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The finance adviser, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, on Tuesday refused outright the property developers’ request to revert to the earlier budgetary provision for allowing black money to be used for buying plots or flats without asking the source of the money to help ‘save’ the real estate industry.
   He made the government’s position on the use of black money clear when a delegation of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh, led by its president Abdul Awal, called on him at the finance ministry.
   ‘It’s not an economic issue; it’s a moral question [allowing black money]. So we can’t allow it,’ the adviser told reporters. The government, however, will consider REHAB’s demand for reducing the registration cost of plots, flats and houses, he added.
   The proposed budget for the 2007-08 fiscal year rescinded the provision for allowing the buying and selling of plots, houses or flats and also cars without specifying the sources of money if a certain percentage of black money is paid as tax.
   ‘We hope the government will make alternative arrangements after withdrawing such a facility,’ said REHAB’s president.
   He proposed that non-resident Bangladeshis should be provided with cash incentives for investing in the housing sector.
   When he was asked about the current state of the housing sector, Abdul Awal, an engineer by profession, said it had regained its position after the slide in the wake of the crackdown on corruption suspects by the present interim government.
   REHAB, in a written note, cautioned the government, ‘If the said budgetary proposal [for withdrawal of provision of using black money to buy real estate] comes into effect, the housing sector will be adversely affected and this burgeoning industry will shrink.’
   The REHAB’s leaders demanded that the government allow import of cement because of rise in the cement price in the domestic market, or at least reduce duties on the raw materials of cement so that the housing sector does not suffer.
   The REHAB also claimed that the withdrawal of the provision for use of money, the sources of which were not specified, would make a large of professionals including architects and engineers unemployed and also result in loss of jobs for many the of 15 lakh workers engaged in the housing sector.
   ‘It will aggravate the housing problem and ancillary industries of the housing sector will also be affected as a result of the withdrawal of that provision,’ said the note.

German state-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn is mulling multi-billion dollar rail and logistic projects in Saudi Arabia as part of its international expansion drive, the Financial Times Deutschland reported on Tuesday.
   In particular, the German giant is keen to get its hands on a contract for high-speed passenger and goods trains and a freight centre in King Abdullah Economic City, the newspaper said.
   ‘The region is booming and therefore represents substantial economic potential for Deutsche Bahn,’ an unnamed top executive told FT Deutschland.
   The German group’s entire management board had held preliminary talks in Saudi Arabia on the matter, project managers were quoted as saying.
   A state-of-the-art rail network spanning the entire country from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf is being planned, with the licence to operate it expected to run for a period of 50 years.
   Deutsche Bahn declined to comment on the information.

India’s Bharti and Reliance-led consortium lost out in the race for Saudi Arabia’s third mobile phone network’s license which was won by Kuwait’s Mobile Telecom Company with a bid offer of SR 22.91 billion ($ 6.11b).
   Many international telecom companies were vying to win the Kingdom’s third mobile license, including Samawat-Bharti (which offered SR17.25 billion) and Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Rajhi-Reliance (SR11.25 billion).
   The Saudi Council of Ministers on Monday at its weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by crown prince Sultan, approved the setting up of the Saudi Mobile Telecom Company, a firm established by MTC.
   ‘The new company is licensed to establish and operate a mobile telephone network and provide its services at local, national and international levels,’ Culture and Information minister Iyad Madani told the Saudi Press Agency.
   The company plans to raise its customer base to 70 million and its capitalization to $30 billion by 2011. Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s fastest growing telecom market with total revenues from mobile and land phones reaching SR34.2 billion ($ 9.1b) in 2005.
   Forecasts indicate that the number of mobile phone and Internet subscribers will virtually double in the next five years.
   At present there are 18 million mobile phones and four million fixed line phones in the Kingdom. Etihad Etisalat (Mobily), a consortium led by UAE telecom giant Etisalat, won the second GSM license in 2004 paying SR12.21 billion.

The Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday urged the scheduled banks to disburse more loans, especially farm loans.
   Bangladesh Bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed made the urge in the context of low credit disbursement.
   He said the credit growth was satisfactory up to December but had slowed down in the January-March period.
   Banks are more careful now in disbursing credits under the changing political scenario and the demands from the borrowers are also less, he observed.
   The central bank governor’s observation came while speaking at the meeting with the top executives of the schedule banks at the conference room of BB.
   Agriculture is very important sector for us as the country’s overall growth depends on it, he said adding that the private sector banks were agreed to give seasonal loans to the farmers.
   He also urged the banks to form special cells to dispose of writ petitions pending with the High Court as soon as possible.
   Salehuddin instructed the banks to deliver quick and quality services to the customers as there are allegations that some branches of different banks do not receive the defaced notes and give changes.
   He also discussed with the bankers how to increase the growth rate and excess liquidity.
   He drew attention of Islami Bank executive as it holds huge amount of excess liquidity.
   The central bank chief said the banks should have strong internal monitoring system to detect irregularities.
   He said the number of L/C opening increased, but the volume did not rise proportionately.
   Regarding the private collection agency, he said several banks appointed such agencies to recover loans but there is no significant development.
   The agencies can not recover big default loans as there is litigation with court in case of most of the default loans.
   The banks are not concerned about deficit financing through bank borrowing as there is huge excess liquidity lying with the banks.
   M Aminuzzaman, managing director of National Bank, said there should be a proper mechanism to collect information about any client.
   Banks feel embarrassed when different government agencies seek information regarding the clients of the banks.
   The BB governor assured them that he would talk with the government agencies.
   The meeting was attended by BB deputy governors Nazrul Huda and Ziaul Hasan Siddiqui, executive directors Murshid Kuli Khan, Jamshed uz Zaman and Yasin Ali.
   Agrani Bank chief executive officer Syed Abu Naser Bakhtear Ahmed, Prime Bank managing director M Shahjahan Bhuiyan and Pubali Bank managing director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury also spoke at the meeting.

Japan-Bangladesh Group will set up a GSM Mobile handset plant, a computer hardware plant and a new generation technology printer in Bangladesh with an investment of 225 million dollar.
   In line with the plan, the company signed three agreements with three South Korean companies at a city hotel on Tuesday, says a press release.
   Salim Proydhan, chairman of JB Group, Chang Suk Kim, CEO of Jupiter Capital Korea Co Ltd and YC Chin, chief executive officer of Digital Ubiquitous Bank Co Ltd signed two agreements on behalf of their respective companies.
   The third agreement was signed by Rashed Ahmed, chairman of the advisory board of JB Group, and Oon Tae Kim, president of Munhwa Investment Corp.
   The Korean officials are now in a four-day visit in the city and met CS Karim, adviser of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock ministries, Md Mahbubur Rahman, secretary of Communication Ministry, and director general of Bangladesh Railway and joint secretary of Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
   South Korean ambassador in Dhaka Sukbum Park witnessed the agreement signing ceremony. The ambassador expressed his satisfaction at the changing business atmosphere. ‘The environment for trade and investment in Bangladesh is very congenial at the moment and the Korean investors can invest here more frequently,’ he said.
   Jahangir Saadat, president of the Korean Export Processing Zone, also attended the signing ceremony and invited the delegation to visit the EPZ.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday decided to allow stock brokers to perform also as stock dealers and the stock dealers too as stock brokers.
   The SEC at a meeting with Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi, chairman of the commission, in the chair took the decision to allow the brokers and dealers to perform twin under a single license.
   ‘The commission has decided to amend the rules to give the brokers and dealers opportunities for bigger participation at the market,’ said Mansur Alam, member of the SEC.
   Earlier, SEC withdrew the privilege enjoyed by the brokers and dealers up-to 2000.
   No person will be eligible to get license of broker and dealer at the same time, reads the SEC (Stock-dealer, stock-broker and authorised representatives) rules, 2000.
   Mansur Alam said the commission decided to allow the brokers and dealers to perform dual business as the country’s stock market attained significant development over the years.
   The brokerage houses of the stock exchanges also have been corporatised and institutionalised, he said.
   He said the Dhaka Stock Exchange proposed to amend the rules considering the present context of the country’s capital market.
   ‘The commission will soon publish the draft of the amended rules in the newspaper for feedback from public,’ the SEC member said.
   ‘The SEC decision is a positive one,’ said Ahmad Rashid Lali, senior vice-president of the DSE, adding that ‘it will create a level playing filed in the stock market.’

The first regional World Islamic Economic Forum conference will be held in Dhaka on November 3 and 4 this year, according to a press release of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
   Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives and Bangladesh will attend the conference. The Malaysian deputy prime minister has been invited to join it.
   This decision was made in the third World Islamic Economic Forum held in Kuala Lumpur on May 27 and 29.
   It was a follow-up conference of the second forum conference held in Islamabad in November last year. The forum meeting in Kuala Lumpur this year was organised by the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation.
   The Islamic Centre for Development of Trade, the International Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute with support of the Islamic Development Bank and the Malaysian Government also lent support to it.
   The Kuala Lumpur forum was inaugurated by Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi and was attended, among others, by Indonesian president, prime minister of Kuwait, besides the political and business leaders form OIC member states.
   Industries adviser Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury led a 53- member Bangladesh business delegation to the conference.
   President of the Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Salahuddin Kashem Chowdhury played a key role in organising the Bangladesh delegation.
   The conference talked about job creation and promoting intellectual property rights, among other things. The issues of science, technology and access to knowledge also came up for discussion.

Global oil demand will increase by two per cent this year, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, revising upwards an earlier estimate by about 400,000 barrels per day and warning the market will be tight.
   ‘Global oil product demand is revised up to...86.1 million barrels per day for 2007,’ the IEA said.
   ‘World demand is now estimated to rise by 2.0 per cent or 1.7 million barrels a day in 2007, the agency said in its monthly oil market report.
   The agency said that the increase was the result in part of a big adjustment of previous demand data.
   It also highlighted unexpectedly strong figures from leading countries outside the group of 30 industrialised nations in the organisation for Economic Cooperation and development.
   The IEA’s monthly report on state of the oil market referred to ‘growth reappraisal in 2006 for various big non-OECD countries in light of new data.’
   But it also said that world supply in May fell by 565,000 barrels a day to 84.9 million barrels.
   Last month the agency had reduced its forecast figure for global demand for oil in 2007 by 0.1 million barrels per day from its estimate in April, to 85.7 million barrels owing to mild weather in the northern hemisphere and a slightly lower forecast for demand in China. But it warned that oil prices could climb this year because supplies might tighten.
   The IEA, which has been at odds with OPEC over the need to pump more crude to ease prices repeated on Tuesday that the oil market would be tight in the second half of this year, and risked pushing up prices further.
   ‘There are of course uncertainties which could shift the market,’ it said. ‘Nigeria, geopolitics, economic growth and the weather could swing the balances in either direction.
   ‘But even with these caveats, it seems difficult to escape the conclusion that the oil market will be tight in the second half of the year,’ it said.
   The price of dated Brent rose above 70 dollars per barrel in late May as markets tightened on stronger demand, lower supply, ongoing downstream tightness and early summer storms.
   However, economic concerns, weaker commodities and the passing of Cyclone Gonu saw prices dip as the IEA report went to press.
   The IEA warned that rising stocks during the seasonally weak second quarter can be deceptive.
   American gasoline or petrol supplies remain in focus amid the US summer driving season where demand usually peaks as most Americans take to the roads for their vacations.
   ‘While the US gasoline market remains tight, stocks have begun to rebuild, and high crude stocks in parts of the US require heavy discounts to clear the spot market.
   ‘But the stock situation can change rapidly, and here is where our concern lies,’ it said.
   It said that while refinery constraints are attracting investment, shortages of skilled labour, capacity and equipment are slowing progress.
   ‘In the meantime we have an oil system which needs every inch of flexibility to deliver the products we need.

It is premature to say that inflation has returned to China, but bank deposit rates need to remain positive in real terms, an economic planning official said on Tuesday.
   His comment came hours after China said consumer price inflation had risen to a 27-month-high of 3.4 per cent in May, intensifying speculation of a fresh interest rate increase.
   Zhou Wangjun, a deputy director in the price department of the National Development Reform Commission, said the rise in inflation was ‘not too high’.
   But he said interest rate increases were needed when consumer price inflation outstripped deposit rates.
   ‘Let’s make it simple: we can’t put our money in the bank if interest rates are negative. We must at least give deposit holders some interest,’ Zhou said in a live Web cast on the Chinese government portal www.gov.cn.
   People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said last week that the central bank would decide its next policy move after seeing May’s inflation figures.
   China’s one-year deposit rate is 3.06 per cent before a 20 per cent withholding tax is levied.
   Inflation spurted last month due to food prices, which leaped 8.3 per cent. Meat prices alone jumped 26.5 per cent.
   But Zhou said overall inflation was still in check thanks to stable prices for industrial products and services — which jointly account for two thirds of the CPI basket.
   Food makes up the rest.
   ‘Will food prices increase lead to inflation? I think it is still too early to draw that conclusion,’ Zhou said.
   Zhu Xiaoliang, a deputy director in the market operations department of the Ministry of Commerce, said retail prices of pork in 32 Chinese cities had dropped 2.3 per cent in the first 10 days of June.

Tofazzal Hossain and ASM Mainuddin Monem have become chairman and vice chairman of National Credit and Commerce Bank Limited respectivley.
   Both of them are sponsor directors of the bank, says a press release
   Tofazzal Hossain is the chairman of lslami Insurance Bangladesh Ltd. He is a donor member of Independent University of Bangladesh and founder member of International Islamic University, Chittagong and also the founder of Tofazzal Hossain High School and Motua Madrasha, Feni.
   ASM Mainuddin Monem obtained his BBA degree from Boston University and MBA from Harvard Business School. He is the deputy managing director of Abdul Monem Limited, CEO of AM Pharma Limited, chairman of AML Power Ltd, vice-chairman of Pragati Insurance Ltd.

China warned Tuesday of a counter response if the US Congress adopts a bill on Beijing’s foreign exchange regime that could lead to higher US tariffs on Chinese imports.
   ‘China has all along held that to develop Sino-US bilateral trade is in the interest of both sides,’ foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.
   But ‘the US Congress could pass this legislation which will lead to the problem of higher tariffs on Chinese goods.
   ‘If this happens then the Chinese departments concerned will make a counter response.’
   US lawmakers are to unveil a proposed law this week that could address concerns China is keeping its currency undervalued, Congressional staff said Monday.
   US lawmakers say China grossly undervalues the yuan, making US-bound exports cheaper and fuelling a ballooning US-China trade deficit which hit 232.5 billion dollars last year.
   Despite heavy US dependence on China, some lawmakers want trade sanctions, including a possible 20 per cent across the board tariff on Chinese goods.
   ‘Fundamentally misaligned currencies distort global markets and put US manufacturers and farmers at a competitive disadvantage,’ said a statement by the Senate finance panel, which has jurisdiction over US trade policy.
   Qin said that China would listen to US complaints on the yuan and seek to appropriately resolve trade disputes but insisted that Washington had no right to determine the value of the Chinese currency.
   ‘The (yuan) exchange rate should be conducive to China’s current conditions and should be in the interests of China’s economic development and global economic development,’ Qin said.
   ‘The reform of the yuan exchange rate is ongoing and is dependent on market demand and supply.’
   The United States estimates the yuan is undervalued by as much as 40 per cent.

A decade of economic sanctions has failed to push military-ruled Myanmar towards democracy and nations have to find another way to engage the country, a top Southeast Asian official said Monday.
   The United States and the European Union earlier this year renewed sanctions first introduced about 10 years ago against Myanmar over rights violations, including the continued detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
   But Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary general Ong Keng Yong said sanctions were not working since member Myanmar was largely immune to them.
   ‘These kinds of sanctions and isolation do not work ... They are happy being isolated because they are left alone to do whatever they want to do,’ Ong told reporters at the sidelines of the Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
   ‘What we are saying is perhaps we should look at some other ways of doing it instead of just (keeping) on applying sanctions,’ he said.
   Myanmar’s junta extended Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest by another year late last month, prompting condemnation from the United States, the United Nations and European and Asian nations.
   The 61-year Nobel peace laureate has spent more than a decade confined to her home. Her party won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the junta never allowed it to take office.
   ‘Even if you pull out everybody, economic investors, from Myanmar, they are not going to collapse simply because their two big neighbours will be ready to sustain them,’ Ong said in apparent reference to China and India.
   China and India have been criticised for keeping silent over Myanmar’s rights abuses.
   Ong also said Myanmar would never allow itself to be seen as bowing to international pressure to release the democracy icon.
   ‘That will never happen. You have to ... find a face-saving way out,’ he said.
   Myanmar, which joined ASEAN in 1997, has embarrassed the regional bloc by steadfastly refusing to introduce democratic reforms.

World Bank presidential nominee Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday he believed a deal could be clinched in the Doha round world trade talks and that such an accord would give a big boost to development and growth.
   ‘I believe that a deal can be done. I believe a deal should be done. I believe it would make a great step for development and growth so I would like to try and help,’ he told reporters after a meeting with French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner.
   The comments by Zoellick, a former US Trade representative, came the week after World Trade Organisation head Pascal Lamy said a successful completion of the Doha round of trade talks was within reach.
   ‘I would be pleased to try to work with the WTO and member states to see how we could make the aid for trade connection,’ said Zoellick, currently on the European leg of a tour aimed at winning support for his nomination by US president George W Bush to succeed Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank president.
   Zoellick is the only candidate so far to take over the job vacated by Wolfowitz, who resigned last month amid an ethics scandal involving his companion.
   His bid is unlikely to be contested despite a push by some developing countries to open up the selection process to include non-Americans and he made clear his intention to get the poverty fighting agency back on a normal footing.
   ‘The immediate need is to calm the waters in the institution that have been roiled,’ Zoellick said.
   ‘The key is to be open and listen. There are probably some frustrations that the people need to express.’
   Zoellick, who met French president Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Monday, said his host had been ‘very gracious’.
   Sarkozy’s spokesman had said on Monday the message to Zoellick would be that the World Bank should concentrate its efforts on reducing poverty in Africa.
   ‘Africa will remain a very strong priority for the World Bank,’ Zoellick told reporters.
   ‘It is not just a question of opening markets but a question of having the development programs to let countries take advantage of open markets.’
   Turning to Sudan, whose war-torn Darfur region is the focus of international peace efforts, Zoellick said he thought the World Bank could play a role in infrastructure projects but added that the first priority was to restore security and secure a peace deal.

Sawtooth sharks, pink coral and the globe-trotting European eel are slated for a hearing Monday at the 171-nation body that regulates trade in wildlife teetering at the edge of biological viability.
   The population of all these marine fauna has plummeted in recent decades, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, will decide whether to grant a reprieve from the commercial exploitation that has drastically reduced their numbers.
   The outcome is anything but certain, say delegates and a small army of conservationists lobbying on the sidelines of the two-week meeting.
   While assessments by CITES are made on scientific grounds, political and economic imperatives can weigh heavily when the fate of a particular fauna or flora comes up for a vote, participants say.
   ‘There is a lot of horse-trading between nations,’ said an expert on biodiversity at one of the non-governmental conservation groups that monitor negotiations and make recommendations.
   Two other ocean predators similarly decimated by over-hunting, the porbeagle shark and the spiny dogfish, were refused entry Friday into CITES’ ‘Appendix II,’ which imposes strict restrictions on international trade on some 30,000 plants and animals.
   More than 600 animals and plants — including elephants, tigers, whales and pandas — threatened with extinction are protected by total or near-total commercial bans under Appendix I.
   The United States, Kenya and Nicaragua have nominated sawfish — which have experienced historic declines of greater than 90 per cent, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare — for inclusion in Appendix I.
   Prized for their meat and especially their fins, considered a delicacy in Chinese cuisine, all species are listed on the World Conservation Union Redlist as critically endangered. There are currently no restrictions on their commercial exploitation or trade.
   The European eel has been in sharp decline since the 1980s and is now ‘outside its safe biological limits,’ according to Stephane Ringuit, a biologist affiliated with conservation group TRAFFIC.
   The European Union, represented at CITES by Germany, has proposed listing the species — which, at a hatchling stage of development, can fetch up to 240 euros ($280) per kilo in Asia — on Appendix II.
   The industry employs some 25,000 people in Europe and generates nearly 200 million euros annually in revenue.
   ‘Over-exploitation is not the only threat to the European eel,’ said Ringuit. ‘But it is the one we have the most control over.’
   The trade restrictions on red and pink coral, proposed by the United States and opposed by Italy, would cover some 30 species in the genus corallium threatened by global warming and commercial harvesting to make jewellry and art objects as well as homeopathic medicines.

US lawmakers are to unveil a proposed law this week that could address concerns China is keeping its currency allegedly undervalued, Congressional staff said.
   Details of a bipartisan bill ‘to address undervalued currencies that harm US trade and economic interests’ would be unveiled on Wednesday, a statement from the powerful Senate committee on finance said Monday.
   They would be released by four senior Senators who crafted the bill, and on the same day when the US Treasury makes its semiannual report about currencies to Congress.
   The administration of US president George W Bush is under pressure from lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Congress to label China a ‘manipulator’ of its yuan currency.
   The Senators ‘will discuss the new US responses their bill requires when other nations, including China, unfairly undervalue their currency,’ the statement said, without giving a clue on the proposed legislation.
   Lawmakers say China grossly undervalues the yuan, making US-bound exports cheaper and fueling a ballooning US-China trade deficit, at 232.5 billion dollars last year.
   Despite heavy US dependence on China, some lawmakers want trade sanctions, including a possible 20 per cent across the board tariff on Chinese goods.
   ‘Fundamentally misaligned currencies distort global markets and put US manufacturers and farmers at a competitive disadvantage,’ said the statement by the Senate finance panel, which has jurisdiction over US trade policy.
   Democratic senator Charles Schumer, a panel member, said recently that any currency bill against China would be ‘well-crafted legislation —- WTO-compliant and strong and effective — (and) is likely to pass with a veto-proof margin.’
   Schumer had led an unprecedented effort in the last Republican-dominated Congress by introducing a bill to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese imports if it did not revalue its currency.
   The bill surprisingly won two-thirds support in the Senate in a procedural vote. But it was held back to give Beijing time to undertake currency reforms.
   The new ‘consensus’ bill will protect US interests and comply with World Trade Organization rules, the statement Monday said.
   Talks led by Chinese vice-premier Wu Yi and US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson last month, as well as subsequent discussions between the Chinese leader and US lawmakers, failed to end concerns over the yuan.
   But Wu warned that any attempt to impose pressure on the yuan could probably ‘injure the interests of the two countries and the public.’
   The United States estimates the dollar is overvalued by as much as 40 per cent against the yuan.
   China recently widened the trading band on the yuan but US officials wonder whether Beijing would grant greater flexibility to the currency’s movement on a daily basis and over time.

Surging food prices boosted China’s annual consumer price inflation in May to a 27-month high, extending a rising trend and reinforcing expectations that interest rates will rise further.
   Inflation quickened to 3.4 per cent last month from 3 per cent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. Food prices, which make up a third of the consumer basket, rose 8.3 per cent from a year earlier and a shortage of pork caused meat prices to jump 26.5 per cent.
   The overall inflation figure was in line with forecasts, but Shanghai’s main stock market index fell more than 2 per cent at one point on expectations of tighter monetary policy before regaining ground.
   ‘We expect tighter monetary policy in the coming
   months given heightened inflation risks and negative real interest rates,’ economists at Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients.
   Non-food inflation remained subdued, with prices up just 1 per cent from a year earlier, but economists said the data reinforced the case for further central bank tightening.
   Yi Xianrong, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the government’s premier think-tank, agreed that a third interest rate rise this year was now inevitable.

Malaysian prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Monday urged cooperation amongst influential oil firms to promote energy security amid global uncertainties, especially in the oil-rich Middle East.
   Abdullah said national and multinational oil companies should work towards securing energy resources in an ‘effective and sustainable way’ to meet rising demand, especially in Asia.
   ‘The issue of energy security continues to be a highly-charged concern,’ Abdullah told more than 1,200 delegates at the opening of the two-day Asia Oil and Gas Conference Kuala Lumpur.
   ‘For instance, much of Asia’s oil and gas supply will continue to flow from politically volatile areas such as West Asia (the Middle East),’ he said.
   ‘How the various political issues and conflicts in the region play out will have a significant impact on energy security.’
   West Asia or the Middle East accounts for two thirds of the world’s oil and gas reserves and almost all of the world’s excess capacity but political uncertainties in the area are threatening energy security, Abdullah said.
   National and multinational oil companies should forge partnerships to secure energy supplies and quell fears over increasing consumption and declining reserves, he said.
   Oil companies are already expected to pump in 300 billion dollars of investment annually in key infrastructure up to 2030, a sum he said required greater collaboration to protect interests.
   ‘Energy security lies in a shared recognition of our energy interdependence,’ Abdullah said.
   ‘This state of interdependence should be based on multilateral cooperation of producers and consumers, as well as governments and businesses,’ he said.

The dollar rallied on Tuesday ahead of key US data this week, while traders also focused on the yuan as US lawmakers look to address concerns that China is allegedly leaving its currency undervalued.
   In early European trading, the euro dropped to 1.3342 dollars, from 1.3359 dollars late on Monday in New York. The dollar rose to 121.81 yen, from 121.60 yen on Monday.
   ‘The dollar has benefited from the hawkish shift in US interest rate markets, especially against the euro,’ Calyon economist Mitul Kotecha said on Tuesday.
   ‘The rhetoric from Fed speakers this week is likely to maintain the pressure on US interest rate markets despite the soft data, implying that the dollar should remain supported.’
   The US Federal Reserve, which has kept interest rates unchanged for a year at 5.25 per cent, continues to voice concern about inflation, making players all the more nervous ahead of the Fed’s Beige Book economic report on Wednesday and US consumer price figures on Friday.
   Elsewhere, US lawmakers are to unveil a proposed law this week that could address concerns China is keeping its currency allegedly undervalued, Congressional staff said.
   Details of a bipartisan bill ‘to address undervalued currencies that harm US trade and economic interests’ would be unveiled on Wednesday, a statement from the powerful Senate committee on finance said.
   They would be released by four senior Senators who crafted the bill, and on the same day when the US Treasury makes its semiannual report about currencies to Congress.
   The administration of US President George W Bush is under pressure from lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled Congress to label China a ‘manipulator’ of its yuan currency.
   Lawmakers say China grossly undervalues the yuan, making US-bound exports cheaper and fueling a ballooning US-China trade deficit, at 232.5 billion dollars last year.
   Meanwhile China warned on Tuesday of a counter response if the US Congress adopted a bill on Beijing’s foreign exchange regime that could lead to higher US tariffs on Chinese imports.

World oil prices steadied on Tuesday even though the International Energy Agency raised its prediction for global crude demand in 2007, and as geopolitical tensions eased in Nigeria.
   Brent North Sea crude for July delivery lost ten cents to 69.46 dollars per barrel in electronic trading.
   New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, added just four cents to 66.01 dollars per barrel in electronic deals before the official open of the US market.
   ‘Crude futures were almost unchanged (on Tuesday), stalling following strong gains yesterday, after the International Energy Agency raised its world oil demand (forecast) for 2007,’ said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.

Annual General Meeting
   BRAC Bank
   The bank has informed that the 8th annual general meeting of the bank will be held on June 18 at 10:00 am at BDR Darbar Hall at Pilkhana in Dhaka.
   
   Transaction
   Social Investment Bank
   Ghalib Mannan, Reshmi Mannan Siddique and Nargis Mannan, sponsors of the bank, have reported their intention to sell 2,500, 2,500 and 3,500 shares out of their total holdings of 6,750, 6,750 and 9,000 shares of the bank respectively at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   NCC Bank
   Qazi Monirul Alam, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 3,000 shares out of his total holdings of 52,549 shares of the bank while Khondkar Zakaria Mahmud, one of the directors of the bank, has reported to buy 3,000 shares of the bank (in the block market) at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   EXIM Bank
   AKM Nurul Fazal, one of the directors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 10,000 shares out of his total holdings of 1,19,010 shares of the bank while Bay Leasing and Investment Ltd, one of the corporate directors of the bank, has reported its intention to buy 10,000 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   Standard Bank
   Harun Rashid Chowdhury, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 50,000 shares out of his total holdings of 1,59,930 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Dividend
   Sonargaon Textiles
   The board of directors of the company has recommended 10 per cent cash dividend for the year 2006. The company’s annual general meeting will be on July 19 at 11:30 am at Barisal Club in Barisal. Book closure will be from July 6 to 19. There will be no price limit on the trading of the shares of the company today following its corporate declaration.
   
   Profit
   Bangladesh Services
   As per audited accounts as on December 31, 2006, the company has reported net profit of Tk 5.61 crore with earning per share of Tk 1.66 as against Tk 15.95 crore and Tk 4.73 respectively as on December 31, 2005.
   Source: DSE, CSE

Thai expo kicks off in city today
A three-day Thailand Exhibition-2007 will begin in the capital on Wednesday. Commerce and Finance adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam is expected to inaugurate the Thai trade show on the Hotel Sheraton premises. Suphat Chitranukroh, Thailand ambassador in Dhaka and Kanayarat Vongskul, minister counselor (commercial) of the Royal Embassy of Thailand, will be present on the occasion along with other delegates and guests, said a press release. Step Media in collaboration with Thai Trade Centre, Dhaka will organise the exposition. A total of 40 Thai companies will display their products of 12 categories at the trade show. The products include: games and toys, items for children, construction material, hardware and machineries, food and beverage, gems and jewellery, health and health, household and kitchenware, lather and footwear.
— New Age

Union Capital holds IPO lottery
The lottery for allotment of shares against IPO of Union Capital Limited was held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in city on Tuesday. The company offered 75 lakh shares of Tk 10 each through IPO. The IPO subscription was held during May 6-10 and was over subscribed by 40 times. The lottery was conducted by a BUET team led by Prof Kamrul Huda. Chairman of Union Capital Amir Humayun Mahmud Chowdhury, managing director Mohammad Hafiz Ahmed, senior vice-president and company secretary Mushfiq UI Quayoom and other senior officials of the company were present on the occasion. Kamurl Anam Khan and Rajib Ahmed, representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, representative of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Md Golam Faruque, representative of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, Md Tahurul Islam, representative of the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, Sumon Das, representative of the CDBL, Rezaul Haque, representative of Prime Finance Investment Ltd – the issue manager and Swadesh Ranjan Saha, managing director of Satcom IT Limited – the post-issue manager, were also present on the occasion.
— New Age