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The government has tightened the waiver policy of interests receivable against loans in the state-owned banks and financial institutions.
   The finance ministry has already issued a letter in this connection and requested the Bangladesh Bank to make necessary clarifications in the relevant policy provisions.
   According to the latest revision, the banks and financial institutions could make any waiver to applied interest only after ensuring the recovery of cost of fund along with no debit from the income account.
   Presently, the state-owned banks and financial institutions make interest rate waiver without proper recovery of the cost of fund that causes huge losses of the banks.
   In some cases, public banks debit interest amount from the income account, although those amounts have already been settled as bank’s income, which also causes loss of the banks.
   ‘In many cases, nationalised banks have to waive interests that have already come to the banks’ income account and the banks have also paid income tax on that particular account,’ said a senior official of a nationalised bank.
   He was of the view that the revised provision would help the banks to reduce the burden of losses and bring more discipline in the credit activities.
   The finance ministry instruction also said that in case of
   closing any bank loan after settling all the dues, the bank board has to make decisions on merit base of each case, but the recovery of cost of fund has to be ensured.
   Generally, the cost of fund differs from bank to bank and ranges between 7 and 9 per cent of the total loans.
   The private commercial banks have, however, been maintaining such practices.
   Interest Suspension
   Meanwhile, total amount of interest suspended against the classified loans stood at Tk 4,945.4 crore at the end-March 2006.
   Of this, nationalised banks have highest amount of interest suspend account worth Tk 3,274.9 crore while the total amount of interest suspended in the development financial institutions were Tk 877.1 crore.
   The private banks have Tk 740.28 crore in their interest suspend account while the amount was Tk 53 crore in the foreign banks.
   And a total amount of interests suspended against the special mention account stood at Tk 138.70 crore during the period under review and of the amount, Tk 92 crore was in the four nationalised commercial banks.

Dhaka stocks ended last week with bullish mood on the buying spree from the institutional investors who bought shares at lower prices to take a stand ahead of the upcoming general poll.
   Good corporate results of a number of company and latest development in divestment process of state-owned Rupali Bank also stirred the investors last week.
   Throughout last week, Dhaka Stock Exchange all share price index gained 42.05 points or 3.94 per cent to close at 1109.65 on Thursday, closing day of last week.
   DSE20, of blue chips, advanced by 40.94 points or 3.08 per cent and DSE general index went up by 39.94 points or 2.94 per cent.
   ‘Recently institutional investors have been buying stocks to take a stand ahead of next general election,’ said Moin Al Kashem, a share market expert.
   He said prolonged bearish trend in the stock market reduced the stock prices, even of the companies with good fundamentals, to their bottom line.
   The institutional investors, who are capable of holding shares for a longer period, picked the moment to buy shares to avail the lower prices, he said.
   Last week, the market also witnessed increased demand for the shares of the companies that disclosed good business results, said Moin, vice-president of Prime Finance & Investment Ltd.
   Square Pharmaceuticals, which recommended 75 per cent cash dividend and 20 per cent stock dividend for the year 2006 on Thursday, gained 8.42 per cent in its share prices in a single day.
   Share prices of the Rupali, a state-owned bank, also rose remarkably on the latest development in its divestment process, he said.
   Starting last week with Tk 707.75, Rupali Bank ended the week with value of each of its share of Tk 911.
   Sharif Ataur Rahman, managing director of SAR Securities, said investors traded heavily on banking and power companies’ stocks last week to avail the lower prices of these shares.
   Large investors have been buying shares to take a stand ahead of next general election, he also said.
   Turnover on the prime bourse last week increased by 34.82 per cent in volume and 27.68 per cent in value compared to the previous week.
   Around 12.53 million shares and debentures worth Tk 123.12 crore were traded on the DSE last week while around 9.30 million shares and debentures worth Tk 96.43 crore changed hand in the previous week.
   Dhaka Electric Supply Company topped the turnover leaders’ list last week with turnover Tk 10.16 crore, which was 8.25 per cent of the bourse’s total turnover of the week.
   Other turnover leaders, according to their position in the list, were: Rupali Bank, Pubali Bank, Summit Power, AB Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals, Lafarge Surma Cement, City Bank, Uttara Bank and National Bank Ltd.
   Alpha Tobacco and Modern Dyeing topped the gainers and losers. Alpha Tobacco gained 29.03 per cent price advancement of its shares while Modern Dyeing witnessed 30.26 per cent fall.

After detecting some Tk 330 crore as suspicious transactions by the BD Foods in different banks, the central bank has instructed the relevant commercial banks to submit vouchers against all the transactions.
   The central bank has issued the order on Thursday following request from the Criminal Investigation Department now probing the allegations of heroin smuggling by BD Foods.
   Investigation committee convenor Mohammed Ibrahim Fatemi, a police super (special), requested the Anti-Money Laundering Department of Bangladesh Bank on July 20 to submit the vouchers against each and every transaction of the company by the end of this month.
   Although the instruction was issued, the central bank itself is on doubt whether it would be possible to collect such huge supporting documents (debit and credit vouchers) against 35,595 transactions taking place between February 2003 and May 2006 in 26 branches of 15 commercial banks through 83 accounts.
   Of these, about 80 per cent transactions have been conducted in nine braches of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd and the total transaction value in the bank was about Tk 240 crore.
   ‘We have instructed the banks to submit the vouchers,’ said a senior official of the central bank. ‘But it will take time and we will also inform the probe committee on delay.’
   He was of the view that it is very time consuming and cumbersome process, as banks have to find out three year old documents.
   ‘Some of the banks’ branches also have not sufficient computer supports and they still keep the accounts of transactions manually,’ he added.
   The senior bankers also observed that collection of such vouchers and documents would be difficult and it would hamper regular business activities to some extent.
   ‘The investigator authority may go for random checking in some selected banks or bank-branches where huge amount of suspicious transactions took place,’ said Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled, managing director of the Pubali Bank.
   ‘Sample selection and scrutiny may be an effective effort and the authority may seek co-operation from the central bank or government auditors,’ he added.
   Some of the central bank officials as well as bankers also expressed their doubt on the result of such exercise and opined that it would not yield any positive result, rather create trouble.
   ‘The problem is that the investigator authority has little understanding on banking transactions and so they are seeking all the vouchers and documents,’ said one of them.
   ‘It sounds totally absurd that they sought all the vouchers within 10 days,’ he added. ‘Moreover it is also not understandable how they will review the vouchers and for what.’
   The probe committee has also sought information like names of individuals or institutions that were either depositors, receivers or beneficiaries; their bank account numbers and the name of bank/s.
   The committee also demanded yearly or monthly turnover of the respective accounts.
   UNB Adds: The transactions in the form of cash, transfer, deposits and withdrawals ranged between Tk 7,000 and Tk 30,00,000 during the period from February 2003 to May 2006.
   ‘I don’t know how they will handle the vouchers so huge in number. That’s up to them,’ said another official of the central bank.
   Bangladesh Bank first provided the committee with the accounts information in a report containing 2,586 pages on June 5 this year. The committee convenor returned it to the central bank on June 14, requesting review and further condensing the report.
   Bangladesh Bank again supplied a 49-page report on July 17, indicating the suspicious transactions where the committee could investigate.
   The committee launched investigation on the bank transactions of BD Foods after an allegation of smuggling 21.5 Kg of heroin to Britain by the company.

Despite its stellar economic growth, India is still not doing enough to boost key measures of well-being such as healthcare and education for its vast populace, the World Bank said Wednesday.
   In an annual survey of India, the Bank said the country’s full immunization rates have fallen over the past five years and that almost two-thirds of children in government primary schools cannot read a simple story.
   Michael Carter, the World Bank’s country director for India, said the nation must make its recent growth ‘truly inclusive for a quarter of the country’s citizens who still live below the poverty line, and improve the effectiveness of public spending for core public services to ordinary citizens’.
   Poverty rates in India’s most prosperous states are comparable with the richer Latin American countries, but the poorest states are mired at Sub-Saharan African levels of poverty, the report said.
   ‘And, the gap is growing,’ it warned.
   ‘While the services sector booms, agricultural productivity is declining, constraining the growth of the rural economy,’ the World Bank added.
   The report recommended that India’s government ‘remove key binding constraints of poor infrastructure and high fiscal deficits’ that block economic growth spreading to all its billion-plus citizens.
   The emphasis of reforms should be to distribute the benefits of growth through ‘changing labor regulations to spur job creation and reforming the financial sector’, it said.
   Productivity in the pivotal farming sector, which still employs the vast majority of Indians, should be raised through investments in technology and infrastructure.
   For those states where growth is lagging, the focus should be on reducing the regulatory burden, ensuring law and order, and expanding rural infrastructure.
   The Bank also called on India to ‘empower the poor through proactive policies and programs that assist them to take part in the market on fair and equitable terms’.

A team of the Singapore-based feeder ship operators’ association Chittagong Feeder Trade Committee is expected to arrive in Chittagong on July 31 for talks with the Chittagong Port Authority on congestion surcharge, port and shipping officials said.
   Feeder companies imposed a surcharge on the containers they transport to and from the Chittagong port on June 5, complaining of acute congestion.
   They fixed a surcharge of $130 against each 20-foot-long container, the officials said.
   The officials hoped that the surcharge might be withdrawn if CPA held a fruitful dialogue with the CFTC team.
   The CPA chairman, Shahadat Hossain, told New Age that the team, led by the CFTC secretary, SC Lim, would arrive for a meeting with him and other port officials on congestion surcharge.
   ‘The CFTC team will have detailed discussion with us on the position of congestion and we will try to persuade the team members to withdraw the surcharge,’ he said.
   ‘Congestion that hit the port has eased to a great extent and the turnaround period for ships has come down to two days on average from eight days earlier,’ he added. ‘As the situation has improved, feeder operators should withdraw the surcharge.’
   ‘We took some effective measures to ease the congestion at the port,’ he said.
   The CFTC team is also expected to hold a meeting with the ministry of port and shipping in the capital Dhaka, the officials said.
   Meanwhile, the Chittagong unit of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association and some other traders have already filed cases with the High Court seeking a stay of the congestion surcharge.

India said Thursday it would not accept any changes by the US Senate to a controversial US-India nuclear energy agreement, a day after the US House of Represen-tatives approved the deal.
   ‘The US legislative process is still on. There is the Senate bill,’ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told India’s upper house of parliament after the US House of Representatives cleared the deal by a 359-68 vote.
   ‘If the US legislative process leads to an end product not consistent with what we have committed to, that will be the determining factor of what we do next,’ he said.
   On Wednesday Singh said India would ‘never compromise in a manner which is inconsistent with the provisions of the joint statement’ that he and US President George Bush signed in July 2005.

Days of 32,000 hardcore poor weavers, who became jobless after the floods in 1998, are now brighter because of successful implementation of ‘MicroCredit Programmes for the Weavers’ in the last eight years.
   Bangladesh Handloom Board (BHB) took the Tk 50 crore initiatives that started in July 1998 and ended in June this year.
   Chairman of BHB Akram Hossain told BSS that the main objective of the project was to rehabilitate distressed handloom weavers in the country those were affected by flood in 1998.
   ‘Our initiative was to ensure self-employment for the distressed weavers and enhancing their livelihood through reviving their handloom machines’ he added.
   ‘At first, we have selected members from the country’s weaver society for providing MicroCredit supports. Then we helped them to form integrated groups headed by weaver owners who had five looms’, he said.
   ‘According to Handloom Census, a total of 1,92,311 handloom machines were found inactive and out of these, a total of 41,637 machines were finally selected under the MicroCredit scheme.
   Akram Hosain said, ‘After selecting members for receiving the credit,we transferred the total amount of Taka 50 crore to the Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) and Rajshahi Krishi Uniyan Bank (RKUB) while the interest rate was only 10 percent.
   Besides, BHB has set up two handloom training institutes at Narsingdi and Pabna to improve the skill of handloom workers. So far a total of 8,000 handloom weavers were trained in different state of production in these industries.
   Moreover, under the BHB, a number of handloom projects worth Tk 11 crore were absorbed in the Asian Development Programmes (ADP); those include Mirpur Benerashi Estate, Monipuri Handloom in Sylhet, establishment of Dying, Training and Handloom Display-cum Sales Centre at Sawail in Khulna and Bogra and Modernisation of Pit-comors by semi automatic looms.
   The project director of BHB, Narayan Chandra Dey, said, ‘The government has given special attention to the handloom weavers and extended supports to them. These include distribution of food through one lakh Vulnerable Group Feeders (VGF) and cash Tk 11 crore as grant.’
   ‘We have a plan to increase cash assistance to 25 per cent from five per cent for the weavers when they go for exporting handloom products.
   Textile industries meet 40 per cent domestic textile demand and nearly 15 lakh people are directly or indirectly engaged in this sector’ he added.
   ‘Besides, at present the demand of check-clothes in our RMG sector stood at nearly 12 crore yards,’ BHB Project Director observed.

The Japanese are showing signs of ‘reform fatigue’ as the economy recovers, making it vital for the next leader to continue efforts to slim down government, the economy minister said Thursday.
   ‘I am optimistic about the prospects of the Japanese economy,’ said Kaoru Yosano, minister for economic and fiscal policy.
   The economy is exiting the emergency situation that followed deflation and is returning to normality, he told reporters.
   ‘I am, however, concerned that a reaction against reform is occurring. As the economy expands, people are showing signs of reform fatigue.’
   Yosano also said he felt ‘uneasy’ about the course of the government after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi steps down in September as prime minister and head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
   ‘Simply parroting Prime Minister Koizumi’s calls for reform, for independence and self-help, or for demolishing the LDP, will not get us anywhere,’ he said.
   Koizumi vowed to destroy his own party after sweeping to power in 2001 if necessary for change and called snap elections last year to try to purge the LDP of an ‘old guard’ which opposed his plans to privatise the post office.

China has approved a five-billion-dollar domestic oil refinery joint venture with Kuwait, state media said Thursday, marking another major development in the Asian nation’s quest for energy.
   The project, between China’s Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp., will become the biggest Sino-foreign joint venture in the petrochemical industry, according to the Shanghai Securities News.
   The giant operation will be located near the city of Nansha in south China’s Guangdong province, a part of China where long lines at the gas stations have come to symbolize the nation’s insatiable thirst for oil.
   ‘Guangdong province is a major consumer of gas and diesel, and supply is simply not ample enough,’ said Qiu Xiaofeng, a Shanghai-based oil analyst with Everbright Securities.
   China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer after the United States, used about 318 million tons of oil last year, of which 40 per cent was imported, according to earlier reports.
   The facility, which is scheduled for completion in 2010, will include an oil refinery with a 15-million-ton annual capacity and a plant capable of producing one million tons of ethylene a year, the Shanghai Securities News said.
   Earlier reports said the ethylene facility in itself would become the largest ethylene plant in China.
   Chinese demand for ethylene—a key component in the manufacturing of many plastics products—has risen dramatically in the course of its economic boom.
   The country had to import 57 per cent of its ethylene needs last year, up from just 22 per cent in 1990, the Shanghai Daily reported.
   Qiu said the venture would also enable Kuwait to get a better understanding of movements in a market that has risen drastically in importance, with China now the world’s fourth-largest economy.
   ‘The Kuwaiti investment in downstream facilities puts them directly in touch with the markets, enabling them to continuously provide feedback back home on overseas needs,’ said Qiu.
   The project also reflects an overall strategic logic that is pulling China closer to the oil and gas-rich Middle East, said He Jun, an analyst with Anbound Consulting, an energy consulting company based in Beijing.

Turkey has achieved ‘excellent’ progress in combating corruption, although more remains to be done to stamp out the rampant graft that has plagued the country, the World Bank said Thursday.
   ‘While more work lies ahead, the reduction in corruption... is very encouraging news that reforms of public sector institutions, including the courts, are producing good benefits for Turkey, the business community and the population,’ said Andrew Vorkink, the bank’s representative in Ankara.
   ‘Fighting corruption is a long-term process but Turkey, through reforms and the European Union accession process, is making excellent progress in the war on corruption,’ the statement added.
   Vorking was commenting on the results of a World Bank study on the level of of corruption in Turkey and other countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
   The study, based on a survey of private sector representatives, found that reforms in Turkey’s business environment had contributed to reducing bribery between 2002 and 2005.
   ‘In some key aspects of doing business, such as licensing, reforms have brought the incidence of corruption closer to the average observed for firms operating in the new EU member countries,’ the statement said.

Taiwan opened Thursday a two-day national forum aimed at working out measures to revive the island’s sluggish economy but anlaysts said politics may get in the way of any constructive proposals.
   ‘The purpose of the forum is to have a comprehensive review over a number of chronic, structural and controversial problems facing Taiwan and to come up with solutions,’ President Chen Shui-bian said in an opening address.
   Some 100 scholars, government and political party officials, business groups and trade unions are taking part in the ‘Conference on Sustainable Growth in the Taiwan Economy’ sponsored by the government.
   The central issue is business ties with mainland China whose booming economy has attracted billions of dollars in investment from Taiwan, with divisions driven as much by political as economic considerations.
   President Chen’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is against Taiwan putting all its economic eggs in the China basket but the opposition nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and others are in favour of increasing ties.
   In his address, Chen warned again about seeing the issue too narrowly.
   ‘The economic and trade ties across the Strait (with China) do not represent the whole of Taiwan’s external economic and trade ties. Therefore, relevant problems should be weighed under the context of the global economic and trade system,’ Chen said.
   Earlier in the week, a preparatory panel could not agree to submit to the forum a proposal to ease limits on Taiwan investment in China.
   Under current rules, a Taiwan company can invest in mainland China up to 40 per cent of its net worth but business interests want that relaxed given the ever closer economic ties between Taiwan and the mainland.

Etihad Airways and Airbus marked a double celebration in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE on Wednesday, with a special VIP and media showcasing the national airline’s new A340-500 Diamond Zone, and the visit of the revolutionary Airbus 380-800 aircraft.
   The Etihad branded double-decker A380, flown to the UAE for heat testing, thrilled crowds across the country with a fly-past over the other Emirates, before heading for Abu Dhabi Corniche and city centre, and finally touching down at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
   As well as viewing the A380, the world’s largest and most advanced passenger aircraft, a special delegation of VIPs and media hosted by Etihad’s chairman, also enjoyed experiencing the airline’s Diamond zone suite on board one of its new A340-500 aircraft.
   ‘To see both of these aircraft side-by-side is really, testament to the ambitions of Etihad and Airbus,’ said RH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan, chairman of Etihad Airways. ‘The A380 is set to change the future of air travel. Both the A380 and A340-500 will provide guests with premium comfort, and become the aircraft of choice for long-haul business and leisure travellers.’
   Habib Fekih, President of Airbus Middle East, said: ‘In less than three years, Etihad has attained a reputation as one of the most respected and fastest growing airlines in the world. With ‘out modern and very efficient aircraft family we are proud to be Etihad’s partner in its strong growth strategy and rapidly expanding network.’
   The innovative Diamond zone suite sets new industry—benchmarks with a seat that rotates 180 degrees enabling Guests to dine, meet and converse with one another, in addition to the ‘air theatre’ with its 23—inch personal LCD video screen.

A reform aimed at protecting Russian consumers from substandard alcohol is turning Russia into a country where even vodka, the national drink of choice, is becoming scarce, experts warned.
   ‘Russia could become a country without alcohol by September,’ said Boris Titov, head of the trade association Business Russia.
   The association has written to Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov warning that alcohol distributors could be put out of business by the new legislation.
   The law, which took effect on July 1, obliges alcohol importers and retailers to operate through a centralised data system called EGAIS that identifies every bottle sold.
   But businesses say the EGAIS system is virtually inoperable. Connection to the central server is often blocked and many companies lack the expensive equipment needed to access the system.
   Bottles sold in Russia now also have to carry a new stamp confirming that excise duties have been paid. The old stamps are illegal and not enough new ones have been printed to meet demand, observers say.
   Shelves once lined with all kinds of alcohol for the lucrative market are now empty and some restaurants now allow clients to bring their own wine or spirits.
   For many Russians, the atmosphere is reminiscent of an anti-alcoholism campaign launched in 1985 by the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
   That campaign forced Russian vineyards to close down, while alcoholics drank perfume in a desperate bid to keep sobriety at bay.
   Once again, Russian alcohol-related businesses are under threat, observers say.
   The country’s main retailers risk losing more than 100 million dollars in profits between July and September, the Deutsche UFG investment house said in a recent report.

ASEAN energy ministers on Thursday called for cooperation to boost renewable energy use amid soaring oil prices which cast a shadow over one of the world’s most dynamic regional economies.
   The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for more investment and research to raise the region’s capacity in renewable energy such as bio-fuels and hydro-power as alternatives to oil.
   ‘Reliable, adequate and affordable energy supplies are essential for strong and sustainable economic growth and competitiveness,’ the ministers said in a joint statement.
   Communist Laos, which hosted the one-day ministerial meeting, took the opportunity to appeal to ASEAN nations for financial and technical support to upgrade its low energy capacity.
   ‘I would like to request the ASEAN energy ministers to assist Laos in harnessing its existing energy potential by encouraging their entrepreneurs to invest in hydro-power and thermal power development in Laos,’ Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh said in an opening address.
   Laos, one of the poorest countries in ASEAN, depends solely on hydro-power plants for its electricity. Another poor ASEAN member, Cambodia, made a similar appeal.
   ‘Cambodia has an abundant potential of hydro-power resources but development is hampered due to the lack of technical expertise and high investment cost,’ Cambodian Energy Minister Suy Sem said.
   Even for oil-rich Brunei, current high prices have put pressure on the government, which subsidizes motor fuel and electricity.
   ‘This is a dilemma for us as any removal or partial removal of the subsidies on the pump prices or on electricity would have a negative impact on the economy,’ Brunei’s Energy Minister Pehin Dato Haji Yahya Bakar said.
   Oil prices, which were just around 20 dollars per barrel at the beginning of 2002, now stand at around 75 dollars.
   Experts said current high oil prices were mainly driven by tensions in the Middle East, home to 80 percent of global oil resources, and soaring demand in the United States, China and Japan, the world’s top three oil consumers.
   Tensions have risen with the ongoing violence between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West and worsening sectarian violence in Iraq.

Southeast Asia and the United States will sign later Thursday a five-year action plan aimed at boosting trade, investment and political ties.
   The move highlights increasing moves towards smaller, regional pacts in Asia and elsewhere in the wake of the collapse of World Trade Organsiation talks earlier this week.
   ‘This ASEAN-US plan of action is predicated on the position that the United States would like to do more to open up its trade with ASEAN countries,’ ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong told AFP.
   ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
   US and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials will seal the ‘Framework Document for the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-US Enhanced Partnership,’ which they had agreed to work towards last November.
   Under the plan, both sides will work towards an ASEAN-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement that will serve as a mechanism to ease trade and investment flows.
   The bloc offers a combined market of more than 500 million people and an alternative manufacturing base to China for multinational companies.
   Officials have said the plan could lay the groundwork for a possible US-ASEAN free trade pact, pointing out that ASEAN is already in talks for a region-wide free trade agreements with China and Japan.

Australia said Thursday the East Asia Summit should freeze its membership to enable the 16 countries to chart the group’s future, signalling Russia’s application should be denied.
   ‘I think let’s consolidate for the time being,’ Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said when asked about Russia joining the region’s newest grouping.
   ‘Let’s chart its direction,’ he told reporters on the sidelines of a regional foreign ministers’ meeting.
   The East Asia Summit embraces the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with regional powers China, Japan and South Korea, and new members Australia, India and New Zealand.
   The inaugural summit of the grouping, mooted as a future giant free-trade community, was held last December.
   Downer said the group’s foreign ministers agreed at a meeting Wednesday to make three key areas—energy, financial cooperation and education—the focus of the 2006 summit.
   ‘Energy, energy security and the security of those suppliers is going to be the centre of the East Asia Summit for this year,’ he said.
   Downer said that another major issue was the development of regional financial institutions, adding that this week’s meeting discussed currency swaps and the possibility of an Asian Monetary Fund.
   ‘They need to be thought about and discussed. The East Asia Forum is a good forum to do so,’ he said.

Iraq’s oil minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Wednesday that boosting foreign investment is vital to increasing the country’s oil output as he met in Washington with executives from major energy groups.
   Shahristani voiced optimism during a press conference at the US Energy Department that foreign companies would help modernize Iraq’s oil facilities, which have been regularly targetted by insurgents since the 2003 US invasion.
   ‘Iraq’s vast oil and gas reserves is waiting to be developed,’ the oil minister said as he stood next to US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.
   ‘We are increasing production ... but to develop that potential Iraq will require partnership with international oil companies and we had an opportunity this afternoon to meet some of the members of this industry,’ Shahristani said.
   He said no specific agreements had been made during the talks, but that the US and European oil company executives had expressed interest in Iraq’s huge and largely untapped oil sector.
   Shahristani said he briefed the executives, including representatives of ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, the Marathon Oil Company, Occidental Petroleum, Amerada Hess and Anadarko Petroleum, on a potential new hydrocarbon law.
   The law, which has yet to be approved by Iraq’s parliament, would allow foreign companies to invest in the war-ravaged state and its rich oil fields.
   ‘We hope it can be enacted before the end of the year,’ Shahristani said of the law.
   The US government has lobbied hard for the law to be passed and Bodman urged its approval during a trip to Iraq earlier this month.
   There was no foreign investment in Iraq’s oil sector under the rule of former dictator, Saddam Hussein, but in his final years in power a French-Russian joint venture was signed though never implemented due to United Nations sanctions.
   Iraq’s oil output touched 2.08 million barrels per day in June, the highest since October 2004, and exports reached 1.64 million barrels per day.

Japan announced Thursday it was resuming imports of US beef, resolving a long rift between the allies, but consumers remained unconvinced that the meat is safe from mad cow disease.
   Japan, formerly the top overseas market for US beef, said it would immediately restart imports which have been completely halted twice since December 2003 due to the mad cow health scares.
   Facing threats by US lawmakers of trade sanctions, Japan said it would allow US beef provided that it comes from cattle no older than 20 months and that risky body parts such as brains and spines are removed.
   A US shipment in January contained animal spines, leading Japan abruptly to bar all US beef just one month after it had first lifted the embargo.
   Health and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki warned Japan was ready to impose a new ban if US beef again fails to meet the conditions.
   ‘If there is another violation, we will suspend them (beef imports) in full scale,’ Kawasaki told a news conference.
   Japan agreed in principle in June to resume US beef imports, days ahead of a farewell trip to Washington by outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of US President George W. Bush’s closest allies.
   It gave the final go-ahead after Japanese experts inspected 35 US meatpacking plants and approved all but one of them as suppliers.
   ‘I believe that the safety of the imports will be ensured’ if the United States follows the guidelines, Kawasaki said.
   ‘Our government has placed top priority on securing our people’s health and easing people’s fears. We will continue to do our best to take safety measures for foods, including US beef,’ he said.
   Opposition lawmakers have accused Koizumi of jeopardizing safety for the sake of the US alliance and public opinion polls showed most Japanese would still shun US beef.
   Michiko Sekimoto, a 51-year-old housewife shopping for groceries in central Tokyo, said she did not trust US beef.
   ‘I can’t think of any other reason (for the decision) but that the Japanese government succumbed to US pressure,’ she said.
   ‘Consumers have no choice but to protect ourselves. I will only buy Japanese beef which can be tracked back its producer,’ she said.
   Ryosuke Sasaki, a 28-year-old office worker, said Japan should have been ‘more careful’ on US beef.
   ‘I doubt that there will be a huge demand for US beef considering that Japan has already banned US beef imports more than once and could do it again,’ he said.
   The main commercial beneficiaries of the mad cow scare have been domestic and Australian cattle raisers, although a growing number of consumers in meat-loving Japan have turned away from beef.
   Atsuko Miyamoto, a 47-year-old housewife, predicted that Japanese consumers would eventually eat US beef whatever their current concerns.
   ‘I cannot trust the safety of US beef,’ she said as she shopped for groceries.
   ‘That said, though, I would probably eat US beef when I eat out at restaurants or if I go to the US.’

Sony Corp said Thursday strong sales of flat-panel televisions in the June quarter and the hit movie ‘The Da Vinci Code’ helped it reverse the losses of a year ago and continue its turnaround.
   The Japanese electronics giant, which is undergoing major restructuring, reported a net profit of 32.29 billion yen (278.3 million dollars) for the fiscal first quarter after a net loss of 7.26 billion yen a year earlier.
   Sony posted an operating profit of 27.05 billion yen against a loss of 6.58 billion as revenue rose 11.2 per cent to 1.74 trillion yen.
   Sales at the core electronics goods unit rose 13.5 per cent ‘thanks to the Bravia brand television sales which continued to grow dramatically in all areas of the world,’ said chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda.
   ‘Also the Da Vinci Code has enjoyed tremendous success,’ he added.
   The pictures business saw a 41.8 jump in revenue mainly due to the film, which is based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel and is Sony Pictures’ most successful ever overseas release.
   Sony also said it was already seeing strong demand for its new Alpha single lens reflex (SLR) camera which it launched in Japan earlier this month.
   At the same time, however, the games segment suffered a 29.1 per cent sales slump as demand for the company’s PlayStation 2 video games console weakened in the face of competition from the Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 and ahead of its own new offering, the PlayStation 3 (PS3).
   The PS3 is one of Sony’s core products and its success is considered vital to its continued revival after a profit slump at the group.
   Sony was forced to delay the launch of the latest version of the hugely popular PlayStation series by about six months until November, giving arch-rival Microsoft a one-year head start with the Xbox 360.
   Sales of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) were also pressured by the success of rival Nintendo’s handheld machines.
   ‘The PSP is doing worse than expected because it’s suffering from domestic competition, especially from Nintendo,’ said Oneda.
   Born from the ashes of World War II, the iconic company behind the Walkman portable music player fell badly behind its rivals in recent years as it struggled to keep up with innovative new products like Apple’s iPod.
   Last year, Sony appointed its first foreign boss, Howard Stringer, a Welsh-born former television journalist, who in September announced a major overhaul of the business including 10,000 job cuts over three years.
   Sony left its forecast of full-year net profit unchanged at 130 billion yen, up five per cent but now expects operating profit to fall 43 per cent to 130 billion yen, instead of 100 billion yen, after changing the way it accounts for income from royalty payments.
   ‘As we have not entered the most critical third quarter, when our sales are concentrated, we are not changing our (net profit) forecasts,’ Oneda said.

US economic growth appears to have cooled since early June while inflation pressures remained ‘modest,’ the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in its Beige Book report.
   The survey, used by the central bank for its policymaking meetings, confirmed the so-called moderation of the pace of expansion in the world’s largest economy.
   ‘Reports from all 12 Federal Reserve districts generally indicated continued economic growth during June through mid-July, with numerous individual reports pointing to evidence that the pace of growth has slowed,’ the Beige Book said.
   ‘Several districts characterized the overall pace of economic growth as ‘moderate’ or ‘modest,’ although San Francisco reported that its economic expansion remained ‘solid’ and Atlanta and St. Louis described overall conditions as ‘mixed.’ The Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco reports each highlighted a decline in the overall rate of economic growth in their districts.’
   The report also echoed comments made this month by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke that inflation pressures appear to be moderating despite high energy costs.
   ‘Increases in wages and in prices of final goods and services remained modest on net,’ the report said.
   ‘Upward pressure from the elevated prices of energy and other inputs persisted; while this pressure increased further in some cases, a few districts noted a moderation in prices for some items.’
   The Beige Book leaves unanswered whether the US central bank will push up interest rates further after 17 consecutive increases that have brought the federal funds rate to 5.25 per cent.
   Bernanke’s comments suggested that incoming data on the economy would guide policymakers.
   Financial markets have seized on the Fed’s indication of a ‘moderation’ in growth, believing this will cool inflationary pressure and avert an aggressive move in rates by the Fed that could chill economic expansion.

Wall Street indexes closed slightly lower Wednesday after two days of strong gains as investors mulled the latest batch of earnings reports and a Federal Reserve survey pointing to a cooling economy.
   The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 1.20 points (0.01 per cent) to 11,102.51 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 3.44 points (0.17 per cent) to 2,070.46.
   The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 edged down a fractional 0.48 point (0.04 per cent) to 1,268.40.
   Analysts said the market was ready for a pause after two days of solid gains, with investors poring over the latest earnings news. General Motors reported a healthy operating profit after subtracting massive restructuring charges, and Amazon.com offered a disappointing report.
   The main indexes traded lower for much of the day but moved into positive territory after the Fed’s Beige Book showed cooling US economic conditions.
   The report ‘lent support to expectations that the Fed’s string of interest rate hikes would soon be coming to an end,’ said Dendra Lambert at Hilliard Lyons.
   Analysts said a closer reading of the Beige Book tempered some of the early optimism.
   ‘The Fed said that the US economy was slowing but that there was still some inflationary pressures,’ said Peter Cardillo at SW Bach.

The dollar declined on currency markets Wednesday after a Federal Reserve survey revived traders’ expectations that the US central bank might suspend a campaign of rate hikes next month.
   At 2100 GMT, the euro was trading at 1.2713 dollars, up strongly from 1.2575 late Tuesday in New York.
   The dollar meanwhile slumped to 116.26 yen compared with 117.24 yen late on Tuesday.
   The dollar had gained strength on Tuesday following the release of a better-than-expected reading on consumer sentiment. But it reversed course following the release of the Fed’s ‘Beige Book’ report.
   The nationwide survey, used by the central bank for its policymaking meetings, confirmed a moderation in growth in the world’s biggest economy.
   ‘Rarely is the Beige Book report as market-moving as it was today,’ said Kathy Lien, chief currency strategist at Forex Capital Markets.
   ‘At a time when traders are scrambling to figure out whether the Federal Reserve has enough evidence to raise interest rates again in August, the clarity of the Beige Book was exactly what dollar bears needed to hear.’
   The Fed has hiked US interest rates 17 straight times to take the benchmark rate to 5.25 per cent now, boosting the investment app-eal of dollar-denominated assets.
   The bank next meets on August 8, and any indication that the long campaign of hikes is over will diminish the dollar’s allure for funds.

Dividend
   Square Pharmaceuticals has recommended 75 per cent cash dividend and 20 per cent stock dividend for the year ended March 31, 2006. The annual general meeting of the company will be held on September 21 at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka. Record Date is on August 24.There will be no price limit on the trading of the shares of the company on July 30 following its corporate declaration.
   
   Profit
   *As per un-audited half yearly accounts as on June 30, 2006, AB Bank reported net profit of Tk 27.22 crore with earning per share of Tk 47.61.
   Ibn Sina has reported net profit of Tk 1.10 crore with EPS of Tk 12.25.
   *Therapeutics reported net profit of Tk 64.2 lakh with EPS of Tk 42.81.
   Agrani Insurance reported net profit of Tk 1.40 crore with EPS of Tk 9.34.
   *El Camellia reported net profit of Tk 5.60 lakh with EPS of Tk 37.66
   *Square Textiles Ltd reported net profit of Tk 16.14 crore with EPS of Tk 4.71.
   *Bangladesh Lamps Ltd reported net profit of Tk 1.14 crore with EPS of Tk 15.83.
   Increase in life revenue account
   *Progressive Life Insurance reported an increase in life revenue account of Tk 4.07 crore with total life insurance fund of Tk. 20.01 crore.
   
   Transaction
   AFM Mahfuzul Hasan, one of the sponsor/directors of Mutual Trust Bank, has reported his intention to sell 2,500 (bonus) shares out of his holdings of 27,500 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Trade resumption
   Trading of the shares of Islami Bank will resume on July 30 after Record Date.
   
   Spot trade
   Trading of the shares of Islami Bank will be allowed only in the spot market for AGM and block/odd transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from July 30 to August 1. Trading of the shares of the bank will remain suspended on record date of AGM on August 2.
   Scrip downgraded
   *Bd Thai Aluminium will be placed in Z category from existing B category with effect from July 30 as the company did not declare any dividend for the year 2005.
   
   Contract between Anwar Galvanising and Indian company
   *Anwar Galvanising has informed that on Thursday it signed a contract with M/S Excellent Engineering Works of New Delhi, India for supply and installation of Brand new M.S and Galvanized Pipes and allied products at its present premises. The company will discontinue with manufacturing of Galvanized corrugated and Plain Sheets with immediate effect thus allowing commencement of full renovation of the present factory building to accommodate installation of new machinery for the new project. The project shall be financed from the company’s own resources and it is hoped that installation and commissioning of the project shall be completed within 7(seven) months from date.
   Source: DSE, CSE

Kingfisher shares take flight
The share price of Kingfisher soared in London trading on Thursday after the biggest European home-improvements retailer issued an encouraging second-quarter trading update. ‘Kingfisher’s second quarter featured a strong international performance and early signs of progress at B and Q in the UK despite a continuing weak consumer market for home improvement,’ Kingfisher chief executive Gerry Murphy said. In reaction, the company’s shares jumped 3.49 per cent in mid-morning trading to 244.75 pence, while London’s FTSE 100 index, on which Kingfisher trades, increased 0.85 per cent to 5,926.90 points.

Maruti Udyog’s net profit rises
India’s largest car maker, Maruti Udyog, said Thursday that net profit for the first quarter ended June rose 63 per cent, beating market forecasts. Net profit for the April-June period hit 3.70 billion rupees ($80.3m), well above forecasts of 3.10 billion rupees, the company said in a statement to the Mumbai stock exchange. Revenues rose 20 per cent to 32.69 billion rupees. The company’s shares gained 16.75 rupees or 2.19 per cent to 781.10 in late afternoon trade while the benchmark 30-share Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index was up 13.29 points or 0.13 per cent to 10,630.56. The company is majority owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp.

HK gold closes markedly higher
Hong Kong gold prices closed markedly higher Thursday at 629.20-629.70 US dollars an ounce, up from Wednesday’s finish of 618.00-618.50 dollars. The market opened at 626.90-627.40 dollars.
— AFP