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The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, Wednesday asked the business leaders to provide proper assistance to the victims of Savar garment tragedy.
   She also directed the entrepreneurs to ensure safety system and sound working environment in all the garment factories.
   The prime minister said this when a 15-member MCCI delegation led by its president Kutubuddin Ahmed paid a courtesy call on her.
   She urged the private entrepreneurs to set up industrial and service-oriented establishments in different parts of the country instead of Dhaka and other big cities only.
   ‘The government believes in balanced development of all parts of the country. We shall provide special facilities to those who will take the initiative to establish industrial and other enterprises in the backward areas.’
   Khaleda Zia and the business leaders discussed various issues relating to business and investment including tax holiday, bank interest rates and port services.
   The prime minister assured the business leaders that facilities in these areas will be increased.
   Referring to non-payment of utility bills by some of the businessmen, she asked all concerned to pay their dues for electricity, gas, telephone and also the value added tax (VAT) to help the government make new investments and enhance quality of the services.
   The chamber leaders appreciated the government for improved law and order situation and proper tackling of early post-MFA period without any adverse affect on the readymade garment sector.
   The MCCI leaders said existing atmosphere in the country is congenial for investment and business.
   The improvement in law and order situation has created positive impact on the overall development of the country’s industrial sector, MCCI president Kutubuddin Ahmed said.
   The present congenial investment climate in Bangladesh is being recognised even by the foreign investors, he added.
   He thanked the government for making it possible to get duty-free access of readymade garments to the markets of many countries including the European Union.
   He hailed the government decision to permit setting up of small power stations in the private sector.
   Prime minister’s political secretary Harris Chowdhury was present at the meeting.
   Other members of the MCCI delegation included vice-president AKM Rafiqul Islam, secretary-general CK Hyder and members and former presidents Syed Manzur Elahi, Samson H Chowdhury, Latifur Rahman and Laila Rahman Kabir, M Shamasul Alam, M Anis Ud Dowla, Steve Banner, M Nurul Islam, Obaidur Rahman Khan, Syed Nasim Manzur and Rokia A Rahman.

Bangladesh and Kuwait have revised the bilateral air service agreement to increase flight frequency to cope with the growing traffic.
   Iqbal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, secretary of the civil aviation and tourism ministry of Bangladesh, and Fawaz-Al-Farah, deputy director general of the civil aviation, safety and air transport affairs ministry of Kuwait, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments on April 27.
   Bangladesh signed the first air service agreement with Kuwait on September 12, 1980.
   Civil aviation officials said that the revised agreement would allow Kuwait Airways and Bangladesh Biman to operate up to six flights a week between the two countries.
   ‘The revised agreement will facilitate both Bangladesh Biman and Kuwait Airways to increase their flights as the volume of traffic between the two countries are increasing gradually,’ said an official of civil aviation and tourism ministry.
   According to the agreement, Biman could operate one flight per week from Shah Amanat Airport in Chittagong to Kuwait and five flights from Zia International Airport in Dhaka.
   However, Kuwait Airways will not be allowed to operate from Chittagong, said the civil aviation official.
   The Kuwait side requested Bangladesh to increase frequency entitlement for contracting party to at least 15 flights per week which the Bangladesh government turned down.
   According to the local office of Kuwait Airways, around 30,000 passengers travel between the two countries for work and other purposes per annum.
   The airline has already started operating six flights per week between Dhaka and Kuwait, the office sources said.
   In another proposal, the oil rich country sought permission to operate four air cargo flights per week. Bangladesh told the Kuwait authorities that it would examine the proposal.

Two years after the first foreign investment in India's print media, Indian publishers are raising record sums from private equity funds and public markets to finance ambitious growth plans.
   Newspapers in India are suddenly outgrowing other media-unlike slumping readership and advertising at newspapers across the US and Europe-and investors like what they see. In the last fiscal year to March, print advertising revenues outpaced television for the first time in many years.
   'There's been a revival in print, which had been losing ground to TV from the mid-90's when the satellite boom began, but TV's penetration may be plateauing now,' said Atul Phadnis, vice president of TAM Media Research, a unit of AC Nielsen.
   'Print has gotten smarter, so it's likely to sustain growth.'
   India shook up a once-staid industry in 2002 by scrapping a half-century-old ban to let foreign firms buy up to 26 per cent in news publications and 74 per cent in non-news titles.
   The Indian Readership Survey estimates there are 161 million newspaper readers, a fraction of the potential in a country with more than a billion people.
   That, along with double-digit ad revenue growth and hopes of more liberalisation, is a draw for investors. India is considering letting foreign institutional investors buy newspaper firm shares. India currently distinguishes between foreign private equity funds, which are allowed to invest in newspapers, and other institutions, which are not.
   Publishers, long controlled by families and reluctant to look beyond traditional markets, now seem willing to turn a new page.
   'Investor interest was always there, but publishers were not willing to change their ways,' said Vishal Nevatia, chief executive of private equity firm GW Capital. 'Now, their dominance is threatened, they are being forced to consolidate, enter new markets-it's the economics of compulsion.'
   Henderson Private Capital's Asia Fund, which manages $210 million, has invested $26 million in the Hindustan Times, partly to fund its foray into radio, and now owns more than 15 per cent.
   'When we first made our investment in Hindustan Times in 2003, there were no foreign investors in the sector. The floodgates have opened since then, as everyone can see the opportunity,' said Sanjiv Kapur, head of Asia Pacific at Henderson.
   Last June, Pearson Plc's Financial Times paid $3 million for nearly 14 per cent of Business Standard, the No. 2 business daily.
   Dow Jones then tied up with Bennett Coleman & Co., publisher of the Times of India, the world's top-selling English-language broadsheet with a daily circulation of 2.4 million out of an Indian English-language base of 17 million.

The value of letters of credit opened for imports during the first nine months of the current fiscal year crossed $10 billion mark on the back of surging demands for capital machinery, petroleum products and food grains.
   Bangladesh Bank statistics shows that a surge in opening import L/Cs for capital machinery and intermediate goods pushed the total value of L/Cs up to $10.8 billion at the end of March.
   Thus, opening of import L/C registered a 24.1 per cent growth over the same period of the last fiscal, indicating inflated import bills despite the central bank's efforts to restrict imports.
   The total import payment during the last fiscal was $10.9 billion. Excluding the freight and insurance charges, the value, however amounted to $9.8 billion as reported in the balance of payment sheet.
    'L/C value is not necessarily actual import payments, but it indicates the real trend,' said a senior official of the central bank.
   In March, L/Cs worth $1.42 billion were opened, up from $1.15 billion in February.
   The central bank figures showed that L/Cs opened for capital machinery in July-March period increased by 67.4 per cent to $1.67 billion over the same period of the previous fiscal.
   Capital machinery accounts for almost one-tenth of the total value of import L/Cs during the period under review.
   Import L/Cs opened for intermediate goods also registered 58 per cent growth while the growth was 41.6 per cent for petroleum and petroleum products.
   Central bank figures showed the L/Cs worth $1.2 billion were opened for importing petroleum products during July-March period against $852.7 million in the same period of the last fiscal.
   L/Cs opened for importing food grains also doubled during the period under review. L/Cs worth $321 million and $343.8 million were opened for rice and wheat respectively, up from $138.6 million and $181.8 million in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Seven more branch managers of the Premier Bank appeared before a panel of the Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday for hearing on their alleged involvement in opening fake bank accounts.
   The managers are from Banani, Gulshan, Mahakhali, Narayanganj, Jaidevpur, Savar and Uttara branches.
   The Anti-Money Laundering Department of the central bank on Tuesday cross-examined other seven branch managers.
   After the hearing, the central bank will take necessary actions against the branch executives in line with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, sources in the central bank said.
   The central bank, earlier, removed the managing director of the bank, Kazi Abdul Mazid, as the Bangladesh Bank investigation confirmed his involvement in the process of opening fake bank accounts in the biggest-ever financial scam.

Share prices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange maintained upturn for a second consecutive day Wednesday, further recovering from the shocks of a crashing fall a couple of days back following a selling spree.
   Although the turnover is not very much significant against the backdrop of the falling market, prices of all categories of shares registered increase to push the All Share Price Index 46.50 points or 3.98 per cent up to close at 1212.49 points from Tuesday’s 1166.
   The market made the bucks facing demonstrations by the investors on Monday after witnessing the highest fall – 78 points or 6.62 per cent — since the new index for all shares was introduced on March 28 with 1510 points.
   On the bearish market since April 2, the bourse benchmark had also gone up on April 19 following another demonstration by the investors on April 18 amid another significant fall.
   The DSE-20 index for 20 selective shares also gained 88.42 points or 5.41 per cent to close at 1722.24 points where it was 1634 points on Tuesday.
   Some 4.27 million shares and debentures worth Tk 324.47 million changed hands on the day against 4.14 million valued Tk 273 million on the previous trading day.
   Market capitalisation stood at Tk 196.85 billion today against Tk 189.81 billion on Tuesday.

Air-India will resume flights from Dhaka from June 18 after a pause of 12 years, the airlines chief executive announced in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   Dhaka-Kolkata-Delhi-London flights of the Indian flag carrier will fly thrice a week, Air India chairman and managing director V Thulasidas told a press briefing.
   The airlines stopped flying from Dhaka in 1993 because of financial crisis and continued loss.
   After a massive restructuring, it started making profits during the last three years.
   Thulasidas said its Bangladesh operations are part of the airlines’ global expansion of business.
   Explaining, he said the carrier last week introduced a low-cost ‘budget airline’, Air India Express, on Gulf routes and the service would later be expanded to the Southeast Asia.
   Air-India has a plan to buy 68 Boeing aircraft in order to modernise its fleet and cope with its 15-20 per cent average annual passenger growth.
   Air India carries 4 million passengers each year, said Thulasidas.
   Air-India will be the 17th international airline to operate flights from the country.
   Commercial manager of Air India N Surin said resumption of its flight operation from Dhaka would not affect the business of Indian Airlines, which has also been operating in Bangladesh.
   ‘These two will complement each other and have their own strengths and advantages,’ he told New Age.
   He said Air India is more internationally focused and operates long haul flights while Indian Airlines focuses more on domestic routes.
   Air India regional director P P Singh, general manager finance Ansbert D’Souza and Bangladesh manager A K Mitra were present at the briefing.
   International air traffic from Bangladesh grew from 1.4 million passengers in 1994 to about three million last year, according to the Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority.

The commerce ministers of Bangladesh and Pakistan have agreed in principle to hold single country trade fairs in both the countries to increase bilateral trade.
   The commerce minister, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, and his Pakistan counterpart, Humayun Akhter Khan, expressed their interest to hold such trade fairs when they met in Paris on the sidelines of a meeting of the commerce ministers of the least developed countries of WTO, according to a message received here yesterday.
   During the meeting, they also agreed to exchange business delegations between the two countries to explore market for their respective products.
   Altaf also met the Indian commerce minister, Kamal Nath and discussed with him trans-border trade, development of land ports and increasing trade facilities for Bangladesh in northeast Indian states.
   Altaf also exchanged views with the trade representative of the USA, Robert Portman, the commerce, industries and technology minister of Hong Kong, John C Tsang in separate meetings.
   Earlier, the commerce minister had a meeting with the special advisor for International Commerce Affairs to Uruguayan president, Carlos Perez Del Castillo, at his hotel suite. Carlos Perez is a candidate for the post of director general of World Trade Organisation (WTO).
   He also met the commerce minister of France, Francois Loos and the former trade commissioner of the European Union, Pascal Lamy.
   At another meeting, Altaf apprrised the president of Paris Chamber of Commerce, Pierre Simon, of various incentives offered by Bangladesh for foreign investment.

Speakers at a seminar on Wednesday stressed the need for a controlling agency to supervise the micro-credit activities of Bangladesh.
   ASA, an NGO, organised the discussion on ‘future challenge of micro-credit: Bangladesh perspective’ on the occasion of the International Year of Micro-credit 2005 declared by the United Nations.
   The managing director of Pubali Bank, Ibrahim Khaled, said Bangladesh Bank is responsible for supervising the commercial banks, the Securities and Exchange Commission for share markets but there is no authority to monitor the micro-credit activities of NGOs. As a result, some upstart organisations are making money taking advantages from the absence of a monitoring authority.
   BIDS researcher Dr Sajjad Zahir said only the low interest rate in the sector could not bring complete solution.
   Founding president of ASA Shafiqul Haque Chowdhury read out the keynote paper where he said a legal structure for the micro-credit sector of Bangladesh is an urgent need.
   The daily Manabjamin, daily Sangbad and The Independent were the media partners of the seminar. Vice-president of ASA Enamul Haque presided over the meeting while executive editor of daily Sangbad Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul was the moderator.
   Former advisor of a caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan, editor in chief of the daily Manabjamin Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, editor of the daily Independent Mahbubul Alam, professor Dalem Chandra Barman of Dhaka University, deputy managing director of Grameen Bank Dipal Chandra Barua and chief of micro-credit division of BRAC Sabbir Ahmad, among others, took part in the discussion.

Asia's foreign exchange reserves have soared beyond 'optimal' levels and governments must tackle global imbalances by ploughing some money back into the region, the Asian Development Bank's top economist said Tuesday.
   Asian economies control more than two-thirds of global foreign exchange reserves and the region's central banks have more than $2.5 trillion in their vaults.
   Most of the money is held in dollar-denominated assets and speculation in the past that Asian central banks could diversify their holdings have undermined the dollar.
   'They have grown far beyond what is (the) optimal level. It's basically a reflection of a lack of imagination, a lack of innovativeness and to some extent a lack of self-confidence,' Ifzal Ali told Reuters ahead of the annual meeting of the ADB in Istanbul.
   The mountain of reserves has grown rapidly in recent years as Asian central banks intervened in markets to curb the export- damaging rise of their currencies against the falling dollar.
   'This is mercantilism at its worst. The reserves must be ploughed back into Asia and not sit in North America,' Ali said.
   'Developing Asia must have resilience to unexpected shocks arising from global uncertainties. But they must be seen as active players in addressing and unwinding the global imbalances that we are seeing today,' he added.
   Ali said Asia must not rely solely on weaker currencies to boost exports, but take measures to boost domestic consumption and investment and liberalise trade. It must also allow currencies to appreciate to shield economies from high oil prices.
   ADB has cited high oil prices as a major near-term downside risk to the Asian economic outlook.
   The United States has urged Asian countries, mainly China, to adopt more flexible exchange rates which would help Washington slash its massive current account deficit.
   IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato told a news conference in Paris on Tuesday that a move towards more exchange rate flexibility would help tackle global imbalances, but also said the United States had to exercise budget restraint.
   Finance ministers from Japan, China and South Korea are meeting later on Tuesday in Istanbul to discuss ways to help other Asian economies strengthen a regional financial safety net.
   Last month, South Korea said its foreign exchange reserves of around $200 billion appeared to be adequate for Asia's third- largest economy.
   Most central banks invest their foreign reserves in only a limited set of safe assets including US Treasuries, but returns on such investment have not been growing fast enough to offset the rising costs of maintaining the growing reserves.
   The debate about how to manage the region's huge reserves has become politically sensitive and created waves on global financial markets.
   A comment by the Bank of Korea in late February that it planned to diversify its reserve holdings into other currencies sent the US dollar tumbling against major currencies as some dealers feared the central bank would sell dollars.
   The bank later played down the remarks, saying they did not mean it would sell dollars in favour of other, stronger currencies.

Pakistan rice prices fell over the past week as exporters remained on sidelines due to soft international demand
   and traders said Tuesday they would slip further in the coming days.
   'Exporters have only a few orders from Kenya and some other African countries, but the quantities are very small,' said a Karachi-based exporter.
   'I don't see the trade picking up in the near term,' he said.
   Dealers said the market expects the domestic prices to ease further as Pakistan's key competitors-Thailand and Vietnam-have captured its traditional African market by quoting lower prices.
   'There are no fresh orders for either IRRI or Basmati varieties from African and Middle East markets in the last two weeks,' another dealer said.
   'Exporters are only shipping cargoes to meet their previous commitments.'
   Pakistan's IRRI-6 quality rice was once popular in Africa, while high quality Basmati rice in the Middle East.
   Dealers said the recent rains, which damaged at least 400,000 tonnes of rice stocks, also contributed in dragging down prices. The stocks
   were damaged due to the lack of proper storage facilities, they said.
   Pakistan expects its rice output this April-November season to exceed 4.8 million tonnes, compared with 4.0 million last year, leaving more than 2.4 million tonnes for export.
   In the local market, IRRI-6 varieties were quoted between 1,250 and 1,275 rupees for a 100-kg bag, compared with 1,290 and 1,300 rupees a week ago.

The World Bank Tuesday gave India a $465 million credit to help finance the rebuilding of homes in areas devastated by December's Asian tsunami.
   The credit, to be used in India's southern Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry regions, is part of the World Bank's total $528.5 million commitment in tsunami support to the country.
   The funds will cover most of the estimated $682.8 million total cost of the project, which is designed to help repair an estimated 140,000 damaged houses as well as public buildings like hospitals and schools.
   The project also aims to restore damaged fisheries infrastructure and farmlands, the World Bank said, adding it would provide another $63.5 million to help finance tsunami disaster recovery in the country.

China's trade minister said Tuesday that Beijing wanted to be careful about adjusting the value of the Yuan currency but he said the country was already taking steps to curb the sharp rise in textile exports to rich nations.
   China has been facing increasing international pressure, particularly from the United States and Europe, to revalue its currency and control textile exports.
   US and European officials say China's pegged currency gives its goods unfair price advantages and complain a flood of Chinese textile imports is hurting domestic manufacturers.
   'There is a lot of discussion and even some US experts think that the currency should stay as it is,' Chinese Trade Minister Bo Xilai told a news conference with French Trade Minister Francois Loos.
   'China is adopting a very careful attitude, the government will certainly find a suitable political solution to this question,' Bo said.
   IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said on Tuesday more exchange rate flexibility in Asia, and especially in China, would help tackle global imbalances.
   On Monday, US Treasury Secretary John Snow repeated his call for China to move to a more flexibly currency regime.
   Bo also said China was making every effort to curb the rise in textile exports and he said this was already showing in the latest data.
   He said growth in China's exports of textiles and clothing to the world had slowed to 3.3 per cent year-on-year in March, and to 11 per cent to the European Union in the same month.
   'We want to soften the shockwave that there could be from the rise in Chinese textile exports,' Bo told a news conference after talks with French trade minister Francois Loos.
   Both the EU and the United States have expressed alarm over a surge in Chinese textile and clothing imports since the end of a global quota regime on Jan. 1. The EU has launched an investigation into nine products opening the way for possible curbs within 150 days.
   France, Italy, Greece and Spain have asked for the use of an emergency procedure that would take the EU straight into formal consultations with China. Limits would then be imposed at the earliest after 15 days if China did not take the right steps.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited signed a Tk1,095 million loan agreement with Matin Spinning Mills Limited in Dhaka on Wednesday, says a press release.
   Md Habibur Rahman, executive vice-president of IBBL and MA Jabbar, managing director of Matin Spinning Mills, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
   The signing ceremony was attended, among others, by Mominul Islam Patwary, chairman of the IBBL executive committee, Md Shahidul Islam, Engr. Muhammad Dawood Khan, Md Shamsul Huda and Kazi Harun-ar_Rashed, directors, Abdur Raquib, executive president, Principal Mohammad Serajul Islam, member additional secretary of Shariah council, Md Velayet Hussain and ATM Harun-ur-Rashid Chowdhury, deputy executive presidents, Md Setaur Rahman and Syed Abdullah Mohammad Saleh, executive vice-presidents of IBBL and Abdul Wahed, chairman, Abdur Rahim and MA Quader, directors of Matin Spinning Mills.
   Matin Spinning Mills is a sister concern of DBL Group, one of the leading companies in the country’s textile and garments sector.
   DBL Group with its nine sister concerns are contributing in composite, knit garments and dying finishing sector. At present, about eight thousand employees are working in the company.
   The group will spend the loan money on purchasing brand-new capital machineries for setting up a 100 per cent export-oriented spinning project at Gobindaganj under Kashimpur union in Gazipur.

The deputy managers’ conference of National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd. was held at the bank’s head office in Dhaka recently, says a press release.
   The chairman of the bank, Principal M Wazhiullah Bhuiyan, inaugurated the conference as chief guest.
   Khairul Alam Chaklader, vice-chairman, Tofazzal Hossain and Al-haj Md Nurun Newaz, sponsor directors of the company, were present at the function.
   Chaired by Md Nurul Amin, managing director, the programme was attended, among others, by Kazi Md Shafiqur Rahman, additional managing director of the company.

The annual dealers’ conference of RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Pvt. Ltd. was held in Dhaka recently, says a press release.
   Dr. Khater Masad, managing director, SAK Ekramuzzaman, director and Amir Hossain, general manager of the company, spoke at the function arranged at a city hotel.
   A joint venture of the UAE and Bangladesh, RAK Ceramics is one of the leading tiles and sanitary wear manufacturing companies in the country.
   The company has been producing world-class tiles and sanitary wears at its factory in Gazipur, the release claimed.
   Apart from meeting the local demand, the company is engaged in exporting its products.

Japan, China and South Korea joined forces Tuesday to bolster Asia’s defences against attacks on its currencies, setting aside political tensions that had threatened to derail regional economic cooperation.
   Finance ministers of Asia’s largest economies agreed to closer cooperation on the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) — a regional foreign exchange swap pact to combat speculative runs on currencies like those that swept the region in 1997/98.
   That sets the stage for their meeting on Wednesday with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which a senior Indonesian central banker said was likely to approve plans to double the size of the swap arrangement to over $70 billion.
   ‘We are proposing to double the size. Right now the total fund is $35.9 billion,’ Hartadi Sarwono, deputy Indonesian central bank governor, told Reuters.
   The success of the plan depends almost entirely on the economic might of China, Japan and South Korea, among the world’s biggest holders of foreign exchange reserves.
   South Korean Finance Minister Han Duck-soo, who hosted the meeting of three Asian economic powerhouses, confirmed that there were plans to increase the size and scope of the swap pact.
   The runup to the meeting had been overshadowed by speculation about China’s plans to reform its yuan currency and diplomatic disputes.
   Relations between Japan and China plummeted to their lowest level in three decades in recent weeks over a series of disputes, including Tokyo’s treatment of wartime history, which is also a bone of contention in ties with Seoul.
   But Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said the political rivals would pursue economic cooperation that is crucial to stability in the world’s fastest growing region.
   ‘Whatever happens, we need to promote financial cooperation even if there are issues,’ he said.
   ADB officials said the tensions would not affect their role as guarantors of regional financial stability under the five- year-old Chiang Mai Initiative.
   South Korea’s Han said finance ministers of the ASEAN+3 wanted to revamp the process of throwing financial lifelines to countries in distress.
   ‘We want a collective decision-making process...more transparency,’ he said.
   Some Asian governments want to turn the web of swaps into a fledgling Asian monetary fund so the region is not dependent on the Western- dominated International Monetary Fund in times of crisis, as was the case in 1997-98.
   Asia’s massive $2.5 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, about two- thirds of the world’s total, has given the region more economic and political clout on the global stage.
   Finance ministers and central bankers from dozens of Asian countries are converging on Istanbul for a three-day ADB meeting which begins on Wednesday.
   Markets will wait for any comments at the news conference on currency policy, with speculation on a yuan revaluation reaching fever pitch after China’s central bank governor said last month there were no serious political obstacles to yuan reform.
   Asia’s forex reserves “too high”: ADB chief economist Asia’s oreign exchange reserves have soared beyond ‘optimal’ levels and governments must tackle global imbalances by ploughing some money back into the region, the Asian Development Bank’s top economist said Tuesday.
   Asian economies control more than two-thirds of global foreign exchange reserves and the region’s central banks have more than $2.5 trillion in their vaults.
   Most of the money is held in dollar-denominated assets and speculation in the past that Asian central banks could diversify their holdings have undermined the dollar.
   ‘They have grown far beyond what is (the) optimal level. It’s basically a reflection of a lack of imagination, a lack of innovativeness and to some extent a lack of self-confidence,’ Ifzal Ali told Reuters ahead of the annual meeting of the ADB in Istanbul.
   Ali said Asia must not rely solely on weaker currencies to boost exports, but take measures to boost domestic consumption and investment and liberalise trade. It must also allow currencies to appreciate to shield economies from high oil prices.

World oil prices rose Wednesday, remaining around 50 dollars a barrel as traders awaited the latest weekly snapshot of US crude stocks, dealers said.
   New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, advanced 18 cents to 49.68 dollars per barrel in electronic deals.
   It fell more than one dollar to close at 49.50 dollars per barrel the previous day-the lowest level since February 18.
   In London on Wednesday, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in June gained 13 cents to 50.65 dollars per barrel, after falling nearly 60 cents the day before.
   Oil futures rose as traders bought back into the market, analysts said.
   'Prices have probably come back a little too fast and a little too far and people are buying the dip again,' according to Investec analyst Bruce Evers.
   The modest rise in prices was also 'closing out a few short positions ahead of the stocks data this afternoon'.
   Crude inventories data, due for release from the United States' Department of Energy later Wednesday, was expected to show a further increase in stocks.
   'Crude stocks in the US last week were at their highest levels for three years and look set to grow again when fresh data emerges today,' analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm said.
   Amid expectations of an increase in stocks, on Tuesday New York futures slipped 'below the very important 50-dollar level for the close which should lead to some more selling, although the 49-dollar level remains as a key technical level to break for any further losses', they added.
   Analysts' consensus forecasts are for a fresh rise of 1.0 to 1.5 million barrels of crude stocks, while gasoline is predicted to increase by 700,000 to 800,000 barrels.
   'If confirmed (that) could soften prices a little bit. But if you get another number like last week, crude could sell-off very sharply,' Evers added.
   The DoE said last week that crude stockpiles for the week ending April 22 increased 5.5 million barrels to 324.4 million barrels, against Wall Street expectations for a rise of just 650,000.
   It also reported last week that gasoline stockpiles had fallen 300,000 barrels to 211.3 million, against a predicted drop of 1.2 million barrels, easing supply concerns.
   Gasoline, or petrol, was in focus ahead of the US summer driving season-when many Americans take to the roads for holidays-traditionally starting on the US Memorial Day holiday on May 30.

US auto sales sped up in April, but gains came mainly from Japanese carmakers, with General Motors and Ford hurt by waning demand for gasoline-hungry sport utility vehicles, sales data showed Tuesday.
   Overall vehicle sales increased 5.7 per cent in April from a year ago to 1,504,168 units, according to Autodata Corp. figures. That represents an annualized rate of 17.46 million from 16.6 million in April 2004.
   The data confirmed a trend toward more fuel-efficient vehicles in the face of crude oil and gasoline prices hitting record levels in April.
   But the report showed mixed fortunes for different automakers, with sharp increases for Toyota and Nissan and sluggish sales for Ford and GM, which are struggling to sell the large SUVs that have become less popular with surging fuel costs.
   ‘Obviously higher gasoline prices have driven consumers away from SUVs,’ said Jason Schenker, an analyst at Wachovia Securities, saying that pump prices of around 2.50 dollars a gallon are starting to hit consumers.
   ‘Consumers are thinking about their future energy exposure. They fear that gasoline could go up to three or even four dollars (a gallon) and to protect themselves they’re choosing to buy cars that are more efficient.’
   GM said its US sales slipped to 385,939, off 7.4 per cent from a year ago when adjusted for the number of selling days.
   A 7.5 per cent rise in car sales, helped by new model launches, was unable to offset the impact of a 17 per cent year-over-year slide in the truck category, which includes pickups, minivans and sport utility vehicles.
   Sales of the Hummer brand, known for its mammoth military-style vehicles fell 27.8 per cent from a year ago.
   Ford sales declined 1.5 per cent from a year earlier to 281,292, also showing the effect of waning interest in big SUVs.
   Ford said car sales to retail customers were 11 per cent higher than a year ago but that this was offset by a decline in deliveries to fleet customers, leaving the category flat for the month.
   The number two US automaker reported strong demand for its full-size passenger cars, its Mustang coupe and its new hybrid gasoline-electric Escape compact SUV.
   But this was offset by sharp declines in sales of its full-size SUVs, including the Ford Explorer (down 14.6 per cent), Expedition (down 20 per cent) and Excursion (down 26.5 per cent).
   Overall sales of traditional sport utility vehicles were 14 per cent lower than a year ago, Ford said.
   Toyota Motor meanwhile reported its best-ever overall sales month in the US, a 21.3 per cent increase and a total of 210,466 vehicles sold.
   This topped the 206,546 sold by the Chrysler Group, the third member of the Detroit Big Three that is now a unit of DaimlerChrysler.
   ‘Consumer appetite for hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles continues unabated,’ said Jim Press, Toyota’s US executive vice president.
   Jesse Toprak, a senior analyst at the research firm Edmunds.com, said SUV sales might be even worse were it not for incentives in the forms of rebates or discounts given by the manufacturers.
   ‘The most amount of money is being spent on large SUVs—it’s over 4,000 dollars in incentives, compared with the industry average of 2,500 dollars,’ he said.
   ‘So far, we haven’t been able to draw a correlation between SUV sales and gasoline prices, but there is a correlation between gasoline prices and incentives’ for SUVs, said Toprak, who added that carmakers may be offering better deals to soften the impact of higher fuel costs.
   ‘If we took these incentives away, you take a lot of the reasons away people are buying a large vehicle. If the deal goes away, there’s not much to sell.’
   Among other highlights of auto sales reports:
   • Nissan boosted its US sales to 91,621 total sales in April, an increase of 27 per cent over last year.
   • DaimlerChrysler said Tuesday its US sales rose nine per cent year-over-year in April to a total of 225,351 vehicles, including 18,805 from its Mercedes-Benz nameplate.
   • South Korean maker Hyundai reported a 16.9 per cent increase to record monthly sales of 40,958.
   • European brand sales fell 8.7 per cent and comprised 6.2 per cent of the market, to 37.5 per cent for Asian automakers and 56.3 per cent from the traditional Big Three.

The US Federal Reserve nudged interest rates up Tuesday for an eighth straight time, nodding to mounting inflation pressures while expressing confidence it can contain them with ‘measured’ increases.
   The US central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to lift the benchmark federal funds rate—which affects credit costs throughout the economy—by a quarter-per centage point to 3 per cent, as expected.
   The Fed said spending has slowed in the face of higher energy prices but that the job market is improving.
   Significantly, policy-makers repeated their expectation that policy stimulus can be removed at a gradual, or ‘measured,’ pace — wording generally taken to mean a diet of smaller, quarter- point hikes rather than bigger ones.
   The Fed has indicated its concern about rising prices as the economic expansion matures, apparently a worry acute enough to override some recent signs that growth may be flagging and to keep interest rates on an upward trajectory.
   ‘Pressures on inflation have picked up in recent months and pricing power is more evident,’ the Fed said a statement outlining its rate decision, which also increased the largely symbolic discount rate to 4 per cent.
   Stock and bond prices ticked lower after the Fed’s announcement while the dollar firmed.
   The central bank said that with ‘appropriate monetary policy action,’ risks to the US economy would remain balanced between weaker growth and higher prices.
   The economy has grown steadily since a brief 2001 downturn but the pace is moderating under the impact of more costly energy. In the first quarter this year, expansion in gross domestic product eased to a 3.1 per cent annual rate from 3.8 per cent in the final quarter last year.
   More troubling to the Fed is that prices, measured by the Fed’s favored gauge—the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy—rose at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent in the first quarter, the fastest since the end of 2001.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday began talks here expected to focus on bilateral economic cooperation and Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
   Schroeder’s Social Democrats-Greens coalition has been a staunch supporter of Turkey’s EU aspirations, but Germany’s main opposition Christian Democratic Union advocates a special status for the predominantly Muslim nation rather than full membership.
   Turkey is scheduled to begin accession talks with the EU on October 3, a process widely expected to take at least a decade.
   In an interview with a Turkish newspaper on the eve of his visit, Schroeder warned that the negotiations would be ‘long and difficult’ and that their success would depend on Ankara’s efforts at making political reforms ‘irreversible.’
   Germany is Turkey’s largest trading partner and home to the largest Turkish immigrant community in Europe, some 2.5 million people.
   Schroeder is scheduled to meet President Ahmet Necdet Sezer before heading to Istanbul later Wednesday, where he will visit the spiritual leader of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and attend a meeting of Turkish and German business people.

Gainers lead DSE trade A total of 160 issues were traded at the Dhaka Stock Exchange Wednesday. Of those, 121 (82 from category-A, 13 from B, 1 from G and 25 from Z) advanced, while 24 (13 from A, 2 from B and 9 from Z) declined. Fifteen issues remained unchanged.
Uttara Bank’s net profit, EPS down
As per audited accounts as on December 31, 2004, the Uttara Bank has reported net profit of Tk 10.05 crore with earning per share of Tk 100.80 as against Tk 19.7 crore and Tk 197.41 respectively of a year ago.
Alpha Tobacco reports net loss
As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on December 31, 2004, the Alpha Tobacco has reported net loss of Tk 2.93 crore with a negative earning per share of Tk10.19.
Spot trading of Beximco Pharma, Infusions from today
Trading of the shares of the Beximco Pharma and Beximco Infusions will be allowed only in the spot market from May 5 to 8. Trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date on May 9 for the extra general meeting of the companies as announced earlier.
HR Textiles profits up
As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on March 31, the HR Textiles has reported net profit of Tk 3.15 million with EPS of Tk 1.57 as against last year’s half yearly of Tk 2.66 million and Tk 1.33 respectively.
Padma Print accumulates Tk 5.19cr loss
As per audited accounts as on December 31, 2004, the Padma Print has reported net loss of Tk 0.63 million with EPS of Tk (0.39) as against Tk 0.84 million and Tk (0.52) respectively as on December 31, 2003. Moreover, accumulated loss of the company was Tk 51.92 million as on December 31, 2004.
Renata sets up subsidiary co
Renata Limited has set up a subsidiary company, ‘Purnava Ltd’, to manufacture and market consumer and allied products. The company has already started constructing its separate ‘Hormone Plant’ at its Mirpur site and will buy 30-40 acres of land in Gazipur for setting up new plants in future. The prices of Renata shares range from Tk 3,399 to Tk 3,480, which was Tk 3,450 highest and Tk 3,399 lowest at the end of Wednesday.In the last 52 weeks, the share prices of the company ranged from Tk 1,222 to Tk 3,380.
Islami Bank reports Tk 101cr profit
As per audited accounts as on December 31, 2004, the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited has reported net profit of Tk 1,01.36 crore with EPS of Tk 518.59 as against Tk 39.14 crore and Tk 195.52 respectively on December 31, 2003.
BD Welding reports Tk 1.78m profit
As per audited accounts as on December 31, 2004 the BD Welding Electrodes has reported net profit of Tk 1.78 million with EPS of Tk 0.17 as against Tk 1.45 million and Tk 0.13 respectively as on December 31, 2003. Sources: CSE, DSE

Thai launches Bangkok-NY
direct flight
Thai Airways this week launched the first commercial services between Bangkok and New York, the world's second largest route. The first flight completed the 8,771-mile trip in 17 hours 7 minutes, making it the fastest service from Southeast Asia to the east coast of the United States. Thai will service the route six days a week using A340-500 aircraft. According to Thai Airways president Kanok Apiradee, the airline will announce more long-haul direct flights from its Bangkok hub in the near future. New York JFK is Thai's 72nd destination.
— Internet

Presentation on Marketplace
USA today
Eric Adams, deputy executive officer for IT, USAID (United States Agency for International Development), will speak at the US Embassy's American Thursdays programme at the American Centre today. His presentation 'Marketplace USA' will examine American marketplace strategies as they are driven by demographic changes, including immigration, an aging population, and a more urbanised nation. He will examine the demographic makeup of the US and the resulting market opportunities. The presentation will compare the demographic mix of the US over the past 30 years or so and how companies have reacted to these changes, says a press release.

CSE closed higher
Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange closed higher Wednesday as the gainers outnumbered the losers. The CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) increased by 129.45 points or 4.41 per cent to close at 3059.51 points from 2930.06 points on Tuesday. The CSE-30 Index also enhanced by 176.51 points or 6.52 per cent to close at 2880.60 points from 2704.09 points on the previous trading day. A total of 67 issues traded Wednesday of which 50 gained, 12 declined and five remained unchanged. Some 1,469,849 shares and debentures worth Tk 6.84 crore changed hands against 1,658,632 shares and debentures worth Tk 7.19 crore on the previous trading day. The market capitalisation stood at Tk 184.65 billion against 176.75 billion on Tuesday.
— UNB

Reverse repo
auction held
The reverse repo auction for commercial banks and financial institutions was held at the Bangladesh Bank Wednesday. One bid of 7-day tenor amounting to Tk 95.00 crore was received but that was not accepted, said Bangladesh Bank release.
— UNB

Hong Kong banks keep prime
rates stable
Hong Kong banks said Wednesday they would not increase their prime lending rates despite the Chinese territory's central bank raising its base rate in unison with a quarter-point rise in the United States. HSBC, the city's biggest bank, will maintain its prime lending rate at 5.25 per cent, it announced after markets closed. HSBC unit Hang Seng Bank followed suit, maintaining its rate at 5.25 per cent and Standard Chartered left its at 5.5 per cent. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority Wednesday raised its base rate 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent after the US Federal Reserve increased its key lending rate overnight to 3.00 per cent from 2.75 per cent.
— AFP

South Korean
bank profits up
South Korean domestic banks posted a sharp headline gain in earnings in the three months to March but this was due more to lower bad loan provisions than an improvement in their underlying business, the regulator said Wednesday. Officials at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that core profitability at the banks was weakening due to increased costs and mounting competition as interest income fell due to low interest rates. The FSS said total net profit of the 19 South Korean domestic banks jumped 61.2 per cent from a year earlier to 2.76 trillion won (2.76 billion dollars) in the first quarter. However, their combined pre-provisioning profit, or earnings before loan-loss reserves are set aside, came to 4.62 trillion won, down 11.8 per cent.
— AFP

India to woo Intel with development promise
India Tuesday said it would urge the world's biggest chip maker Intel to set up a manufacturing facility in the country, even as the company was contemplating on moving into either India or China, Indo-Asian News Service reported. 'I will meet Intel chief Craig Barett this month-end and I have a one-point agenda - to press him for setting up a manufacturing facility here,' Indian communication and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran said on the sidelines of a telecom seminar. Maran, who said IT companies should participate in the robust growth witnessed by the Indian IT industry, would be leaving for the US later this month to pursue his mission. Intel already has a facility in Bangalore for key semiconductor design work.
— Xinhuanet

Siemens still in talks to sell handset operations
German electronics giant Siemens is still in talks with a number of potential partners about the future of its loss-making mobile handset operations, a company spokesman said on Wednesday, rejecting reports that potential buyers had backed out of a deal. Talks were underway with several candidates and a decision was likely to be reached soon, the spokesman said. The spokesman declined to comment on the report. Siemens is currently losing around 1.5 million euros (1.9 million dollars) a day on its mobile phone business, which booked an operating loss of 138 million euros in the three months to March.
— AFP

GM, Ford post
weak US sales
General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co Tuesday reported lower April US vehicle sales as high gasoline prices and ebbing demand for their once profitable SUVs caused them to lose traction again to Japanese rivals. The decline spelled more trouble for Detroit. The two largest US automakers face mounting financial hardships as they lose more US market share-their industrial lifeblood-to fast- growing foreign competitors. By contrast, Toyota Motor Corp, the richest automaker on the planet with a market capitalisation greater than that of GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler combined, said its April US sales rose 21 per cent from last year for its best month ever.
— Reuters