DSE general index loses
104.72 points in 6 days
PGCB sells more than 11 lakh
shares in a day
Sadat Sayem
Dhaka stock prices declined Wednesday for the sixth consecutive trading day for the selling pressure from the investors as the political tension looms.
The general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 32.43 points or 2.21 per cent to close at 1437.72 on Wednesday, while benchmark DSE20 shed 13.11 points or 1.02 per cent.
With the Wednesday’s fall, DSE general index lost 104.72 points or 6.79 per cent in last six trading days.
Turnover on the bourse, however, went up to Tk 42.87 crore from the Monday’s total of Tk 24.52 crore on the back of the sale of the shares of the Power Grid Company Bangladesh valued at Tk 16.61 crore.
‘The stock prices continued declining heavily for the panic selling from the investors, who are frustrated over the unstable political situation in the country, said Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The chief of the bourse watchdog said huge sale of the shares of PGCB in reduced price also contributed to heavy fall of indices on Wednesday.
Ziaul Haque Khondker, managing director of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, said looming political uncertainties resulted in heavy fall of share prices.
Until the political tensions are removed, stock market will not get normalcy again, said the MD of the ICB.
Bear run left most of the securities losers on Wednesday. Of the total 195 issues were traded on the DSE, 161 declined, 17 advanced and 17 remained unchanged.
The PGCB was the biggest loser of the day. The share prices of the state-owned power transmission company declined by 11.04 per cent to close at Tk 151. The PGCB, however, topped the turnover index with total sales of Tk 16.61 crore against 11,02,900 shares.
The PGCB sold off 10.94 lakhs shares on Wednesday on the DSE at a minimum price of Tk 150, said Nurul Alam, chief executive officer of ICB Securities Trading Company, the seller’s agent.
It also offloaded 7,500 shares on the CSE on the day at reduced price, he said adding that ‘the company reduced the lowest price to Tk 150 considering the market demand.’
The Dhaka Electric Supply Company lost 0.62 per cent to close at Tk 357.25. The state-owned electricity company was the second biggest turnover leader with Tk 1.87 crore.
Bextex, third turnover leader of the day, lost 4.07 per cent to close at Tk 21.20.
Zidane launches yogurt
for poor children
Staff Correspondent
French football great Zinedine Zidane on Wednesday launched a new food product aimed at malnourished children of Bangladesh, by signing on the foundation stone at a colourful ceremony at a city hotel.
Grameen Danone Foods Limited, a joint venture of French food giant Danone and four sister concerns of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Grameen Bank, has introduced the product, called Shaktidoi.
The product, a yogurt made of milk and date’s molasses, is the first of its kind, claimed the officials of the company.
‘It was introduced to help the poor children overcome nutrition problem,’ said Professor Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and co-winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
‘If a child consumes the yogurt twice a week, his or her nutrition problem will be virtually over,’ Yunus said during the product launching ceremony.
Franck Riboud, chairman and chief executive officer of Danone, was also present during the ceremony.
‘We will keep the price of the product very low so that poor children can afford it,’ said Yunus.
The price for a pot of Shaktidoi has been fixed Tk 5, he informed.
‘This is not charity, but a social business for us. The investors have pledged to take only a token profit and the rest will be used for the expansion of the project,’ said Yunus.
‘We have a plan to install 50 such food plants in Bangladesh in maybe for the next 10 years, although we have not set any specific timeframe. It will help us to take the product to every children of the country,’ said Yunus.
‘Our mission here is to reach the maximum number of people,’ Riboud said.
The first plant has been set up in Bogra with Danone and Grameen investing Tk 25 crore, informed Yunus.
If the project in Bangladesh is successful, similar projects will be launched in other countries, especially in Africa where malnutrition is a major problem, Riboud said.
Hicks visit cheers up
RMG exporters
JC Penney may double procurement
from Bangladesh
Kazi Azizul Islam
Leading suppliers of readymade garments hoped that the major US apparel retailer JC Penney would enlarge its procurement from Bangladesh significantly.
Kenneth C Hicks, president and chief of merchandising at the JC Penney, was scheduled to land in Dhaka Wednesday evening and meet suppliers here and visit their production facilities Thursday.
JC Penney had nearly $18.8 billion sales in 2005, generated mainly from its more than 1,000 departmental stores of retail apparels, jewellery, gift items and home furnishing materials.
Visit of Ken, the No 2 in JC Penney’s management, is a significant event for Bangladesh’s export oriented apparel industry that earned $7.9 billion in fiscal 2005-2006, ending in June.
Sources linked with JC Penney’s Bangladesh liaison office told New Age that it is one of the top five US retailers, which import Made-in-Bangladesh apparels in significant quantities and the company’s annual procurement is around $80 million.
US is the single largest destination for Bangladeshi apparels and in the last fiscal more than $2.4 billion worth of Made-in-Bangladesh apparels were sold there.
Industry people said retailers were weighing Bangladesh heavily in recent months after it belied a mass predicted fear of fall in exports to the quota-free US market from January 2005. Bangladeshi manufacturers are rather seeing robust increase in their shipments with most competitive prices of products.
JC Penney procures mainly woven garments from several dozens of Bangladeshi manufacturers including Opex Group and Beximco Group.
‘So far as we have heard, JC Penney will at least double its procurement from Bangladesh very soon and Hicks will talk about this after visiting production facilities of the suppliers,’ said a senior official of a leading supplier.
Decentralisation stressed for
improving service facilities
Business Desk
Professor Mozaffar Ahmed, chairman of Transparency International Bangladesh, Wednesday stressed the need for decentralisation to improve service facilities in grass-roots level.
While unveiling as chief guest a report on essential services, he also called for ensuring benefits of accountability and empowerment for the betterment of country’s service sector.
‘We should have to change our mentality on social morality and standardise the public sector,’ he said.
The launching ceremony of the report ‘Serve the Essentials’ on what government and donors must do to improve South Asia’s essential services was held at LGED Bhaban in the city.
The Oxfam GB Bangladesh and the Department of Geography and Environment of Dhaka University organised the function.
At the function economist MM Akash urged the government, donors and NGOs to come forward to ensure essential services in the country.
Dr Mahbuba Nasreen, professor of Dhaka University, Dr Syed Mahbubul Alam, principal of Dhaka Medical College, and Sabbir Bin Shams, regional coordinator of Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP), spoke on the occasion.
Anil P Tambay, country representative of Oxfam GB, delivered the welcome speech and overview of the report while Dr AQM Mahbub reviewed the report. Among others, Farid Hasan Ahmed, programme coordinator of the River Basin Programme of Oxfam GB, was present.
The report presented an insightful assessment of essential services in South Asia with special focus on health and education.
The report revealed that Bangladesh made impressive strides towards providing quality essential services—education, health, water and sanitation—to their populations.
Regional Microsoft boss
stresses copyright issues
Tashfeen Mahmud
Chris Atkinson, president, South-East Asia region, Microsoft Asia Pacific, repeatedly urged strict implementation of the Intellectual Property Law in the country in order to expect increased activity and investment from the world’s reigning software corporation.
Acknowledging the delay in the efforts to localise computing good-humoredly, he said: ‘Everywhere I went (in Bangladesh) everyone was talking about why Microsoft has been so late to come to Bangladesh. All I can say is, well, better late than never.’
In an exclusive interview with New Age following the launching ceremony of the Bangla Language Interface Pack (LIP) for the upcoming Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007 suite, he revealed that a version of Microsoft’s flagship Operating System software geared at first time Bangladeshi computer users would be released as soon as in a few months’ time.
Dubbed the ‘Windows Vista Starter Edition’, the OS will have the Bangla LIP pre-installed and is expected to dominate the country’s PCs. Microsoft is also hoping the raise amount the revenue earned from the land with the software — which currently is nowhere near the company’s yields in the West.
Atkinson urged, however, that Bangladesh would have to work harder on implement IPL in order to expect increased investment from Microsoft.
‘There is this idea that developing countries can’t pay for software,’ he said. ‘But developing countries cannot but pay for software. If you don’t pay for software, there won’t be any software industry.’
‘Countries like Korea and Malaysia have made significant progress in reducing piracy in the last few years and venture capitalists are going there. In a study in Indonesia, we found that if you reduce piracy by 10 points, the software industry increases threefold, the tax amount paid is increased 5 times and (the number of) jobs is increased by 7 times.’
He also downplayed any possibilities of Open Source initiatives forcing Microsoft to resolve to such collaborative measures. ‘Microsoft is a company that is 31 years old and we are maturing. Choices are good. People can checkout their options and find out what is best for them. People like our software for their quality,’ he said.
When asked how important the Bangladeshi ICT market was to Microsoft, he said that it is a populous country and there are many opportunities. He cited the fact that there are around 400 software companies here and was in high praise of local developers. ‘When talking about this region, most people only talk about India, but there are many skilled people and there are also many opportunities here.’
The venture, partnered with BRAC University and Bangladesh Computer Council, is geared at making computing a more relevant experience for the local population and creating opportunities for education, public and private services and addressing the digital divide.
The LIPs will also be available for download for genuine Windows XP (service pack 1 required) and Office 2003 Standard editions.
Inflation rises to 6.89pc
in September
bdnews24.com . Dhaka
Inflation rose 0.22 percentage point to 6.89 per cent in September from a month ago, spurred by a rise in food prices.
‘Prices rose because of higher demand for foods in pre-Ramadan days,’ a senior Bangladesh Bank monetary policy analyst told bdnews24.com.
The rate of average inflation in September declined to 6.97 per cent from 7.17 percent in June.
Official statistics show the rate of food-price inflation on a point-to-point basis rose to 8.25 per cent in September from 7.42 percent in August.
But non-food price inflation dropped to 4.86 per cent in September from 5.64 percent in August.
CityCell’s customer base grows
Staff Correspondent
CityCell, the fourth largest mobile phone operator, grew by 9.8 per cent in the second quarter adding 67,000 net subscribers, bringing the total subscriber base to 7,53,000 as on September 30, the company said Tuesday.
The second quarter and half yearly report of the SingTel, which owns 45 per cent stake in CityCell, said the increase in subscriber base was 138 per cent, or 437,000 subscribers, year-on-year.
CityCell operates nationwide mobile phone using the code division multiple access technology
The other shareholders of the company, the first mobile phone operator in Bangladesh, are Pacific Motors Limited (31.43 per cent) owns by former foreign minister M Morshed Khan and Far East Telecom Limited (23.57 per cent), a foreign company.
SingTel said the CityCell is aggressively rolling out its network to cater to the burgeoning demand in Bangladesh.
During the period, SingTel invested about Tk 907 crore to expand the network and coverage of the operator.
At the end of the quarter, the company, the only CDMA operator among the six operators, however, managed to retain its market share to 4 per cent.
HK gold higher
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong
Hong Kong gold prices closed higher Wednesday at 625.10-625.60 US dollars an ounce, up on Tuesday’s close of 625.00-625.50 dollars.
The market opened at 625.50-626.00 dollars.
BAPEX earns Tk 13cr profit
Business Desk
The 17th annual general meeting of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd was held at the Hotel Sheraton in the city on Monday.
The secretary of the energy and mineral resources division and chairman of BAPEX board, AMM Nasir Uddin, presided over the meeting.
In its AGM the audited accounts and audit report of BAPEX for fiscal year 2005-2006 was approved.
During the financial year BAPEX earned Tk 216.089 million as net profit before tax and Tk 129.654 million as net profit after tax. The shareholder and directors in their deliberation focused on the important role of the company in order to cope up with the growing demand for gas in the country.
In the meeting the need for strengthening BAPEX was stressed upon and accordingly future programme for overall development of BAPEX has been taken.
Emirates ‘to debut mobile calls’
BBC
Dubai-based Emirates will become the first airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls on its flights.
It has signed a deal with Aeromobile to provide the technology that allows mobiles to be safely used on board.
Emirates expects to launch the service on one of its Boeing 777 planes as early as January next year.
The news comes just months after Ryanair announced it planned to launch a similar service in mid-2007 - subject to regulatory approval.
‘We believe that the ability to communicate efficiently, easily and safely when on board flights will become an essential feature of business and leisure travel,’ said Aeromobile president David Poltorak .
‘We are currently talking to a number of other airlines about extending the service to their fleets.’
The Sussex-based company believes the in-flight mobile calls market could deliver revenues of as much as £1.5bn by 2010.
Customers hoping to use the service on board Emirates will be charged at rates ‘comparable to international tariffs’, the airline said.
In an effort to head off any complaints from fellow passengers about the use of mobiles, their airline will encourage people to use silent or vibrate modes on the phone.
Cabin crew will also be able to control the system at any time, and select operating modes appropriate for certain flights - such as selecting text only operation mode for overnight flights.
Thaksin’s children fined,
taxed for Shin Corp sale
Agence France-Presse . Bangkok
The children of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra have been ordered to pay 320 million dollars over a controversial sale of shares in telecoms giant Shin Corp, a tax official said Wednesday.
Panthongtae Shinawatra and Pinthongta Shinawatra, Thaksin’s son and elder daughter, had to pay a total of 11.7 billion baht (320 million dollars) in taxes and fines by March next year, the official said.
The family sold their 49 per cent stake in Shin Corp to Singapore’s state-run Temasek Holdings for 1.9 billion dollars under a tax-free deal in January.
Ruengkrai Leelitwattana, an advisor to the auditor general, said financial regulators would also order the children to pay 6.1 billion baht in fines for failing to pay taxes following the Shin Corp deal.
‘Apart from taxes, they are subjected to pay fines for failing to pay taxes on time,’ Ruengkrai said.
Thai Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula said the payment order against Thaksin’s children was not politically motivated following the bloodless coup on September 19 that toppled the Thaksin government.
‘Our decision was in line with the tax law. This had nothing to do with the (post-coup) government,’ the minister told reporters.
The 1.9 billion dollar sale triggered months of street protests demanding Thaksin’s resignation over alleged abuse of power and corruption, which eventually led to the coup against him.
After the 49-per cent buyout of Shin Corp, a Temasek-led group of investors increased its total stake to 96 per cent through a mandatory offer for the outstanding shares, sparking allegations of a possible violation of foreign ownership rules here.
Under Thai rules, foreign investors can own up to 49 per cent in telecom companies. The question is whether local entities acted on Temasek’s behalf, in which case their holdings might not be counted as separate.
The post-coup Thai government has vowed to investigate the deal. A Thai court is due to hear a case against Shin Corp, now under control of Temasek Holdings, for alleged violations of foreign ownership regulations.
APEC summit to study trade zone
Agence France-Presse . Tokyo
An Asia-Pacific summit next week in Hanoi would call for a study into a massive free trade pact involving the 21 countries, which include the US, China and Japan, a newspaper said Wednesday.
A draft joint statement of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit would call for a study on the possibility of a free trade agreement for the entire zone, Japan’s best-selling Yomiuri Shimbun said, without citing sources.
Officials had no immediate comment on the report, but Japan’s trade minister Tuesday said the country had no objections to the idea.
Japan had earlier proposed an economic partnership agreement, or EPA, involving 16 Asia-Pacific nations—the 10-member ASEAN Southeast Asian bloc plus Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
But the United States informally objected to being excluded from the pact, saying it did not want ‘a line drawn in the middle of the Pacific’, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported Sunday.
‘It is quite natural for the United States to express anxiety over its absence from the framework of Asia, which has extremely high potential,’ Akiri Amari, the minister of economy, trade and industry, said Tuesday.
Mandelson tells China to
curb ‘crippling’ piracy
Agence France-Presse . Beijing
The top European Union trade official called on China Wednesday to do more to reduce ‘crippling’ intellectual property rights infringements.
On the third day of a five-day visit to China, Peter Mandelson urged Beijing to improve enforcement of anti-piracy laws and make it easier to prosecute violators.
‘Intellectual property theft is crippling for any company or economy that trades in ideas, and behind every innovative European product is an idea,’ Mandelson said in a statement.
The statement was issued after Mandelson visited the State Intellectual Property Office to inspect China’s efforts in the field.
He urged Chinese officials to lower the threshold for prosecutable piracy cases, and to clean up street markets where pirated European goods are sold, the statement said.
Mandelson welcomed the establishment of a network of centers in 50 large cities charged with investigating reports of intellectual property rights infringements, but said it was not enough.
‘This will be a useful tool for European companies seeking practical advice and assistance on intellectual property theft,’ Mandelson said in the statement.
‘However, nothing will ultimately substitute for better enforcement of Chinese anti-counterfeiting laws on the ground.’
In a speech to students at a Beijing university on Tuesday, Mandelson called for more action against the counterfeiting of European products in China, calling such piracy a ‘ball and chain on EU competitiveness.’
Volkswagen CEO to step down
Reuters . Frankfurt
Volkswagen shocked the automotive world on Tuesday by announcing Bernd Pischetsrieder will step down as chief executive at year’s end and be replaced by the head of its premium car unit Audi.
‘The presidium of the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG and the chairman of the board of management, Dr Bernd Pischetsrieder, have agreed upon his resignation effective from December 31, 2006,’ it said in a curt statement.
Europe’s biggest carmaker gave no reason for the move, which comes only six months after the supervisory board unanimously voted to extend Pischetsrieder’s contract until April 2012.
‘This is obviously surprising. That Winterkorn is going to be the successor is of course based on the fact that Audi has reported excellent sales figures in the past quarters,’ said Sven Krause, fund manager at BB Invest.
Volkswagen said the six-man steering committee of the supervisory board had unanimously proposed Audi’s chief executive Martin Winterkorn replace Pischetsrieder starting next year. The full board will address the issue on Nov. 17.
South Korea promises to
triple aid to Africa
Agence France-Presse . Seoul
South Korea Wednesday confirmed a pledge to triple development aid to Africa by 2008 and offered to host 1,000 trainees as part of efforts to play a fuller role in the continent.
‘We will increase development aid to Africa three times by 2008 and bring talented young Africans to South Korea for training,’ Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook told a meeting with African leaders.
She said South Korea ‘is dedicated to playing a role that suits its (economic) size and capability.’
The pledges were confirmed later in a ‘Seoul Declaration’ adopted at the end of a one-day Korea-Africa forum, attended by four heads of state and 27 cabinet-level officials from 25 African countries.
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo attended the welcoming banquet Tuesday but left just before Wednesday’s session opened.
The commitment will bring official development assistance to Africa to about 100 million dollars a year by 2008, still far short of the massive aid offered by Japan and China.
The state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency promised to invite 1,000 African trainees within three years and to share its development experience with the continent.
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon, the next United Nations secretary-general, said the forum was a turning point in Seoul’s relationship with Africa.
‘This is a display of our will to employ a new perspective on Africa...’ he said.
The forum is part of President Roh Moo-Hyun’s initiative to increase economic and other exchanges with Africa, after his visit to Nigeria in March. It follows a similar meeting hosted by China which ended Sunday and was attended by 48 African nations.
The gathering reflects South Korea’s efforts to diversify its diplomacy which was long focused on the United States and Northeast Asia.
‘We acknowledge the need to establish a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship by promoting trade and investment between Korea and Africa,’ said the declaration.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, President Yayi Boni of Benin and Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo attended Wednesday’s session.
Kikwete welcomed the pledge to increase aid and urged South Korean firms to expand investment. ‘Over the last decade, investment by Korean companies have been increasing but much more is needed,’ he said.
Tech battle on to channel
films to homes
Agence France-Presse . San Francisco
Technology titans Microsoft, Apple and Google are among those scrambling to feed people’s ravenous desire to download films and videos from the Internet and watch them wherever they like.
Microsoft scored an industry first this week with the announcement that Xbox 360 video game owners would be able to download films and television shows to consoles for viewing in high-definition format.
The much-anticipated Sony PlayStation Three video game console due out in the United States on November 17 was built to connect with a Sony online entertainment content store via the Internet.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has promised a January 2007 unveiling of iTV devices that route pictures, films or video from computers to televisions in the home.
Apple’s iTunes store recently began selling digitized Disney movies online for viewing on iPods, and Microsoft is to come to market on November 14 with a rival Zune MP3 player clearly crafted with video playing in mind.
Google has reportedly been exploring the potential for Verizon mobile telephone service customers to access freshly-acquired video-sharing website YouTube via handheld devices.
Online retailer Amazon made deals with major studios to sell digitized films on the Internet.
‘If you look at all these things together, the net result is you end up with a very different universe,’ Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg told AFP.
‘We are going beyond the one-screen world. The people who control the content flow want to reach you whether it is: Verizon to YouTube, iPod to iTunes, Xbox to Zune...’
Gartenberg referred to the scenario as ‘a convergence play,’ saying the strong trend was toward making devices work together in more integrated ways.
‘Without a doubt, we will see stuff go to the Xbox to the Zune to the television or the iPod going to the iTV to the television,’ Gartenberg said.
‘The TV is a euphemism, for all intents and purposes, for the largest screen in the home used to passively view content.’
Online film offerings have left aspiring viewers with nettlesome limitations, analysts said. Apple has only been able to get films from Disney studios and, once downloaded, they can only be viewed on iPods.
Films downloaded to Xbox or PlayStation games can only been seen using those consoles. Microsoft puts expiration dates on downloaded films.
‘There is a missing link, that everybody wants: a device that enables to get films, shows, pictures and digital music from a computer to a TV, and also to transport them everywhere,’ said analyst Phil Leigh of Inside Digital Media.
‘Apple can take the advantage with its iTV.’
The Xbox and Zune announcements signaled a profound shift in Microsoft strategy, according to lead analyst Matt Rosoff of Directions on Microsoft.
For years Microsoft pushed the concept that the personal computer would evolve into the hub for home entertainment, Rosoff said.
‘Originally the PC was the center of the Microsoft universe, now it is clear they are hedging their bet,’ Rosoff said. ‘I think we will see more of this kind of device from Microsoft.’
And, Rosoff noted, video game consoles are plugged into televisions by design while computers tend to be relegated to desks.
A drawback with using an Xbox as a film repository is that its hard drive only has 20 gigabytes of memory capacity and high-definition video data takes up tremendous space, according to Rosoff.
Analysts expect Microsoft to begin selling higher-capacity replacement hard drives and Xbox consoles built with lots more memory space.
Dell rolls out computers
for businesses
Agence France-Presse . San Francisco
Dell introduced on Wednesday a set of simplified, energy-saving business computers designed to enhance performance while reducing operating costs.
Dell’s offerings included the company’s first business desktop computer built with Advanced Micro Devices chips, and servers that used recently-introduced quad-core processors from AMD’s Silicon Valley rival Intel.
The new business-targeted computers included Dell’s OptiPlex 320 and 740 desktops and Latitude 131L notebooks.
Dell also announced new offerings in its Precision and PowerEdge servers and Power-Vault removable storage drives.
Target customers for the computers ranged from governments and schools to small businesses and large corporations, according to Dell.
‘We really are targeting the whole gamut,’ Dell product manager Rick Perez told AFP.
The OptiPlex 320 with Intel processors was priced 595 dollars and the OptiPlex 740 with AMD computer chips was priced at 725 dollars.
Dell said it expected to build AMD chips into more of its computers. AMD has been battling to wrest market share from computer chip industry leader Intel.
Cost of joining WTO becoming
higher: Lamy
Agence France-Presse . Geneva
The cost of accession to the World Trade Organisation is increasing with every new economy that joins, Director General Pascal Lamy said Tuesday after Vietnam was set on course to become the 150th member of the global free trade club.
‘It may not look rational, it may look unfair, but it is a reality of life,’ he told reporters.
‘Countries that acceded to the WTO today get a higher price for accession than countries that acceded to the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) 50 years ago,’ Lamy said. GATT was the predecessor to the WTO system.
Vietnam is the 151st country to receive the go-ahead from the WTO’s current 149-strong membership to join. Tonga received the same assent last December, but it has not yet completed its national ratification of the deal.
‘With Vietnam joining, we demonstrate to the world that the multilateral trading system continues to show its uniqueness, comprehensiveness and attractiveness,’ Lamy told the body’s governing General Council.
The WTO chief earlier this year suspended five year-old negotiations on expanding the barrier busting system in agriculture, industry and services, prompting warnings that deadlock could undermine the Geneva based trade body.
Saudi Arabia was the last country to join the WTO in December 2005.
‘This price is increasing every year for the simple reason that the cost of not belonging to the club increases with each accession,’ Lamy said.
Twenty-eight countries are still in the negotiating pipeline, with talks most advanced on Russia and Andorra.
Russia is the only one of the G8 industralised countries which is not part of the free trade system. Its ten-year bid is currently held up mainly by differences with the United States.
Even if it overcomes those economic hurdles, Russia may still face opposition from Georgia, which has vowed to block its neighbour’s entry until a diplomatic spat is resolved and Russian economic sanctions are lifted.
Lamy said he did not believe the terms Vietnam agreed on to open up its markets progressively were unfair for a developing country.
They matched the state of the burgeoning southeast Asian economy’s own domestic reform process to open up its markets, he insisted.
China’s trade surplus hits
record $23.8b in October
Agence France-Presse . Beijing
China’s trade surplus hit a record 23.8 billion dollars in October, according to customs data published Wednesday.
The surplus came about as a result of exports hitting 88.1 billion dollars, an increase of 29.6 per cent when compared with the same month a year ago, the customs authorities said on their website.
Imports reached 64.3 billion dollars last month, a rise of 14.7 per cent from a year earlier.
‘Rather than people buying more from China, China bought less from the world,’ Stephen Green, a Shanghai-based economist with Standard Chartered, said in a research note.
Month-on-month comparisons also suggested the same trend, with imports declining 15.7 per cent in October from September, while exports were down just 3.8 per cent.
Another record surplus later this year is ‘entirely possible,’ according to Green.
‘In November and December we expect the Christmas shopping effect to show through even more, which will mean even bigger surpluses,’ he said.
The accumulated surplus so far this year was 133.6 billion dollars, the customs authorities said.
World financial markets
rattled by US elections
Agence France-Presse . London
Global finance markets wobbled Wednesday on fears that a Democrat victory in the US Congressional elections could prompt less market-friendly policies in the world's biggest economy, dealers said.
Investors watched nervously as jubilant Democrats seized power in the US House of Representatives for the first time since 1994 and edged closer to taking the Senate, pushing European and Asian equities lower and weighing also on the dollar.
European indices eased off fresh five-year highs struck the previous day, while Japanese shares tumbled by more than one percent, as investors also feared that a split in power in Washington would create legislative gridlock.
'The European market started slipping lower (on Wednesday) with the Democrats taking power from the Republicans, traditionally thought of as more business friendly,' said Michael Davies, an analyst with the Sucden brokerage firm in London.
London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares slid 0.53 percent to 6,211.00 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 index dipped 0.44 percent to 6,334.20 points and in Paris the CAC 40 index shed 0.47 percent to 5,412.18.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares lost 0.41 percent to 4,055.98 points.
The US dollar meanwhile staged a slight retreat against the euro and the yen.
'Although the outcome of US elections is unlikely to have a huge effect on the greenback, there are many that argue that if the Democrats win control of the House of Representatives, this will lead to a rise in protectionist policies or to political deadlock that could slow reforms,' Davies added.
However, oil market analysts dampened talk that the vote would have an immediate impact on US foreign policy in the oil-rich Middle East.
In Asia on Wednesday, Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei-225 shares index lost 1.08 percent to close at 16,215.74 points.
A Democratic majority in both houses would have some effect on the Tokyo market but such an outcome has already been priced in, said Hiroyuki Nakai, chief strategist at Tokai Tokyo Research Center.
'Even with Republicans in the minority, they will come up with active policies in the run-up to the next presidential elections (in 2008),' Nakai said.
In Hong Kong, the key Hang Seng index closed 0.68 percent lower at 18,811.24 points.
Wall Street had rallied for a second straight day on Tuesday as Americans headed to the polls, with bullish investors stoking the leading blue chip Dow Jones index to all-time intra-day highs.
Oil prices higher in Asian trade
Agence France-Presse . Singapore
Oil prices gained in Asian trade Wednesday ahead of weekly US inventory data and as Americans counted the votes after key mid-term congressional elections, dealers said.
At 2:29 pm (0629 GMT), New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was up two cents at 58.95 dollars a barrel from 58.93 dollars in late US trade Tuesday. Brent North Sea crude for December delivery gained 34 cents to 58.82 dollars.
Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist for Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo, said ‘the market today is reacting ahead of the inventory data.’
Analysts expected the United States Department of Energy (DoE) figures to show US crude oil stocks grew by 775,000 barrels during the week ending November 3.
Stocks of distillate products including heating oil were expected to fall by 800,000 barrels. But warmer US weather should allow them to bounce back in the coming weeks, traders said.
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$4.10m
in KEPZ
Bangladesh and Holland in a joint venture will establish a high-fashioned readymade garment industry in Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone with an investment of US$ 4.10 million. The company, to be known as M/S Denim Expert Ltd will manufacture 18 lakh pieces of high fashioned jeans, trousers, jackets, vests and shirts annually. It will create employment opportunity for 1,098 Bangladeshi nationals. To this effect, Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and Denim Expert Ltd signed an agreement in Dhaka Wednesday, said an EPZ release. Prashanta Bhushan Barua, BEPZA member and Denim Expert Ltd managing director Md Mostafiz Uddin signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective sides. BEPZA executive chairman brig general Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf, member AKM Mahbubur Rahman and secretary Syed Ahmed were, among others, present in the signing
ceremony.
— UNB
Local firms to
join Pakistan
Tourism Fair
The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab is organising the Pakistan Tourism Fair–2007 in Lahore from January 15 to 21. The public and private sectors in Bangladesh have been invited to the fair and the organisers have received a good response from the private sector, says a Pakistan High Commission release. The fair aims to expand business opportunities by collaborating with the travel industry. National and regional tourism organisations, airlines, hotels, travel agents, transportation companies, cruise liners, travel media, information system service providers from overseas and within Pakistan will participate in the fair. The TDCP is offering stalls to foreign participants free, the release adds. The TDCP previously organised fairs and exhibitions in which a large number of local and foreign tourism-related organisations took part.
— Bdnews24.com
Coca-Cola to
invest $250m
in India
Coca-Cola Co plans to invest $250 million in its Indian bottling arm to restructure its marketing and distribution operations, the Economic Times paper reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages would realign its capacities and add new facilities for new products, the paper said. The company would also buy out excess capacity from franchisee bottlers, the paper said.
— Reuters
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