Saturday.
   The meeting discussed barriers and factors that discourage investments.
   The ministry and the BoI placed separate reports in the meeting detailing existing investment scenarios.
   Both the reports claimed that progress had been made in creating favourable environment for investment but there still remain obstacles for potential investors.
   Delays and hassles in getting services from government departments, hartals and other destructive political programmes, inefficient services in ports and utility agencies are among the factors that impede investments.
   Still an investor needs at least 26 licenses to establish an industrial plant, the BoI report said.
   Mahmudur Rahman told the meeting that many international conglomerates expressed interests in investing in the country.
   If investors are provided with business-friendly services, facilities and supports, foreign investment will continue to rise, he said.
   The subcommittee was directed to conduct spot investigations in different industrial sectors and to report to the standing committee within 15 days of its formation.

Except apparel sector, very few local manufacturers and service providers could ensure quality management, said FBCCI president Abdul Awal Mintoo, stressing that the country must have legislation and regulatory body to speed up efforts for getting globally-accepted quality certifications.
   About 600 local companies have so far got ISO 9000 certifications and 40-45 per cent of them are from readymade garment sector, 10-12 per cent from pharmaceutical sector, 9 per cent from food and beverage, and 5-8 per cent of ICT, Mintoo told a workshop on ‘ISO-9000 Certification.’
   ‘The number of companies with international standardisation organisation certification is growing quite slowly, because most of the companies in Bangladesh are not completely aware of what ISO 9000 stands for,’ he said.
   The president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry said there is an underlying tendency in some organisations in Bangladesh to simply get the certification.
   ‘But a mere certification does not bring any effective result if guidelines are not fully endorsed and complied with,’ he added.
   Mintoo stressed that the government should take steps to set up a certification body and initiate legislation to regulate the management practices to speed up the process of ISO 9000 certification.
   The managing director of Fiber Optics Network Solutions Bangladesh Limited, Emdad Ul Haque, presented the keynote paper at the workshop.

The Bangladesh Bank has fined Premier Bank Limited Tk 100,000 under the Money Laundering Act for not keeping clean about their clients’ particulars.
   ‘The commercial bank failed to comply with KYC (know your customer) guideline,’ said a senior central bank official. The fine was imposed on Saturday.
   The central bank was investigating an allegation that the commercial bank had opened fake accounts to facilitate opening forged BO accounts in an effort to gobble up primary shares the bank offered for the public.
   Earlier, the central bank had sacked the bank’s managing director, MA Mazid, for his involvement in the forgery design while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cancelled the IPO offer in a severe pecuniary punishment.

Hilsa fish exporters in Barisal region are faced with serious problem as fish export to India through Benapole landport remained totally suspended for about three weeks.
   On the other hand, over eight lakh people involved with this export business have been rendered almost jobless.
   Recently, the Department of Livestock in India imposed embargo on import of fish from Bangladesh through the Benapole land customs.
   Justifying the decision, RK Gupta, Assistant Commissioner of Livestock Department of India, earlier said it is not possible to open quarantine and certification office in Benapole land port area. So, import of Hilsa fish from Bangladesh can be done only through seaport and by air cargo.
   Due to the Indian embargo, fish export to India, particularly from the southern region, remained totally suspended for last three weeks, according to Ajit Kumar Das, President of Bangladesh Fish Exporters Association.
   At least 19 fish exporters of Barisal, Bhola, Patuakhali and Barguna districts have fallen in great difficulties since the Indian embargo on fish exports through Benapole landport.
   Yusuf Ali Sikdar, secretary of Matsa Aratdar Samity here, said fishes were being exported to India since 1994 under the SAPTA agreement.
   But in July 2001, he said, the Central Agriculture Ministry of India in a circular directed that the Hilsha fish exporters of Bangladesh would have to collect a clearance certificate for each truck from the Indian Ministry of Livestock.
   Sikdar added that Hilsa fish worth over 100 crore taka were exported to India from the southern region in 2004.
   Fish exporters said Hilsa export through seaport or by air cargo would be very expensive as well as difficult and time consuming.
   Hilsa Importers’ Association of West Bengal observed a daylong strike in Kolkata on May 30 demanding cancellation of the embargo on export of fish through Benapole landport.

The Trust Bank Ltd opened its corporate branch at Dilkusha in Dhaka on Sunday, says a press release.
   The chief of Army Staff and the chairman of the bank, Lieutenant General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, inaugurated the branch.
   The vice-chairman of the bank and Adjutant General of Bangladesh Army, Major General Sina Ibn Jamali, the managing director, Iqbal U Ahmed, directors and senior officials of the bank also attended the inaugural function.

Mercantile Bank Ltd. observed its 6th founding anniversary on Thursday, says a press release.
   To mark the occasion, the bank organised a programme at Hotel Sonargaon. The chairman of the bank, Md Abdul Jalil MP, presided over the function.
   Golam Faruk Ahmed, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, executive committee chairmen and Shah Md Nurul Alam, managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, among others, were present.
   On the occasion, the bank also distributed Mercantile Bank Award–2005 to eight eminent personalities for their outstanding in their respective fields.
   The recipients of the award are Dr. Kazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed (economics and economics related research), Justice Muhammed Habibur Rahman (Bangla language and literature), Dr. Muhammed Zafar Iqbal (science and technology), Abu Nasar Md Gaziul Haque (education and culture), Golam Sarwar (journalism), Pratap Sankar Hazra (sports), Dr Md Mahfuzur Rahman (research on liberation war) and Nitun Kundu (industries and trade).

The Japan-Bangla Credit Bank Cooperative Ltd has made its debut with pledges of better client services through its planned 100 branches spreading across the country, says a press release.
   Masaki Shibata, president of Tokyo-based hydro power company Eiiwat Co, inaugurated the principal branch of the cooperative bank on Sunday at the Planners Tower on Sonargaon Road in Dhaka.
   Selim Prodhan, chairman of the cooperative bank, told the audience that the financial institution would expand its operation to all economically important locations initially in and around Dhaka, and then in Chittagong, Sylhet and Khulna.
   The cooperative bank started its journey with a capital base of Tk 1200 crore and its planned branches would be made operational in two years time from now, a company executive said.

Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd. opened its 5th color bank at Halishahar in Chittagong on Thursday, says a press release.
   The managing director of Berger Paints, Masih-ul-Karim, inaugurated the new colour bank.
   Rupali Chowdhury, director operations, Tariquzzaman, general sales manager, Mohsin Habib Chowdhury, marketing manager of Berger Paints, among others, were present on the occasion.

India wants to team up with arch-rival Pakistan to negotiate the price for Iranian gas that is to be delivered to South Asia via a proposed $4 billion pipeline, Indian officials said on Sunday.
   Oil minister, Mani Shankar Aiyar, will also push Islamabad to allow Indian diesel imports in bilateral talks starting later on Sunday, although discussions on security and the cost of gas pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan via Pakistan would top his agenda.
   ‘We are both buyers of gas, and we have a common interest in getting a reasonable price,’ a senior Indian oil ministry official told Reuters.
   Pakistani official, Ahmad Waqar, secretary for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, said he was optimistic about the talks but added that it was premature to comment on coordinating with India to negotiate the price of gas.
   ‘There is merit in what you say. Let’s see what India’s formal position is on this issue. Then we will see,’ Waqar told reporters when asked if both countries could join hands in price negotiations.
   Aiyar says India will buy gas only if its cash-strapped power and fertiliser firms, which consume three-quarters of the gas sold in the country, can afford it.
   Indian officials say a pipeline from Turkmenistan, which runs via Afghanistan and Pakistan, has the backing of the United States, but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has voiced concerns about the Iranian project.
   ‘We can’t look at these projects as alternatives. They are all important,’ Aiyar told reporters on Saturday in Lahore, where he arrived for a personal visit a day before the official talks.
   Aiyar said India’s oil and gas deficit was likely to continue for decades.
   India is expected to import 7.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the fiscal year to end-March and plans to double LNG import in five years after finalising a contract next week when Aiyar visits Tehran.
   Rising energy needs of India, which imports 70 per cent of the oil it consumes and is able to meet only half its gas demand, and China have contributed to the rise in crude oil prices to record levels.
   India’s plans to import gas piped across Pakistan gained momentum after a tentative peace process began last year between the nuclear-armed rivals, who have fought three wars.
   Aiyar also hopes to persuade Islamabad to lift the ban on diesel imports from India.
   Reliance Industries Ltd, which operates a 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery at Jamnagar on India’s western coast, is a large exporter of refined products and is keen to ship diesel to Karachi, the closest foreign port.
   Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest refiner, hopes to double the capacity of its Panipat refinery to 120,000 bpd this year and has offered to export diesel to Pakistan, initially by road and later by a pipeline from Panipat.

China took a tough line on Saturday in trade talks with US officials on its surging textile exports, signaling no quick breakthrough in a row that threatens to spill over into the diplomatic arena.
   Vice Premier Wu Yi, who oversees trade, said emergency import curbs the Bush administration had slapped on trousers, shirts, underwear and cotton yarn from China were hurting an industry that employs 19 million people.
   ‘The restrictions implemented by the US have severely impacted China’s textile production,’ the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wu as saying.
   ‘If this cannot be handled well it will severely affect the course of bilateral economic relations and trade,’ she said.
   US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said he held a ‘good meeting’ with his Chinese counterpart Bo Xilai, but added that China had to understand the heat he was feeling at home.
   ‘I don’t believe there is a full appreciation in China for the level of political pressure that we face with respect to our relationship,’ he told reporters.
   Gutierrez, near the end of a three-day visit, was later joined by US Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record) for his meeting with Wu, who hinted the onus was on Washington to resolve the problem.
   ‘The US side should fully understand the seriousness of this issue and help promote a proper resolution,’ she said.
   US imports of clothing from China have surged since a global quota regime ended on Jan. 1, prompting Washington to impose the emergency curbs.
   China says the move, along with similar actions by the European Union, is unjustified and violates World Trade Organization rules.
   Despite Wu’s tough remarks, Bo indicated Beijing was keen to resolve the issue without a trade war.
   ‘Sino-US trade witnessed such great progress in the last 26 or 27 years and we two countries should have the capability to properly deal with the textile trade issue and other questions,’ Xinhua quoted Bo as saying after the 45-minute meeting.
   ‘China has become the third-largest trade partner of the United States and it’s natural for some problems to emerge ... We exchanged our points on the textile issue frankly,’ he said.
   Nyka Alexander of Scotiabank Group in Toronto said Washington would be wary of pushing too hard because it needed China’s help on other issues, such as North Korea. But Beijing also stood to lose by taking too hard a line.
   ‘The level of tensions in the present situation seems to suggest that China may have to make a conciliatory approach ... in order to improve relations with its major trading partners,’ Alexander said in a note to clients.
   Gutierrez has signaled Washington is willing to negotiate with Beijing on the issue, and said the curbs were to give US textile makers time to adjust to the end of the quota system.
   China exported $10 billion worth of clothing to the United States in 2004, a figure Washington says will rise this year.
   The flood of cheap clothes has bolstered critics who say China is keeping the value of its currency, pegged near 8.28 yuan to the dollar, too low, giving its exports an unfair advantage.
   Textiles are not the only bone of contention in US-Chinese trade relations. Gutierrez said earlier this week it was the global trade in fake and pirated goods, which the US Chamber of Commerce says costs the American economy $250 billion each year, that was the top issue bedevilling trade ties.
   ‘Intellectual property rights violations are a crime and we don’t believe we should be negotiating crimes with our trading partners,’ he told business officials in Beijing.

Women investors are consistently better at investing in shares than men, a survey has said.
   The study, by financial website Digital Look, said women were more successful because they tended to back a balanced portfolio instead of more risky stocks.
   The average woman’s share portfolio grew by 17 per cent in the year to 27 May, the survey found, while the average man’s rose by just 11 per cent.
   Over the same period, the FTSE Allshare index climbed by 13 per cent.
   The survey - which analysed more than 100,000 portfolios - found that women built up balanced share collections, favouring leisure, food and drink, and utility firms.
   In contrast, men tended to favour stock market “fads”, backing stocks in sectors such as mining and oil and gas. These shares are more vulnerable to wider price swings, Digital Look said, and have lost ground in recent months.
   The study noted many men have “had their fingers burnt” by not building up a balanced portfolio of shares.
   The same survey last year produced similar results, with the average woman’s portfolio rising 10 per cent - compared with a 7 per cent rise in the FTSE Allshare index and a 6% climb in the average man’s share collection.
   A previous survey in 2001 had also found women outperforming the market.
   “While men tend to take more risks with their hard earned savings, women take a more balanced and considered view, and time and again it pays dividends,” said, Andy Yates, director at Digital Look.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have agreed to exclude the United States from collective trade agreements, allowing members to strike bilateral free trade deals with Washington, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said.
   ‘The GCC states have excluded the United States from the collective (trade) agreements,’ Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters after attending a seminar on future talks with Washington for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
   ‘We in the GCC will hold collective (trade) agreements with all countries except the United States,’ he added.
   The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
   The United States has signed an FTA with Bahrain, is negotiating for similar agreements with UAE and Oman and plans to begin talks with Qatar and Kuwait in the near future.
   Last week, GCC Secretary General Abdurrahman al-Attiya told AFP that ‘the issue of free trade (agreements) with the United States ... is no longer a bone of contention between the GCC states.’
   He added that the issue was resolved ‘more than two weeks ago’ during a meeting of the GCC finance and economy ministers held in Bahrain in the first week of May.
   Saudi Arabia initially strongly opposed bilateral deals, arguing that bilateral free trade deals derail GCC economic integration plans. But it appears to have softened its position following a visit by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to the United States in April.
   Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al-Aam, quoting informed diplomatic sources, reported Saturday that Riyadh had insisted on restoring customs barriers once the FTAs with Washington were applied.
   GCC states launched their unified customs union on January 1, 2003, and the oil-rich region was due to become a single customs zone by the end of 2005.
   The GCC states have also planned to establish a monetary union by the end of this year, a common market by 2007 and a single currency by the beginning of 2007.
   The bloc’s annual summit, held in Manama last December, ended without making any reference to those plans, apparently over a dispute between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over the latter’s FTA with Washington.
   The summit also failed to state an intention on the part of member states to clear obstacles impeding a smooth implementation of a Gulf customs union launched in January 2003.

US President George W Bush said the US economy ‘is on the right track,’ but he urged Congress to take action on ‘four key priorities’ to keep the engine of growth rolling along.
   ‘America’s economy is on the right track,’ Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday. ‘Over the past two years, we’ve added more than 3.5 million new jobs. More Americans are working today than ever before. Home ownership is at an all-time high. Small businesses are flourishing. Factory output is growing. And families are taking home more of what they earn.’
   But he urged lawmakers, when they return to work next week after recess, to wrap up an energy bill, curb spending, ratify the Central American and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and proceed with Social Security reform, echoing remarks he made on Tuesday.
   Bush said the United States ‘is growing more dependent on foreign oil, and that is driving up the price of gasoline across the country.’
   ‘I applaud the House for passing an energy bill,’ Bush said, but he urged the Senate to take up the bill so it can be signed into law by August.
   He also pressed Congress to ‘keep its promise to exercise restraint on spending bills and to rein in mandatory spending.
   ‘The principle is clear,’ he said. ‘Every taxpayer dollar must be spent wisely or not at all.’
   In addition, Bush urged Congress to ratify CAFTA.
   ‘About 80 per cent of products from Central America and the Dominican Republic now enter the United States duty free,’ the US president said. ‘Yet American exports to those countries face hefty tariffs.
   ‘CAFTA will level the playing field by making about 80 per cent of American exports to Central America and the Dominican Republic duty free. ... And CAFTA will make our neighborhood more secure by strengthening young democracies,’ he said.
   Bush also pressed Congress to proceed on Social Security reform.
   ‘Americans of all ages have made it clear they expect their leaders in Washington to strengthen Social Security for future generations,’ he said.
   ‘By taking action on all these priorities, Congress will strengthen the long-term economic security of the American people,’ Bush declared. ‘Americans expect members of both parties to set aside partisan differences and get things done. I look forward to working with Congress to achieve results in the days ahead.’

The US Defense Department has awarded Kuwait’s Public Warehouses company (PWC Logistics) a billion-dollar contract to supply US forces in the region, the company announced.
   The 1.4 billion dollar contract to supply US troops in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Turkey will span 18 months, PWC Logistics said Saturday on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange website.
   The company added that the contract could be extended for a total of five years, and could increase to 14 billion dollars.
   The actual value of the contract would ‘depend on the number of US troops present in those countries, which could increase or decrease, depending on need,’ the announcement said.
   The Kuwait Stock Exchange, which has been reeling under correction pressures for the past two weeks, rebounded strongly on news of the contract, the second for the company in less than four months.

Oman is to build a 15 billion dollar tourist complex to be known as ‘The Blue City’ northwest of the capital Muscat, its promoters said.
   The first of its kind in this country of 2.5 million people bordering the Arabian Sea, the complex will take 15 years to complete.
   Omani and Bahraini companies behind the development said Saturday that the city—one of a spate of tourist projects underway in Gulf countries—will cover a 35 square kilometre (14 square mile) site at Barka, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Muscat.
   The initial phase of building, costing 1.8 billion dollars, is planned to start at the end of this year and be completed at the end of 2009.
   ‘This development will have a value, when it’s completed, of no less that 15 billion US dollars,’ Ahmed Abubaker Janahi, vice chairman of Al-Sawadi Investment & Tourism Company (ASIT), told journalists.
   ‘It will attract, we hope, over two million people per annum to The Blue City,’ he added.

Rubber: Rubber prices rose owing to supplies being unable to match robust demand.
   In Osaka, the RSS 3 July contract rose to 161.80 US cents on Friday, from 158 cents a week earlier.
   Singapore’s RSS 3 July contract climbed to 141.25 US cents on Friday, from 137.50 cents.
   Cocoa: Cocoa futures overturned early losses to climb on renewed violence in leading producer Ivory Coast.
   Speculative selling Wednesday had sent prices to the lowest level in 11 months -- 1,392 dollars per tonne in New York—amid a strong dollar.
   On LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price of cocoa for July delivery increased to 825 pounds per tonne on Friday from 811 pounds a week earlier.
   On the CSCE, the New York futures market, the July contract stood at 1,425 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 1,420 dollars.
   Coffee: Coffee prices reached fresh five-year high points in London amid poor weather in leading producers Brazil and Vietnam.
   Coffee hit 1,237 dollars per tonne on Friday, the highest level since January 10, 2000. Futures have jumped 70 per cent in London since the start of 2005 and by 20 per cent in New York, following six years of dampened prices.
   On LIFFE, Robusta quality for July delivery rose to 1,270 dollars per tonne on Friday from 1,188 dollars a week earlier.
   On New York’s CSCE market, Arabica for July delivery stood at 124.25 cents per pound on Friday, from 122.40 cents.
   Grains and soya: Soya and grains prices were mixed amid rainfall in the US Midwest region.
   On LIFFE, wheat for July delivery stood at 68.00 pounds per tonne on Friday from 67.50 pounds a week earlier.
   In Chicago, the price of wheat for July delivery fell to 323.25 cents per bushel Friday from 337.75 cents.
   Soyabeans for July delivery rose to 672.50 cents per bushel on Friday from 670.50 cents.
   July-dated soyabean meal—used in animal feed—increased to 213.30 dollars per tonne on Friday from 209 dollars.
   Cotton: Cotton prices slid to the lowest level for three and a half months as a firmer dollar encouraged speculators to sell.
   Cotton fell to 47.65 dollars per pound on Wednesday in New York, the lowest level since February 21.
   New York’s July contract fell to 48.70 cents per pound on Friday from 50.65 cents the previous week.
   The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton slipped to 53.95 cents on Thursday from 54.80 cents a week earlier.
   Wool: Wool prices decreased in leading producer Australia despite the country’s dollar falling against its US counterpart and as strong Chinese demand failed to offset falling orders elsewhere.
   The Australian Eastern index fell to 7.24 Australian dollars per kilo on Thursday, from 7.27 Australian dollars a week earlier.
   The British Wooltops index was unchanged at 396 pence.

Revenue collection at Benapole exceeds target
Revenue collection at the Benapole land port customs house has exceeded the target for the fiscal year of 2004-05. Sources said, though 24 working days of the fiscal year still remain to end, the collection already has amounted to Tk 1,025 crore till June 2, which is 24 per cent higher than that collected in eleven months of the previous year. The target for revenue collection was fixed at Tk 1,115 crore. Customs commissioner Dr Rafiqul Islam said that the total collection would surely surpass the target if revenue were collected at the current rate of Tk 5 crore daily in the remaining 24 working days.
— BDNews

Tax ombudsman likely from July
In a bid to bolster the tax administration, the much-talked-about tax ombudsman bill will soon be placed in the parliament to give it effect from July 1, NBR sources said. As part of the process, tax ombudsman bill will be placed before the cabinet Monday for its approval. Following the approval by the cabinet, finance minister M Saifur Rahman will place the bill in the upcoming budget session.
— BDNews

DSE closes lower
All shares price indices on Dhaka Stock Exchange closed lower Sunday as the losers outnumbering the gainers. The DSE all share price index shed by 0.87 points or 0.06 per cent to close at 1277.32 points from 1278.20 points on Saturday, the previous trading day. DSE General Index declined 2.36 points or 0.14 per cent to close at 1655.35 points from 1657.71 points on Saturday. The DSE-20 index is decreased by 1.80 points or 0.09 per cent to close at 1813.47 points from 1815.27 points on the previous trading day. A total of 157 issues traded Saturday. Of them, 61 gained, 76 declined and 20 remained unchanged. Some 4.35 million shares and debentures worth Tk 207.57 million changed hands Sunday against 4.72 million shares valued at Tk 238.88 million on the previous trading day. Market capitalisation stood at Tk 213.12 billion against 213.26 billion on Saturday.
— UNB

CSE closes lower
Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange closed lower Sunday though the losers outnumbered the gainers. The CSE all share price index decreased by 5.84 points or 0.17 per cent to close at 3242.20 points from 3248.04 points on Saturday. The CSE-30 index, however, rose by 1.20 points or 0.03 percent to close at 3051.19 points from Saturday’s 3049.99 points. A total of 63 issues traded Sunday, 21 gained, 27 declined and 15 remained unchanged. Some 1,207,784 shares and debentures worth Tk 4.62 crore changed hands against 1,099,166 shares valued at Tk 7.06 crore on the previous trading day.
— UNB

Ford offers deals on new cars
Ford Motor Co, which has warned that its automotive operations may not be profitable this year, on Friday said it was offering cash rebates for the first time on several new cars and sweetening incentives on its slow-selling Explorer SUV. The move came after the second-largest US automaker on Wednesday reported its 12th straight month of declining US sales and after rival General Motors Corp ratcheted up Detroit’s long-running incentives war with an aggressive new consumer rebate program. GM, suffering from a sales slump as well, said on Wednesday it was offering all customers the same steep vehicle discounts it gives employees. Analysts have likened the GM deal to a clearance sale, aimed at slashing inventories of unsold cars and trucks by selling them off at wholesale, bargain-basement prices.
— Reuters

Wal-Mart urged to ‘clean up act’
Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has been urged by some of its own shareholders to clean up its act. It follows a series of embarrassing incidents such as its recent fine for employing illegal immigrants and a class action sex discrimination suit. Some of its largest investors have written an open letter to the US group demanding action, saying its employment practices are hurting its shares. The letter was timed to coincide with Wal-Mart’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Four groups of US and UK investors - New York City Pension Funds, Illinois State Board of Investment, F&C Asset Management and the UK University Superannuation scheme - have called on Wal-Mart to set up an independent review of its legal and regulatory controls.
— BBC

Lee completes $1.46B takeover of Pulitzer
Lee Enterprises Inc completed its $1.46 billion purchase of fellow newspaper publisher Pulitzer Inc on Friday, closing the books on a family-run company founded 127 years ago. Shareholders of St. Louis-based Pulitzer gathered in New York, where they approved the merger announced in January. Lee shareholders earlier agreed to the deal that will create the nation’s seventh-largest newspaper company in terms of circulation and fourth-largest in terms of number of newspapers. Lee agreed to pay $64 in cash for each Pulitzer share, about a 15 per cent premium to where the stock was trading last November when the company put itself up for sale. Lee also will assume $306 million of Pulitzer debt.
— AP

Nissan’s sales in Middle East increased in 2004
Japanese automaker Nissan has increased its sales in the Middle East by 18 per cent in 2004, due to the introduction of new models in the region, President of Nissan and Renault Carlos Ghosn said. ‘During the past 18 months, Nissan introduced 10 new models of luxurious Infinity and four-wheel-drive. This reflected in (better) sales,’ he said. ‘Our sales increased by 18 per cent in 2004,’ he said during the inauguration of Nissan’s world-largest showroom in Muscat. The three-storey showroom, which took eight months to construct with a total cost of 50 million dollars, can accommodate 70 cars in each floor, an AFP journalist reported. ‘This showroom offers an ideal environment to exhibit the new collection of Nissan and Infinity which we supply Oman’s market with,’ Ghosn said.
— AFP