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Stock prices at the Dhaka bourse fell in last week, except Monday, due to selling pressure from the investors in last two trading days and ex-dividend price adjustment of a heavyweight issue in the opening day, said analysts and market operators.
   The bourse got four trading days instead of five in last week as it remained closed on Thursday due to imposition of curfew, said officials of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
   DSE general index lost 25.54 points or 1.08 per cent in the last week to close at 2335.80 on Wednesday, while its blue chips index, DSE20, shed 109.45 points or 5.41 per cent to finish at 1914.21.
   Stock market analysts and operators said ex-dividend price adjustment of Square Pharmaceuticals, one of the blue chips, caused massive fall to the blue chips index affecting the other price indices also.
   Selling pressure from the investors in the last two trading days of the week also pushed down the stock prices, they said.
   With the fall of the price, market capitalisation at the DSE declined to Tk 54,632 crore on Wednesday from Tk 54,716 crore on the previous week’s closing.
   DSE daily average turnover, however, increased to Tk 165.49 crore from the previous week’s Tk 119.83 crore.
   Dhaka Electric Supply Company topped the turnover leaders with total transaction of Tk 73.82 crore which was 11.15 per cent of the total turnover of the bourse of Tk 661.95 crore in last week. The share price of the state-owned power company advanced by Tk 82.75 or 8.57 per cent in the period to close at Tk 1048.75 on Wednesday.
   Other turnover leaders were Square Pharmaceuticals, Summit Power, BRAC Bank, AB Bank, United Commercial Bank, National Bank, Uttara Bank, Power Grid Company Bangladesh and Pubali Bank.
   Renwick Jajneswar topped the gainers in last week with 25.74 per cent rise in its share price while Mita Textile was the worst loser with 22.09 per cent fall.
   ICB, 5th ICB Mutual Fund, 2nd ICB Mutual Fund, 8th ICB Mutual Fund, National Tubes, Apex Foods, 1st BSRS Mutual Fund and Usmania Glass were also among the top 10 gainers in the week.

The Rajshahi Court Horticulture Centre has been playing an important role in making the fruit gardening profitable in the region.
   Through its various development activities, the RCHC being run by the Department of Agriculture Extension has become popular among the growers for the last couple of years.
   Established on 2.8 acres of land in 1968, the centre has been implementing currently a three-year ‘Integrated Qualitative Horticulture Development Project’ with a view to popularise fruit farming at the farmers-level.
   Horticulture expert Monzurul Huda told this news agency that Rajshahi has been regarded as the country’s most prospective fruit and vegetable producing region and said the production of fruit and vegetables is one of the major income generating activity in the region.
   Considering its environmental and financial aspects, people are becoming interested in horticulture at their homesteads in the recent past creating huge demand for fruit saplings, vegetable seeds and sapling of ornamental plants.
   In addition to infrastructure development like erecting barbed wire fence and preparing nursery sheds, the IQHDP has procured various modern equipments necessary for production and rearing of saplings during the last two years.
   Similarly, it has distributed 16,257 saplings of fruit, wood, medicinal, flowers and ornamental plants side by side provided training to 660 farmers.
   Besides, 1,000 farmers were motivated for setting up jujube, mango, guava and litchi garden and 3,000 high-yielding jujube graft-saplings and 2,000 Thai guava saplings were distributed among the farmers.
   Another 2,000 farmers
   were extended necessary suggestions on pest management of horticulture-based crops
   while 30 others for establishing nursery.
   To motivate the farmers 25 projection plots of different varieties of high-value crops like spices and winter-vegetables were set up on the growers land under the project.
   Official sources said the RCHE may turn into a potential centre for supplying high-yielding saplings of fruit, wood, vegetable and flowers if the existing problems of the centre could be resolved.

Russia’s executive director at the International Monetary Fund has said that former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn lacks the skills needed to be the next IMF managing director, the Financial Times reported Saturday.
   Although Strauss-Kahn is frontrunner for the job and backed by the European Union, Aleksei Mozhin described him as a ‘career politician’ who lacked technical experience, in an interview with the London-based newspaper.
   Strauss-Kahn faces competition for the job from former Czech prime minister Josef Tosovsky, who has been nominated by Russia.
   Tosovsky’s nomination challenges the convention of the European Union picking the head of the IMF, while the United States chooses the president of the World Bank.
   Mozhin warned that the IMF was facing a ‘severe crisis of legitimacy’ and said developing countries must be given a stronger voice in the selection process.
   ‘There is nothing in Mister Strauss-Kahn’s curriculum vitae which could make it clear he has the necessary technical skills to do the job,’ Mozhin said.
   He also described the process of selecting the managing director as ‘deeply flawed.’
   ‘We believe the IMF is facing a severe crisis of legitimacy and that if you want to make the IMF relevant to the needs of developing countries, we must select the best candidate,’he added.
   Mozhin described Tosovsky as ‘he best candidate with the most relevant experience’ and said Russia had privately secured backing from other developing countries on the IMF board for his candidacy, without saying which ones.
   ‘If the developing countries do not have the feeling that they are playing a role in the selection process, then they will simply turn their backs on the IMF,’ he added.
   Strauss-Kahn and Tosovsky are the only two publicly announced candidates ahead of the deadline for nominations on August 31.

Hit by a spate of global recalls of shoddy and toxic Chinese products, the government has declared a four-month ‘special war’ against poor product quality and ordered supervision in eight key areas, including processed food and toys.
   Eight categories of products are involved: pork, drugs, agricultural products, processed food, catering sector, import and export products, and other products related to public health such as toys and electric wires. Twenty detailed targets to be met by the year-end have been set, the official media reported on Friday.
   For example, it is mandatory that all food producers are licenced; all pigs be slaughtered at designated places; all agricultural product wholesale markets in cities be monitored; all raw material bases for export products be inspected; and all restaurants and dining halls check safety certification when they buy raw materials.
   The government has banned the use of five types of strong pesticide in agricultural products, to sell poultry that die of disease, or to add harmful additives to food.
   ‘This is a special war to protect the safety and interests of the general public, as well as a war to safeguard the made-in-China label and the country’s image,’ vice-premier Wu Yi said during a national teleconference on Thursday in Beijing.

The European Commission vowed on Friday to take urgent ‘regulatory’ action against toys deemed to be unsafe after recent high-profile recalls of Chinese-made products from US company Mattel.
   The European Union’s executive arm said that it would decide on taking action after meeting ‘in early autumn’ with experts from the EU’s 27 member states on the safety of toys following the recalls.
   ‘The discussion with the member states will help the Commission to determine what type of preventive action these risks would justify,’ it said in a statement.
   ‘The Commission will not hesitate to have recourse to regulatory, emergency measures if necessary,’ it added without elaborating what the action could consist of.
   US toy manufacturing giant Mattel this month recalled 18 million Chinese-made products worldwide over concerns about high lead levels and small magnets that have seriously injured at least three children.
   The recall has fuelled trade tensions with China where a top official suggested that the move was inspired by protectionism, a claim that was rejected by EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson.
   EU consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: ‘Producers must respect their obligations to verify that the components and the design of their toys are safe.

ASEAN energy ministers on Thursday made a major move towards achieving an integrated power grid connecting all the countries in the grouping.
   The ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the ASEAN Power Grid that will tie all 10 ASEAN countries into the ambitious project.
   ‘This is a critical first step. All the governments of ASEAN are now committed to this,’ said the minister of state for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran.
   This mega-grid will start with bilateral projects, which will form the basic elements of the entire regional grid architecture to be built, added Iswaran, who chaired the 25th Asean Ministers on Energy Meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.
   Singapore and Malaysia, for example, already have a connected power grid.
   Yesterday’s agreement will help create a common platform to coordinate and standardise the different grids across Asean, paving the way for the implementation of the regional network.
   When the grid was first mooted in 2002, energy ministers estimated the entire grid to be ready by 2020 at a cost of US$17 billion.
   Developing competitive regional energy markets was one of the priorities highlighted by Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar in his keynote speech at the meeting’s opening yesterday.
   With Asia now the world’s fastest-growing economic region, he noted the importance of having ‘competitively priced and reliable energy supplies’.
   Prof Jayakumar also singled out issues such as energy efficiency, seeking alternatives to fossil fuels by investing in research and development, and sustaining a clean environment.
   Nuclear power was also a hot topic and for the first time, Asean ministers established, in-principle, a body to explore safety issues.
   Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have announced plans to tap nuclear energy in a bid to meet growing electricity needs and reduce dependence on oil and natural gas.
   This has generated much debate, as some environmentalists believe the region may not have the expertise to operate such plants and deal with nuclear waste.
   After the meetings yesterday, Thailand Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand said: ‘It is inevitable that eventually, countries will have to come back to nuclear energy in a big way, otherwise it will be difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.’
   He added that it would be ‘irresponsible for any government to ignore it’ because energy conservation and renewable energy alone cannot reduce emissions significantly.
   But preparation for its infrastructure will take a long time, said Dr Piyasvasti, who estimates that it could be seven years before Thailand begins construction.
   Iswaran said all the Asean countries were interested in the safety issues and the implications concerning nuclear energy.
   Yesterday also saw the inaugural East Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting. This included participation from countries such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
   At the annual Asean Energy Awards held later, Singapore’s Environment Building clinched top honours in the retrofitted building category.

A consumer tribunal in India has ordered a ban on mobile phone contests, saying such competitions fall under unfair trade practices, a news report said Saturday.
   Delhi’s consumer redress commission directed all telecom companies to stop announcing schemes, contests or lotteries for mobile phone subscribers, the Hindustan Times reported. ‘The contests are being held not for the interest of phone users, but merely to ensure that they make more calls to generate more revenue for cellular companies,’ the report quoted justice JD Kapoor, president of the commission, as saying.
   The order came in response to a complaint by a consumer association that accused Vodafone Essar Mobile Services, which provides cellular services under the Hutch brand, of violating Indian consumer protection law by holding such contests.

Under the post-flood agricultural loan distribution program of the government, Bangladesh Krishi Bank Netrakona region distributed Tk 1 crore as agri-loan among the flood-hit marginal farmers of the district during the last fortnight.
   BKB sources said the money was distributed among the flood- stricken farmers through the bank’s 21 branches with a view to helping them to recover the losses caused by the recent devastating flood.
   Meanwhile, the BKB Netrakona region has fixed a target to disburse agricultural loan amounting to Tk 42 crore among the farmers of the district during the current financial year. The loan will also be given for encouraging the farmers to take different agriculture related income generating projects like cow and goat rearing, poultry and dairy farming and fish culture, the sources said.

India is on course to overtake Brazil as the world’s biggest sugar producer in 2007/2008, the International Sugar Organisation forecast Friday in a report which also predicted a record surplus.
   ‘At this early stage, the ISO forecasts India’s production in 2007/08 at 33.15 million tonnes, raw value, a new record and a massive 8.0-per cent increase from the previous year,’ the London-based ISO said. ‘Thus, we expect that in 2007/08 India will overtake Brazil as the world’s largest sugar producer.’ The ISO added: ‘Record production is also anticipated in Brazil, although the industry expansion is expected to slow down there in 2008.’
   Meanwhile, global sugar output was forecast to outpace demand by a record 10.8 million tonnes in the crop year ending September 2008.

BRAC disbursed a total of Tk 145 crore as microcredit among the poor to help them attain self- reliance in the district during the last fiscal year.
   During an exchange of views session here on Saturday, the BRAC officials said that the organisation had distributed relief goods worth over Tk 18 lakh among 50,000 flood-hit people in Sherpur and Mymensingh districts recently.
   The session was held under the auspices of BRAC regional office at the local press club auditorium to inform the newsmen about its activities and achievements in the region over the last one year.
   The officials said nearly 46,000 boys and girls have been studying in 1,400 schools, set up by BRAC in the district.

Oil prices slid this week on fading supply fears, as calmer global financial markets eased concerns that weaker economic growth would dampen energy demand, analysts said.
   Wheat prices hit an all-
   time high in Chicago on fierce global demand and flagging output.
   And many metals prices rebounded as investors took their cue from the weakening US dollar and recovering equities.
   ‘The recovery of global stock markets ... was interpreted as indication that the recent turmoil in credit markets would have a limited impact on demand for commodities,’ said Peter Fertig, consultant to Dresdner Kleinwort.
   Many commodities had fallen last week on fears of a global economic slowdown.
   Losses in the US subprime mortgage market—high-risk home loans to which many banks and investment funds are exposed—had spread and affected equity, commodity and foreign exchange trading since August 9.
   Oil: Crude prices fell, despite a late burst on Friday, as traders tracked fading US hurricane concerns and a surprise increase in American crude reserves.
   Hurricane Dean passed without damaging any vital energy installations in the rig-heavy US Gulf of Mexico.
   As Hurricane Dean bore down on Mexico, state oil company Pepex had evacuated all 18,000 personnel from its installations earlier this week, causing a production drop of 2.65 million barrels a day. But Pepex began restarting output late Thursday.
   New York crude had dipped on Wednesday to 68.63 dollars—the lowest point since late June—after the US Department of Energy said American crude inventories rose by 1.9 million barrels last week.
   New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, sank to 70.64 dollars a barrel, compared with from 71.92 dollars for the September contract a week earlier.
   Grains and Soya: The price of wheat in Chicago surged to an all-time closing high of 7.225 dollars a bushel on Thursday, beating the previous record finish that was set in 1996. On the LIFFE, the price per tonne of wheat for May delivery jumped to 163.50 pounds, from 155.00 pounds a week earlier.
   Precious metals: Gold and silver prices rose but platinum and palladium eased off.
   ‘Gold and silver finished
   higher as the result of dollar weakness,’ said James Moore, analyst at metals website TheBullionDesk.com.
   A falling US currency ramps up demand for dollar-denominated commodities, such as gold, as they become cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
   The European single currency jumped Friday above 1.36 dollars as many investors switched away from the US currency amid calmer global financial markets.
   Gold: On the London Bullion Market, gold advanced to 660.85 dollars an ounce at Friday’s late fixing, from 657.50 dollars a week earlier.
   Silver: Silver rose to 11.70 dollars an ounce, from 11.69 dollars.
   Platinum and palladium Market: On the London platinum eased to 1,240 dollars an ounce at the late fixing Friday, from 1,245 dollars a week earlier.
   Palladium decreased to 323 dollars an ounce, from 334 dollars.
   Base metals: On Friday, the price of copper for delivery in three months soared to 7,198 dollars a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
   Three-month aluminium prices rose to 2,521.75 dollars per tonne, nickel prices jumped to 27,099 dollars a tonne lead prices surged to 3,185 dollars per tonne, zinc prices gained per 3,090 dollars a tonne, tin prices leapt to 14,374 dollars per tonne.
   Sugar: Sugar prices held steady as traders digested a key sector report.
   By Friday on the LIFFE, the price a tonne of white sugar for October delivery edged up to 281 pounds, from 280.50 pounds a week earlier.
   On the NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for October delivery increased to 9.53 US cents a pound, from 9.37 cents a week earlier.
   Cocoa: Cocoa prices fell to a six-week low in London, but found limited support in New York owing to the weak US currency.
   On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the September contract firmed to 1,784 dollars a tonne, from 1,757 dollars the previous Friday.
   Coffee: Coffee prices stabilized in quiet trading.
   On the NYBOT, Arabica for December delivery eased to 118.95 US cents a pound, from 119.75 cents.
   Rubber: Rubber prices advanced due to unexpected poor weather conditions which cut supplies from key producers Malaysia and Thailand.
   On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 increased to 204.35 US cents per kilogramme, from 200.80.
   Wool: Wool prices rose in major producer Australia despite volatility on global financial markets. The Australian wool market finished the week 1.9 per cent higher on average, with the Eastern Index closing up 10 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at 9.35 dollars a kilo.

Banks borrowed 8.4 billion dollars from the Federal Reserve discount window this week as the US central bank moved to pump more liquidity into gridlocked financial markets, the Fed said Thursday.
   The lending amounted to 1.2 billion dollars per day since the half-point cut in the Fed discount rate last Friday.
   In the prior week, the total was just 11 million dollars.
   The discount window is normally seen as an emergency measure for distressed banks, but four of the largest US banks announced Wednesday they had each borrowed 500 million dollars in an effort to help restore liquidity.
   The discount rate was cut last week to 5.75 per cent, compared with 5.25 per cent for the federal funds rates used for bank to bank loans. The Fed also decided to extend these credits for 30 days instead of just one day.
   In a move aimed at reducing the stigma of the discount window, the major US banks publicly announced their moves.
   Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wachovia issued a joint statement and Citibank said separately that it ‘stands ready to continue to access the discount window as client needs and market conditions warrant.’
   The Fed has been using several tools — liquidity injections, the discount rate cut, lower fees for lending securities — to deal with the liquidity crunch without responding to the clamor to cut its target Fed funds rate below the current 5.25 per cent.
   Analysts said it was not clear how the funds were to be used, but that the money could help improve markets for commercial paper, used by companies for short-term cash needs.

The German government said on Friday it would examine the possibility of introducing legislation to protect companies from raids mounted by foreign investors.
   The legislation could involve ‘a special system of control procedures to protect national interests in the face of problematic foreign investments,’ the government said in a document produced after two days of talks in a chateau near Berlin.
   The measure could oblige foreign investors to inform authorities when they are buying shares in German companies, even those not listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange.
   Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government of conservatives and Social Democrats said it wanted to hold talks with banks about creating ‘capital reserves’ which could be used to help companies threatened by hostile takeovers.
   The proposed measures are a response to the growing financial muscle of investment funds controlled by Russia, China or the Gulf states.
   Merkel also said Germany was re-doubling its call for a code of conduct to govern hedge funds in the wake of widespread turbulence on the markets caused by the crisis in speculative investments in risky US home loans.
   ‘Recent events have confirmed our view in an incredible way,’ Merkel said.

Dutch-Bangla Bank opens new branch in Feni
The Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited opened its 40th branch in Feni town on Thursday with online banking facilities. Md Yeasin Ali, managing director of the Dutch-Bangla Bank, inaugurated the new branch. He also opened two ATM booths — one on the bank’s new branch premises and other at the Mohipal intersection of Feni town to provide customers with round the clock services of cash withdrawal, balance enquiry, mini-statement, payments of utility bills etc, said a press release. AHM Nazmul Quadir, additional managing director of the bank, and other senior officials of the Dutch-Bangla Bank were present at the inaugural ceremonies. Local elites, business personalities and clients also attended the functions.
— New Age

Akij Group signs deal with Philip Morris
The Philip Morris International on Thursday entered into a long-term agreement with the Sk Akijuddin Limited, a concern of the Akij Group of Bangladesh, to manufacture, distribute and market Marlboro cigarettes in Bangladesh. Matteo Pellegrini, president of the Philip Morris International, Asia, and Sk Bashir Uddin, managing director of the Akij Group, signed the agreement in the city, says a press release.
— New Age

Citibank named best trade bank in Asia
The Citibank has been named the best trade bank in Asia and the best global trade services bank in the Trade Finance magazine’s 4th annual awards for excellence in 2007. This is the third year in a row that the Citigroup has been named the best trade bank in Asia, and the first year it is the sole winner. This is the second year in a row that it is named best trade services bank globally. In other global categories, it was named the best short-term finance bank and best export finance arranger, said a press release in Dhaka on Saturday. In the Asia regional categories, the Citigroup was named best trade bank in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The results are based on a readers’ poll and online voting through the magazine’s website to determine the best trade banks in the industry.
— AFP