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Bangladesh Bank has drafted a guideline to ease the merger rules for commercial banks and financial institutions.
   The guideline specifies three sets of amalgamation encompassing compromise, reconstruction and arrangement— first, between two or more banks; second, a financial institution or other credit agency with a bank; and third, a financial institution with other financial institutions.
   The draft of the guideline has already been forwarded to different stakeholders for their review and comments. A high-powered committee, headed by the executive director of the central bank, Murshid Kuli Khan, worked on the issue and prepared the draft.
   The central bank initiated the move a few months back as the government in principle decided not to issue any fresh licence for new bank.
   The former finance and planning minister, M Saifur Rahman, in the national parliament early this year said that the government was considering merger of some of the existing banks as financial conditions of the banks were not sound.
   The existing rules and regulations in the Banking Company Act 1991 and Financial Institutions Act 1993 do not permit any merger or amalgamation of any banks or financial institutions without prior approval of the central bank.
   The Bangladesh Bank will allow amalgamation only after being satisfied that such move is ‘not detrimental to the interest of the depositors or the company or the financial system of the country.’
   According to the draft guideline, for merger the concerned banks or financial institutions have to hold a meeting of their respective members and approve the proposed merger or arrangement in principle.
   If three-fourths of the members agree on reconstruction or merger, the bank or financial institutions have to send the proposal to the central bank. Here, the companies are required to submit series of documents.
   After obtaining clearance from Bangladesh Bank, the transferee company has to submit an undertaking in the prescribed form to the central bank confirming that all information would be kept strictly confidential.
   Any breach of the undertaking will lead to withdrawal of the central bank clearance.
   The company also has to submit detailed report on its secured and unsecured debts, their values and financial impact, and the value of the property and assets and liabilities.
   Having details of all these, the central bank will examine the whole proposal and if necessary mediate in any difference regarding valuation of any asset, classification of any advance and determination of any liability between two companies.
   The guideline has said that the decision of the central bank in this regard shall be binding on the transferor and transferee companies.
   After the completion of these steps, the Bangladesh Bank, upon satisfaction about proposed merger, will issue its approval with or without any modification.
   Having approval from the central bank, the companies have to file petition to the High Court as directed in the Company Act 1994 within three months.
   And it is the jurisdiction of the High Court to approve the move or not. In the process, the High Court may arrange hearing on any dispute or legal proceeding or any protest against any of the two companies.
   According to the draft guideline, after completing all the legal procedures, the High Court may with or without any modification approve the proposed merger.
   ‘Once the scheme is approved, the petitioner company shall fill a certified copy of the order with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and on such filing, the scheme shall become binding on all creditors/shareholders and also on the company,’ the guideline said.
   ‘Accordingly, the transferor and the transferee companies will take such steps as necessary to implement the scheme,’ it added.
   The guideline also said that if no change in name is proposed, the transferee bank would continue to carry on its business under the existing name and licence.

Stocks gained on the bourses on Sunday as the investors shrugged off the blockade programme with hope that the president’s move would calm the present political tension, market sources said.
   Meanwhile, the Industrial Promotion and Development Company of Bangladesh made its debut Sunday on the Dhaka and the Chittagong bourses simultaneously.
   The share price of the IPDC rose its peak to Tk 356 and Tk 360 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange respectively. The IPDC closed at Tk 343.25 on the DSE and Tk 344.60 on the CSE.
   The face value of each share of the company is Tk 100 and the company charged a premium of Tk 100 on each share.
   The company raised a capital of Tk 27.80 crore through issuing 13.90 lakh shares.
   The IPDC topped the turnover indices on the DSE and CSE.
   A total of 1,74,700 shares of the company worth Tk 5.98 crore were traded on the DSE while 26,400 shares of the company worth Tk 91 lakh changed hands on the CSE.
   A stock broker said the debut of the IPDC also helped pull the market.
   He, however, said the market witnessed thin turnout of retail investors due to the blockade enforced by the AL-led alliance.
   The DSE general index gained 16.88 points or 1.11 per cent to close at 1544.18, while benchmark DSE20 advanced by 3.70 points or 0.28 per cent.
   The all share price index of the CSE gained 24.35 points or 0.68 per cent to close at 3616.47 on Sunday, while benchmark CSE30 advanced by 14.38 points or 0.45 per cent.
   Most of the securities ended up on DSE. Of the total 177 issues traded, 108 advanced, 45 declined and 24 remained unchanged.
   A total of 64 issues traded on the CSE. Of them, 36 issues advanced, 22 declined and six remained unchanged.
   Turnover on the DSE totalled at Tk 27.21 crore on Sunday while CSE turnover was Tk 5.19 crore.

The finance adviser, Akbar Ali Khan, Sunday said microcredit is an effective tool for reduction of hardcore poverty but more effective tool has to be evolved.
   ‘Microcredit has proved to be very effective in reducing ultra-poverty but it is not sufficient,’ the adviser told the inaugural session of an international conference on ‘What Works for the Poorest: Knowledge, Policies and Practices’, at the BRAC Centre in the city.
   Akbar Ali lauded Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus for his contribution in poverty reduction Khan, but said even Yunus has some limitations.
   ‘We talk about the ultra-poor more as a statistical category but we do not know the social relationship between moderately poor and ultra-poor.’
   He said there is exploitation even within poverty— the less poor exploit the poorer.
   Poverty is not homogenous, it is heterogeneous. Solution of poverty cannot be provided by the government, instead grassroots organisations have to be involved in the process.
   ‘If we cannot remove hunger, the issue of ultra-poor can not be addressed.’
   The Canadian high commissioner, Barbara Richardson, said Bangladesh has been one of Canada’s biggest development partners for the last 35 years.
   ‘We will continue to be here for moving forward. We are working together for pragmatic approaches to poverty reduction.’
   She said aggregate poverty rate still remains dauntingly high in Bangladesh. The envoy said sharing of knowledge is important for sustainable poverty reduction and achieving it is a lofty objective.
   The high commissioner said the people and the government of Bangladesh were facing challenging issues.
   Speaking at the session, Prof David Hulme of the University of Manchester said helping the poorest meet their basic needs will cost money but the cost of not assisting the poorest—thousands of preventable deaths, malnourished children, illiterate adults—are much, much greater.
   Selim Jahan, senior adviser, Employment for Poverty Reduction, Bureau of Development Policy at the UNDP said development research policies and actions have focused more on poverty and less on extreme or chronic poverty. As a result, these have always bypassed the poorest of the poor.
    ‘If we want to understand the persistence of poverty in Bangladesh today, we have to look at its political leadership. Poverty is as much a political and social phenomenon as is economic. The people of Bangladesh do not have the political leadership they deserve,’ Prof Naila Kabeer of the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex, UK observed.
   BRAC along with the Chronic Poverty Research Centre and the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester have convened the meeting to provide guidance to government, NGOs and aid agencies about how to help the poorest to improve their lives.
   The conference is sponsored by the Canadian International Development Agency and the Aga Khan Foundation-Canada, as part of a partnership for BRAC’s Programme for the Ultra-Poor and by the United Kingdoms Department for International Development. The conference’s media partners are Channel i and The Daily Star.

While few doubt the importance of the September 11 terrorist attacks, analysts say China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation three months later may eventually be seen as having even greater reverberations.
   When China joined the WTO on December 11, 2001, it submitted to a universal set of rules, signing off sovereignty it had defended fiercely for millennia, said David Zweig at Hong Kong’s University of Science and Technology.
   ‘China basically accepted the fact that the outside world could tell it what it could and couldn’t do domestically,’ said Zweig, who heads the university’s Center on ChinaÂ’s Transnational Relations.
   ‘Unless the war on terror continues for a long time and has implications in terms of further foreign policy intervention by the US, then the long-term impact of China’s entry into the WTO is greater,’ he said.
   As the world’s most populous nation marks the fifth anniversary of its entry into the global trade body, it is time for both the 1.3 billion Chinese themselves and the rest of the world to take stock of the changes.
   For the well-heeled resident of Beijing or Shanghai, the advantages of WTO membership are obvious: His imported Mercedes is cheaper; his local Citibank offers more services; his Wal-Mart sells a wider variety of products.

Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has teamed up with some of the world’s largest telecom firms to leverage communications technology to help alleviate poverty, he announced Sunday.
   Yunus’ successful Grameen microcredit bank, which has helped provide small business loans to millions of poor his native Bangladesh, said linking impoverished communities to the hi-tech world was vital.
   ‘It has become a fast track for getting out of poverty,’ Yunus said of his Grameen projects that have so far brought mobile phones and Internet links to villages in Bangladesh.
   Under a new partnership with telecom firms, including American giants Cisco Systems and Qualcomm, the scheme will be extended into other countries throughout the developing world.
   Services and hardware will be offered at cut price rates in the same way as Yunus’ Grameen bank offers small loans at low interest rates to stimulate entrepreneurship.
   Since 1976, Grameen Bank has leant billions of dollars in collateral-free small business loans to 7 million poor Bangladeshis, mostly women.
   The idea behind it is that many people are held back from productive lives for lack of small amounts of start-up capital. The bank’s success contributed to Yunus being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October.
   The tie-up was announced at the opening of the International Telecommunications Union’s trade show, World Telecom 2006, which will be held in Hong Kong throughout this week.
   ITU is backing the scheme, which will see villages linked to the net and other international networks via telecentres.
   Cisco vice-president Tae Yoo said access to network connections would bring opportunities to poor communities.
   ‘It could offer farmers access to online information on crop strategies,’ said Yoo. ‘It will also allow us to give the resources to the entrepreneurs who can best address the different issues to which information and communication technology can best be applied.’
   Qualcomm senior director for government affairs in Southeast Asia, Shawn Covell, said giving villages access to technology was empowering.
   ‘If you empower individuals, then that empowers the community, the region and the country,’ Covell said.

Standard Chartered has won an unprecedented total of 10 awards at the Banker Awards 2006—including the top award for Global Bank of the Year.
   The Global Bank of the Year award recognises Standard Chartered’s performance in its regions of Asia, Africa and the Middle East and the bank’s ‘prudent acquisition strategy’.
   Standard Chartered’s acquisitions include SC First Bank in Korea (2005) and Union Bank in Pakistan and Hsinchu International Bank in Taiwan (2006).
   Standard Chartered also won two key regional awards (Asia Pacific and Africa), six country awards and the award for best CSR (corporate and social responsibility) bank. The country awards were for best bank in Afghanistan, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Kenya and Sierra Leone, says a press release.
   Standard Chartered’s chief executive Peter Sands said, ‘I would like to thank our employees for their hard work and our customers for allowing us to serve them. The awards presented to us by The Banker recognise the progress we have made towards our strategic intent to be the world’s best international bank, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.’
   The chairman of the bank, Mervyn Davies, said, ‘Standard Chartered’s strategic intent is to be the world’s best international bank, leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.’

When it comes to employment and economic opportunities, Muslims face many problems like lower earnings, inferior jobs, insecurity and fewer credit options, according to the Sachar Committee’s report.
   Muslim workers are paid less than their counterparts from other communities owing to the nature and skill of the work they do, it said.
   ‘While Muslim men and women have lower daily earnings than Hindus in the public sector, the difference in earnings between Hindus and Muslims is much larger than the private sector,’ said the report recently tabled in Parliament.
   ‘Muslim regular workers get lower daily earnings (salary) both in public and private jobs compared to other socio-religious categories.
   ‘A large part of the difference is likely to be due to the nature of the private sector enterprises themselves, with the Muslims being engaged in smaller and informal jobs and thereby low productivity enterprises,’ it said.

Iran’s state-owned gas exports company has agreed to supply Chinese company PetroChina with about three million tons of liquefied natural gas a year, energy news agency Shana said Sunday.
   The supply will be for 25 years beginning in 2011, the report said. A heads of agreement was inked on Tuesday between the National Iranian Gas Exports Company and PetroChina, the largest oil producer in China, it added, without giving a value of the deal.
   ‘According to the agreement, three million tons of LNG will be exported (annually) by Pars LNG project for a 25-year period to the Chinese market starting early 2011,’ NIGEC official Majid Zamani was quoted as saying.
   The Pars LNG project, which teams up the National Iranian Oil Company, French Total and Malaysian Petronas, is one of three consortia in Iran producing LNG.

Dhaka Bank Limited opened its 32nd branch in Gazipur on Sunday.
   The deputy managing director, Khondker Fazle Rashid, formally inaugurated the branch as chief guest, says a press release.
   This branch will provide fast and smooth banking service to the people of Gazipur Board Bazar.
   All the banking services including ‘any purpose loan’, ‘DPS’, ‘Islamic banking’, ‘personal loan’, ‘income unlimited’, ‘car loan’, ‘deposit double’, ‘ATM’, ‘vacation loan’, ‘smart plant’, ‘remittance’, SMS and ‘internet banking’ will be available at the new branch.

A HRC depot was inaugurated in Barishal city on Saturday. This is the 9th sales depot of HRC.
   The deputy general manager of HRC Products Ltd, Abu Saed Reza, inaugurated the depot. The accounts manager, Ataur Rahman Chowdhury, was also present at the programme. The Barishal regional manager, Mahbub Alam Khan, conducted the programme, says a press release.

AKTEL has signed an agreement with Butterfly Marketing Ltd, a sole distributor of LG electronics products, recently.
   Ahmad Bin Ismail, managing director of AKTEL, and MA Mannan, chairman and managing director of Butterfly Marketing Ltd, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations, says a press release.
   Javed Tariq,, head of corporate affairs, and Tofazzul Hossain, head of corporate sales, of AKTEL, and SA Zaman, finance director of Butterfly Marketing, were also present at the ceremony.

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has signed a subordinated loan agreement with the Netherlands Finance Development Company on Thursday at the bank’s head office.
   Under this agreement, the bank will avail term facility in taka equivalent to euro 5 million for housing finance.
   The managing director of the bank, Md Yeasin Ali, and the senior investment officer, Arno PJ de Vette, and the manager of FMO, Andre van Werven, signed the agreement on behalf of the respective organisations. The risk management officer of FMO, Karin Bouwmeester, additional managing director of the bank, AHM Nazmul Quadir, deputy managing directors, Abul Hashem Khan and KS Tabrez, and senior executives were also present in the signing ceremony.

Iran’s OPEC envoy Hossein Kazempour Ardebili Sunday called on the oil cartel to agree a new oil output cut at its next meeting to counter an oversupply of crude, official news agency IRNA reported, AFP reports.
   ‘Some factors like the decrease of world economic growth and accumulation of oil and stockpiles of its by-products indicate that the market needs a cut in OPEC oil output again,’ Kazempour Ardebili said.
   ‘There is still oversupply in the market beyond the oil demand and with OPEC’s output cut (agreed in October) all the global market demands have been covered,’ he added.
   The 11 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are to meet for a ministerial meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja on December 14 to decide on a probable output cut in a bid to stabilise oil prices.
   Iran’s oil minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh said OPEC may cut its crude production again if the prices fall, Iran’s student news agency ISNA reported on Saturday, reports Reuters .
   Asked if there was a possibility of OPEC decreasing its output again in its next meeting, Hamaneh said: ‘There is such a possibility if the prices fall’ ISNA reported.
   ‘This cannot be predicted right now,’ Hamaneh said.
   Earlier a senior Iranian oil official said oil prices will rise in December as European and American markets feel the effects of the OPEC production cut, semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
   OPEC has already cut its crude production ceiling by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in November to stop a decline in crude prices, but the market has not bounced significantly.
   Kazempour Ardebili, the representative of OPEC’s number two producer, predicted a new possible output cut would be ‘between 500,000 and one million barrels per day’ of crude oil.
   ‘We should wait and see the developments of the crude oil market by the December 14 meeting of OPEC in Abuja,’ Kazempour Ardebili said.
   The Nigerian oil minister and OPEC president, Edmund Daukoru, said Friday that he expected OPEC to cut its output quota by at least half a million barrels per day when it meets on December 14.
   ‘When we meet, we will look at the data and the trend and I do not expect anything less at this meeting,’ Daukoru told reporters.
   At its last meeting in Qatar in October, OPEC approved a cut in its output quota of 1.2 million barrels a day to stem falling prices, which have dropped from above 78 dollars in July.

BAE Systems is optimistic about the future of its business with Saudi Arabia, a senior manager said on Saturday, despite reports that the key customer had suspended talks over a multi-billion-pound arms deal.
   Damien Turner, managing director of BAE Systems Middle East, declined to comment directly on reports by British newspapers that Saudi Arabia had given Britain 10 days to halt a fraud probe or lose a contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets.
   But asked whether talks were still on, he said: ‘Why should they stop? ... All business in the Middle East, whether it’s in Saudi Arabia or other locations—and when you are talking about aerospace—is not simple.
   ‘It is not done overnight.’
   ‘These programmes have been for a long time in gestation, and they will continue to be that way and we are taking a very long-term view of the future, a positive view,’ Turner added.
   Turner was speaking to reporters after an upbeat address on the firm’s plans in the kingdom at a conference attended by the Crown Prince and defence minister, Prince Sultan.
   Britain said on Friday it would not seek to intervene in the two-year investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into suspected accounting irregularities related to BAE.
   The Daily Telegraph had reported on Thursday that Riyadh had given London 10 days to halt the SFO inquiry or lose the contract for the Typhoons being jointly developed by BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence firm.
   BAE chief executive Mike Turner was quoted in the Financial Times earlier as saying talks about the sale of the Typhoons to Saudi Arabia had stalled amid the widening probe into BAE.
   SFO initially focused its probe on the relationship between BAE and two small travel firms which made arrangements for Saudi Arabian officials on behalf of BAE.
   However, a report earlier this week in the Guardian newspaper said the probe was looking into whether BAE money was channeled to members of the Saudi ruling family.

At least 15,000 demonstrators marched through Brussels on Saturday in protest at planned job cuts at the Belgian factory of German car maker Volkswagen.
   Brussels residents and trade union members from across Europe, including Germany, joined almost the entire 5,000 workforce of the affected plant, shouting ‘We want jobs,’ whistling, throwing firecrackers and carrying coffins.
   Volkswagen announced two weeks ago it would end manufacture of its top-selling Golf at its plant in Brussels, reducing the workforce to 1,500 from some 5,000. The news prompted a strike.
   A deal brokered on Friday by the Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, to bring production of a small new Audi to Brussels and save some 3,000 jobs has softened Belgian anger.
   Francis Wurtz, French European parliament member and head of the parliament’s left bloc, complained multinationals were making European workers fight each other and accept ever worse conditions.
   ‘If we allow that to happen there will be no social Europe left,’ he said. Volkswagen will shift production of the Golf to Germany and is demanding Belgian workers boost productivity to ensure they get to make the Audi.
   Hubert Gerards, a 50-year-old VW Brussels worker, came dressed as St Nicholas, the white-bearded figure who spawned Santa Claus and who gives presents to Dutch and Belgian children early in December.

Zimbabwe’s embattled finance minister has set a Herculean task of slashing four-digit inflation by two-thirds and getting the ruined economy back on track, but experts say his latest budget is not up to the job.
   Presenting the budget for 2007 on Thursday, Herbert Murerwa forecast marginal growth of 0.5 to one per cent and added that the country’s astronomic inflation rate would fall to 350 per cent.
   The projected growth would result from ‘good weather, stabilising of commodity prices, improved mineral deposits and growing number of tourist arrivals,’ Murerwa said.
   But critics say the minister is far too optimistic in a country where the economy has shrunk by one third. The former regional breadbasket now suffers from critical shortages of food and fuel.
   Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent owing to bountiful rains in the current farming season, Murerwa said.
   Agriculture, once the backbone of the economy, is in decline following a controversial land reform policy which saw the often violent seizure of white-owned farms by landless blacks who often lacked expertise and equipment.
   Murerwa also said the mining sector would grow by 4.9 per cent on the back of strong global prices.
   ‘The budget is still very shy to deal with issues affecting the economy such high unemployment, foreign currency problems and inflation,’ Calisto Jokonya, president of Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries told AFP.
   ‘It is good the minister knows the problems affecting our country, but he did not offer any solutions.’
   Central bank governor Gideon Gono has blamed runaway inflation partly on a strong growth of money supply that was fuelled by the free printing of currency to service old debts owed to the International Monetary Fund.
   The IMF had threatened to expel Zimbabwe for failing to meet debt payments.
   Best Doroh, an economist with ZB financial holdings, said Murerwa was being ‘overly-optimistic’ with his targets for inflation and growth.
   ‘He is projecting a real growth rate of between 0.5 to one per cent in 2007 premised on the anticipated improved perfomance of the mining and agriculture sectors which are expected to grow by by 9.4 per cent and 4.9 per cent in 2007. ‘It is interesting to note that the original projection for agriculture was 23 per cent and this has been revised substantially downwards to 6.4 per cent,’ he said.
   Murerwa blamed the country’s woes on sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe and members of inner circle by the United States and the
   European Union for allegedly stifling democracy and human rights.
   ‘It is no secret that the country has remains under seige, facing sanctions from the West, characterised by lack of balance of payments support, lines of credit, foreign direct investment and deliberate efforts to undermine economic turnaround programs,’ he said.
   Independent economist Eric Bloch dismissed the budget, however.

Claiming that India is riding an ‘investment boom’ whose growth had touched 57 per cent, finance minister P Chidambaram Sunday said this should be maintained for the next four to five years to sustain economic growth of eight to nine per cent.
   Delivering a special address at ‘SPEED 2006 - conference on southern prosperity through enhanced economic development’, he said India should welcome investments from any source—private, public or foreign.
   Investments are needed for infrastructure development, which should keep pace with economic growth or else productivity would be affected as in the case of Tuticorin port, Chidambaram said.
   Many foreign investors were willing to invest in India because there was saturation of investments in their countries. ‘They should be welcomed to develop this country,’ he said.
   Attributing the telecom sector’s success in India to competition between the private and public sectors, he said if other industries were to succeed, there should be similar competition.
   ‘Though the government has decontrolled and the licence raj has gone, a few departments are still controlled (by the government). I am not satisfied with the present investments by the private sector. They should be given more space in investments,’ he said.

Thai frozen food exporters are calling for the government to stop the baht’s surge and South Korean automakers are seeing their earnings shrink.
   At the same time, Indonesian textile makers are happy to see raw material prices decline and more Filipinos are flying abroad.
   The dollar’s drop against many Asian currencies is a double-edged sword, dealing a blow to the region’s export-driven economies, but drawing cheers from some quarters as imports get cheaper and overseas travel less expensive.
   The dollar, already weakening for much of the year, has taken a tumble since last week amid concerns over a slowdown in the US economy and speculation that China is swapping dollars for euros and yen in its nearly $1 trillion foreign currency reserves.
   Alarmed about the baht’s 14.2 per cent gain against the dollar this year, the Bank of Thailand intervened in the currency market Friday and earlier in the week, to try to curb the baht’s surge, said Nitaya Pibulratanagit, the assistant governor.
   ‘The baht has risen beyond its fundamentals,’ said Suchada Kirakul, the central bank’s senior director for the domestic economy, blaming at least some of the appreciation on speculative inflows from offshore investors.
   Central banks in the Philippines, Taiwan and South Korea also bought dollars in the currency market this week, traders said.
   But the dollar continues to languish, falling Friday as low as 115.48 yen, 35.7 baht and 927.5 Korean won before recovering some lost ground.
   Optimism about Asian economies has also contributed to currency gains. The South Korean won is near its strongest levels since 1997. The Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah have strengthened. Even China’s yuan is steadily inching higher, hitting fresh highs nearly every week, though US authorities would like to see it appreciate even more.
   These gains mean that American consumers could pay higher prices on at least some Asian exports just as the holiday shopping season gets into full swing.
   Recent indicators of US consumer spending are mixed, with sales during the Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend up 3.4 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to retail outlet monitor ShopperTrak RCT Corp. But the consumer confidence index fell unexpectedly in November, according to the New York-based
   ‘World trade has been growing so that’s probably enough to offset the currencies’ appreciating,’ said David Cohen, Singapore-based chief of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics. ‘So far it looks as if the US consumer will continue to spend.’
   South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. has felt the won’s strength — the dollar is down 8 per cent this year — pinch its foreign income. To avoid currency exposure, it plans to dramatically boost output at factories in China, Slovakia and the US due to come on line by 2010 to 1.03 million vehicles from 130,000 now.
   ‘Obviously one of the main motivations of our aggressive overseas production expansion to a certain extent addresses the currency risk,’ said Kia spokesman Michael Choo.
   The appreciation of the Thai baht — at an eight-year high against the dollar — has been one of the sharpest, prompting exporters to submit a petition this month to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, the finance chief and the central bank governor.
   ‘We demand that they implement appropriate measures to maintain baht stability in order to maintain the country’s competitiveness,’ said the petition by 10 export-oriented groups, including the Thai Frozen Foods Association. ‘The persistent rise in the baht makes us unable to compete in terms of price.’
   Japan, Asia’s biggest economy, hasn’t seen a dramatic appreciation in its currency: The dollar is down just 1.6 per cent this year against the yen. But the dollar’s recent tumble has prompted investors to sell major exporters’ stocks like Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp.
   In the Philippines, where the dollar has declined about 6 per cent against the peso this year, the pain has been most acutely felt by small and medium-sized exporters of indigenous products like furniture, handicrafts, processed foods, and marine and agriculture-based products, said Sergio Ortiz-Luis, head of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.
   But the Philippine Travel Agencies Association says the stronger peso and budget airfares have sparked a marked increase in outbound travel in the last quarter of the year.
   ‘It’s also because of affordable airfares offered by budget airlines,’ said Jose Clemente III, head of the association. ‘The stronger peso complements that, so travel becomes much cheaper now.’

German engineering giant Siemens paid bribes to officials in the Greek interior and defence ministries linked to a contract it won for the Athens Olympics, the weekly Der Spiegel said on Saturday.
   The report said that a manager of the group, which is currently being probed for corruption, had told prosecutors in Munich that a former Siemens official in Greece had received up to 10 per cent of the company’s revenue in that country to use for bribes.
   Prosecutors in the Siemens probe are investigating the suspected existence of overseas slush funds containing about 200 million euros (260 million dollars), allegedly used to pay bribes to obtain big contracts.
   A total of seven current and former Siemens employees have so far been arrested in the investigation and six of them are still in custody.
   The Siemens contract for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 involved a security system.
   Slush funds were reportedly held in Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein and beneficiaries allegedly included the regime of late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha.

Pfizer Inc. said Saturday it has cut off all clinical trials and development for a cholesterol drug that was supposed to be the star of its pipeline because of an unexpected number of deaths and cardiovascular problems in patients who used it.
   The world’s largest drugmaker said it was told Saturday that an independent board monitoring a study for torcetrapib, a drug that raises levels of HDL, or what’s commonly known as good cholesterol, recommended that the work end because of ‘an imbalance of mortality and cardiovascular events.’
   The news is devastating to Pfizer, which had been counting on the drug to revitalize stagnant sales that have been hurt by numerous patent expirations on key products. It has said it was spending around $800 million to develop Torcetrapib.
   There were already concerns about the drug because a recent study showed it triggered a slight increase in blood pressure, but it was unclear if that was behind the patient deaths and cardiovascular problems.
   Pfizer said it is asking all clinical investigators conducting trials to warn patients to stop taking the drug immediately.
   According to Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry, 82 patients taking the combination of torcetrapib died, compared to 51 deaths in the arm of the study where patients were taking Lipitor alone.

A few weeks ago, TN Ninan, publisher of top Indian financial daily Business Standard, asked in a column: ‘Are Indian companies on steroids?’ after record- breaking quarterly profits.
   Now he might want to ask: ‘Is the Indian economy on steroids?’
   Last week, India posted unexpectedly strong second-quarter economic growth of 9.2 per cent, powered by a surge in manufacturing and services, and the Mumbai stock market index, the Sensex, streaked to a record high of 13,844.78.
   ‘India is in take-off mode,’ said Harish Fabiani, director of the Indian advisory arm of global investment firm Americorp Capital, who attended a three-day India Summit of the World Economic Forum in New Delhi last week.
   The Sensex benchmark stock index is up by 47.3 per cent so far this year, led by foreign funds eager to buy into the ‘India growth story,’ and analysts see it sprinting higher, although politicians stress
   the wealth must be shared to avoid a backlash by those left behind.
   ‘Strong GDP numbers and sustained growth in the software and automobile sectors continue to push the index forward toward the 14,000 level,’ said Manoj Kakaiya of brokerage ULJK Securities. But even if the Sensex holds at current levels, it will mark a record year-on-year rise.

Dividend
   Mita Textile
   The board of directors did not recommend any dividend for the year 2005-2006. Annual general meeting of the company will be held on December 28 at the hall room, Hotel Razmoni Ishakha, 89/3, VIP Road, Kakrail, Dhaka. Book closure: 17.12.06 to 28.12.06.
   Gulf Foods
   The board of directors has recommended cash dividend @ 3per cent for the year 2005-2006. Annual general meeting of the company will be held on December 30 at Istikutum community centre, Plot No 3, Road No 15, Sector No 3 (Rabindra Sarani) Uttara, Dhaka. Book Closure : 17.12.06 to 30.12.06.
   Tamijuddin Textile
   The board of directors did not recommend any dividend for the year 2004-2005 while it has recommended cash dividend @ 5per cent for the year 2005-2006. Annual general meeting of the company will be held on December 26 at Factory Premises, BSCIC Industrial Estate, Konabari, Gazipur. Book closure: 21.12.06 to 26.12.06.
   
   Loss
   Gachihata Aquaculture
   As per audited accounts as on June 30, 2006, the company has reported net loss of Tk 30.23 million with EPS of Tk 14.60 as against Tk 101.55 million and Tk 49.06 respectively as on June 30, 2005. Moreover, the Company has reported accumulated loss of Tk 187.91 million as on June 30, 2006.
   Ashraf Textile
   As per audited accounts as on June 30, 2006, the company has reported net loss of Tk 202.12 million with EPS of Tk 19.25 as against Tk 119.02 million and Tk 11.33 respectively as on June 30, 2005. Moreover, the Company has reported accumulated loss of Tk 640.64 million as on June 30, 2006.
   
   Transaction
   Fine Foods
   Md Hossain Babu, one of the sponsors of the company has reported his intention to sell his entire holdings of 3,40,000 shares of the company at prevailing market price through stock exchange.
   NCC Bank
   Fakhrul Anwar, one of the directors of the bank, has further reported that he has completed his sale of 15,000 shares of the Bank at prevailing market price through stock exchange as announced earlier.
   
   AGM
   Metro Spinning
   The company has further informed that the 11 th AGM of the company will be held on 31 December, 2006 at the National Shooting Federation Bangladesh, Gulshan-1, Dhaka. Other information regarding AGM as announced earlier.
   Olympic Industries
   The company has further informed that the 27th AGM of the company will be held on December 24 at the Factory premises of the company at Madanpur, Keodhala on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway, Bondar, Narayanganj. Other information regarding AGM as announced earlier.
   Profit
   Olympic Industries
   As per audited accounts for the period up to June 30, 2006, the company has reported net profit of Tk 24.15 million with EPS of Tk 13.96 as against Tk 12.70 million and Tk 7.34 respectively as on March 31, 2005.
   
   Spot trade
   Dafodil Computers
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and Block/Odd transactions will be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from December 4, to 6 and trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date i.e., December 7.
   Bangas
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and Block/Odd transactions will be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from December 4 to 06 and trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date i.e., December 7.
   Mithun Knitting
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and Block/Odd transactions will be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from December 4 to 6 and trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date i.e., December 07.
   Tallu Spinning
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and Block/Odd transactions will be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from December 4 to 6 and trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date i.e., December 7.
   Source: DSE, CSE

TCB sells
essentials in city
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, a state-owned enterprise, started selling essentials, including sugar and lentil, at cheaper prices in the capital city Sunday. Dealers enlisted with the Department of Food are selling the essentials under OMS programme on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, a press release said. The TCB, however, under its own management will sell the essentials at cheaper prices from 50 important points in the city from December 14.
— BSS

India plans to source more oil, gas from Russia
India plans to get more oil and gas from Russia as part of its efforts to diversify sources of energy, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said Saturday. ‘Russia is our important friend and we look towards them when we think of our energy needs and security of the country,’ Deora said at a function organized to mark the arrival of first crude oil from Sakhalin-I project. OVL, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), has 20 per cent stake in Sakhalin-I project. It has shipped 90 thousand tonnes (700,000 barrels) of crude from its share in the project.
— PTI

Tata wins major
deal in China
IT major Tata Consultancy Services has won a landmark deal worth a whopping $100 million from the state-run Bank of China, industry sources said Sunday. It is being dubbed as one of the major IT-related deals signed by a Chinese bank ahead of the opening up of the country’s banking sector to foreign competition by December 11 under Beijing’s commitment to the World Trade Organisation, industry sources said.
— PTI