Main Page «
Front Page «
Metro «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange Sunday rose to Tk 103.14 crore, highest since February 20 amid increased participation of local and foreign investors.
   Country’s prime bourse witnessed turnover of Tk 101.07 crore on February 20 and Tk 106.49 crore on February 18.
   ‘It is the reflection of bigger participation from the local and foreign investors,’ said Sharif Ataur Rahman, vice-president of the DSE.
   The country’s capital market received $42 million portfolio investment from the foreign investors in July-February period of current fiscal year while it was $16 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year, Bangladesh Bank statistics shows.
   Sharif, also the managing director of SAR Securities - a brokerage house, said investors bought mostly high profile shares to avail the lower prices of the stocks after downtrend for months.
   The downtrend reversed to a sudden uptrend in the first month after the declaration of the state of emergency and the installation of the interim government headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed in mid January.
   Amid the rise DSE turnover jumped to its all-time high at Tk 159.20 crore on February 5 while it was Tk 26.57 crore on January 11.
   The downtrend, on the other hand, pushed the bourse’s turnover down to Tk 32.76 crore on April 22.
   The market, however, started to return to normalcy from the closing end of the last month amid a growing confidence of the investors, stock market experts said.
   Turnover on the Chittagong Stock Exchange also increased on Sunday to Tk 15.81 crore from the Thursday’s Tk 14.90 crore.
   DSE general index gained 10.47 points or 0.59 per cent to close at 1772.83, while the blue chips index, DSE20, advanced by 14.58 points or 1.03 per cent to close at 1434.24.
   CSE selective categories index gained 20.68 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 2789.18, while the blue chips index, CSE30, advanced by 21.79 points or 0.59 per cent to close at 3684.61.
   Power and banking stocks dominated the day’s trading on the both bourses.
   The Power Grid Company Bangladesh topped the turnover leaders with Tk 22.41 crore on the DSE and Tk 2.31 crore on the CSE.
   Other turnover leaders on the DSE were Dhaka Electric Supply Company, Summit Power, Prime Bank, BRAC Bank, Southeast Bank, Exim Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Square Textile and Lafarge Surma Cement.
   BRAC Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Rupali Bank, Prime Bank, Exim Bank, Southeast Bank, Eastern Cables, UCBL and Square Pharmaceuticals were the other turnover leaders on the CSE.

Corporate bond market has failed to develop due to high and risk-free bank interest rates, poor confidence in the private sector and shallow capital market, says a central bank review.
   Banks continue to dominate in the credit market as businesses have no other option but to rely solely on banking system for funds exposing it to high risks, it said.
   ‘The dominance of banks with their bad loan portfolios and non-transferability of most of the debt/saving instruments are regarded as the prime hindrance to the development of a bond market,’ the Financial Sector Review of Bangladesh Bank said.
   It suggested that an effective bond market must encompass a mobile primary market, a fluid secondary market, transparent rules and regulations, a relaxed tax system, favourable market rules and awareness, well-functioning settlement and custody system and a trustworthy rating system.
   National Savings Directorate certificates offer high rates, which establish a high benchmark rate for corporate fixed income securities, resulting in disincentives for investment in corporate securities.
   It argued that government treasury bills and savings certificate have the same level of risks, but the former offer less interest rate than the latter.
   The violation of this fundamental norm impedes the enhancement of the bond market, the review added.
   General investors do not have much confidence in the private sector as few corporate debentures are in default without any legal on moral recourse to the investors.
   Besides, the investors do not find this market attractive due to weak disclosure practiced by the companies, the review said.
   In Bangladesh, first private sector debenture was floated by Apex Tannery in 1987. Private placement for corporate bond became popular since 2001 and between 2001 and 2004, 21 issues raised through private placement Tk 517 crore, which is very insignificant for the Tk 40,000 crore capital market.
   The review, however, said the capital market is yet to develop as an effective investment destination for most small savers and an attractive source of funds for corporate houses. The market lacks high equity due to delay in privatisation of state-owned enterprises, high listing cost and few IPOs.
   It also said that that lack of institutions with expertise in debt products, unattractive yields on bonds, tax on interest incomes from treasury bonds and large denomination for retail investor remain among the factors responsible for the slow or no growth of the bond market.

Asia’s development bank grappled Sunday with how to remain relevant in an increasingly rich region without neglecting the poorest countries.
   The Asian Development Bank’s president, Haruhiko Kuroda, warned the lender’s board of governors that as Asia transforms so too must the ADB.
   He said Asia now ‘has new challenges to tackle—no longer arising from pervasive poverty, but instead from economic success.’
   ‘A dramatically transformed Asia will also require an equally transformed development partner in the ADB,’ he told the opening of the governors’ annual meeting in Kyoto, Japan.
   The ADB should play a greater role in regional integration, making better use of Asia’s huge savings, and fostering knowledge creation, Kuroda added.
   Most nations agree that the ADB needs to adapt to ensure it does not become an outdated institution as much of developing Asia heads towards middle income status. But there are disagreements on how to reform.
   The idea of the ADB shifting its focus away from traditional poverty reduction efforts has rattled some of the region’s poorer countries which fear that they will miss out on Asia’s impressive economic growth.
   Afghanistan in particular has urged the ADB not to forget its core objective of battling poverty, while other nations such as India and Pakistan want the bank to ensure it does not abandon the most destitute as it revamps.
   ‘The ADB reform process is required,’ said Pakistan’s Finance Minister Omar Ayub Khan.
   ‘It has to change its focus but I think the poverty focus should (also) be there,’ he told AFP on the sidelines of the meeting, calling on the development bank to take a ‘balanced’ approach on reform.
   Afghanistan’s finance minister Anwar Ul-haq Ahadi earlier urged the bank to step up engagement with its poorest members.
   ‘Asia’s growth has largely bypassed countries such as Afghanistan. It is these countries... where the ADB has the greatest impact,’ he said.
   The four-decade-old ADB is looking for a new role to ensure it is not forced to close its doors by the end of the next decade, by which time it expects that most of the region’s countries will have escaped widespread poverty.
   But development experts warn that pockets of destitution are expected to remain and even if many of developing Asia’s people rise above the dollar-a-day poverty line they will still be scraping to get by on very low incomes.
   The ADB’s primary role when it was established in 1966 was to borrow money from the capital markets to lend to developing Asian economies that might struggle to raise affordable funds on their own.

Indian firms expect earnings to dip in the next six months because of higher interest rates and are less confident about the economy as a result, a survey released Monday showed.
   A majority of companies remained optimistic about the economy for the first half of the financial year started April, but the number of firms who expected gains fell sharply from last quarter, the survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry found.
   Expectations of higher sales fell from 78 per cent to 68 per cent compared with a survey done in the quarter that ended in March, the industry lobby group said.
   Of the 418 companies surveyed in April, 50 per cent expected higher profits in the next six months, compared to 52 per cent in the January-March quarter survey, the fourth quarter of India’s financial year.
   Overall, optimism about the economy in the next six months declined from 72 per cent to 59 per cent as firms anticipated lower consumer spending because of monetary tightening measures by the central bank to contain inflation, the survey said.
   ‘As the package of anti-inflationary measures by the Reserve Bank of India will impact consumer spending first, industries such as food processing, textiles, housing, construction and automobiles are apprehensive about a fall in demand and profits,’ it said.
   The central bank raised rates twice this year, by a quarter of a per centage point each time to 7.75 per cent—the highest level in more than four years—to contain inflation.

Sri Lanka is to tax film producers who use foreign stars in a move to protect its own movie market and combat cheaper imported labour from India, an industry official said Sunday.
   Domestic film makers who use foreign actors in a lead role will have to pay 250,000 rupees (2,400 dollars) for every picture made, starting this month, National Film Corporation Chairman Asoka Serasinghe told AFP.
   A foreign star in a supporting role will cost 150,000 rupees (1,400 dollars), under the move aimed mainly at imports from India which is the world’s biggest producer of movies.
   The taxes will not apply to films made jointly with overseas producers or foreign movies produced in Sri Lanka, Serasinghe said.
   ‘We have many talented artistes, technicians here, but local producers are bringing down Indians and depriving our people of work,’ he said.
   There are no official figures on locally produced films but Indian actors and technicians are frequently hired because they cost less and are thought to be more talented.
   Local film makers have also fallen on hard times, losing audience share to television, satellite TV and pirated Hollywood and Bollywood movies.
   Sri Lanka last year imposed a 750 dollar tax each time a foreign blockbuster, drama or sitcom was shown, setting aside the money to develop the island’s ailing film industry.
   Local TV stations air more than 1,500 movies - mainly in English, Tamil and Hindi—annually, according to industry watchers.
   Although native Hindi speakers are virtually non-existent among Sri Lanka’s 19.5 million people, Hindi movies are often shown with subtitles on local TV stations for the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil language viewers.

A Bangladeshi company, United Group, is going to set up a 40MW power generation plant in Dhaka EPZ under the name of M/s Malancha Holdings Ltd.
   This firm will invest $32 million for uninterrupted power supply to the operating enterprises of Dhaka Export Processing Zone including adjacent area on the basis of need during peak and off peak hours.
   Malancha Holding will establish the power plant within 8,000 square meter area. Initially the plant will meet the existing requirement for 36 MW power during peak hours of the 88 operating enterprises of Dhaka EPZ which will be extended in future and it will also supply electricity service to the adjacent area during off peak hours, if any surplus, says a press release.
   A total of 36 Bangladeshi nationals and one foreign national will get employment opportunity in the company.
   An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the United Group Sunday. Prasanta Bhushan Barua, member of the BEPZA, and Hasan Mahmood Raja, chairman of United Group, signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.
   It may be mentioned that in the 25th BEPZA board of governors meeting, the decision has been taken that the authority would allow private company to operate power generation plant as service oriented enterprises in EPZs to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

About 50 foreign institutional investors, including Morgan Stanley, have expressed interests to attend the first investors’ conference in Dhaka, slated for May 10.
   The list also includes Fidelity Investments and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui, organisers said.
   The organisers expected investors from India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and the US to attend the programme.
   Some 12 fund managers, eight portfolio managers, six directors or partners, chief investment officers and analysts, have confirmed their attendance.
   A total of 15 Citigroup
   senior officials will also take part in it.
   ‘We hope foreign investors will buy equities here. We need huge foreign investments to tap our growth potentials,’ said Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, chief executive of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.
   ‘If local and foreign firms form joint ventures, it will help boost our economy,’ he said.
   The conference, ‘Bangladesh—the New Investment Frontier’, will be held at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, designed to showcase investment potentials and opportunities to both local and foreign investors.
   The Dhaka Stock Exchange, Chittagong Stock Exchange and Ciitibank NA, a subsidiary of Citigroup, have co-organised the event.
   Locally, 40 listed and 27 non-listed companies have signed up for the event.
   A total of 10 sessions will be held to highlight Bangladesh’s overall economic potentials, untapped capital market and reforms in the last decade, current legal and governance frameworks.
   It will also highlight foreign investment opportunities in both public and private sectors with special highlights on power, telecom, textiles, pharmaceuticals and financial services sectors.
   According to Dhaka Stock Exchange, foreign trade turnover has reached
   Tk 509.37 crore in the 10 months to April.
   In fiscal 2005-06, total foreign trade turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange was Tk 68.56 crore.

British energy giant BP is hoping new chief executive Tony Hayward will herald a brighter future after a disastrous week which saw his predecessor dramatically resign after lying in court.
   Widely-respected business heavyweight John Browne, who transformed BP into the world's third-largest energy group, quit as chief executive last Tuesday after revelations that he lied to a High Court judge over how he had met his gay partner of four years.
   Hayward, 50, was thrust into the limelight three months before he was due to take the top job, where he will face key decisions about the operational and safety problems that have plagued BP in recent years.
   'The challenge for Mr Hayward is how to deliver growth at a time when BP's production is set to be broadly flat, while costs are rising,' the Financial Times said in an editorial.
   'He has said repeatedly that his priority is to ensure safe and reliable operations, so BP is not hit by any more disasters like the Texas City refinery explosion in 2005, which killed 15 people,' the business daily added. Days after Browne's shock resignation, a US lawyer said he still wanted to question him over BP's safety record in the United States.
   Brent Coon, an American lawyer representing BP workers injured in Texas blast, said it was too early to tell if Hayward would settle hundreds of legal suits related to the explosion.
   A BP spokesman said that Hayward-formerly head of exploration and production-had been 'de facto' chief executive since mid-April and has been shadowing Browne closely for the past four months.
   'Tony has been head of the big powerhouse in BP, which is our exploration and production business, and he has been running that for a number of years and has been on the board for a number of years,' the spokesman said.

India has started rebuilding a stretch of an historic road linking its remote northeast to southwest China amid hopes the route can be reopened to boost trade, officials said.
   The 1,726-km (1,079-mile) Stilwell Road connects India’s northeastern state of Assam to Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, after cutting through Myanmar.
   ‘Talks are on at various levels between governments of the three countries to speed up re-opening the Stilwell Road,’ Tarun Gogoi, the chief minister of Assam state, told AFP, without giving further details.
   China’s official news agency Xinhau reported last month that a ceremony was held in Myanmar to celebrate the rebuilding of the Myanmar leg of the road in Kambaiti on the China-Myanmar border.
   The segment of the Stilwell Road in China’s Yunnan Province now is part of the country’s national highway network, Xinhau said.
   Named after American General Joseph Stilwell, who led its construction, Stilwell Road was a vital lifeline for the movement of Allied Forces during World War II as they battled to free China from Japanese occupation.
   Chinese labourers, Indian soldiers and American engineers took three years to build the road.
   ‘We are widening and developing the Stilwell Road on the Indian side,’ Assam Industries Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said, adding the work would be completed in four to six months.
   ‘From our side we would be ready and it now all depends on the three countries agreeing to reopen the road,’ the minister said.
   India, which is keen to extend its influence in neighbouring Myanmar to counter China’s growing presence in the gas-rich nation, views the reopening of the road as a key to economic development in its landlocked northeast.
   ‘This would be a dream come true for the people of the northeast, which in turn would boost trade and commerce significantly,’ Gogoi said.
   The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is 61 kilometres (28 miles) long. The major stretch of 1,033 kilometres (646 miles) lies within Myanmar, while 632 kilometres (395 miles) of the road are in China.
   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said his government is keen to further the country’s ‘Look East Policy’ aimed at allowing border trade with neighbouring Asian nations.
   ‘Our region would then have the potential to become the hub of business activities and the gateway to South Asian economic centres,’ Okram Ibobi Singh, the chief minister of remote Manipur state, said by telephone.
   Northeast leaders say the underdeveloped region, racked by bloody insurgencies, is much closer to southeast Asian capitals than it is to India’s capital New Delhi or financial hub Mumbai.
   Some 4,750 kilometers of the northeast region’s 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) perimeter are part of international boundaries with China, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
   There is strong demand for Indian automobile components, fruits, grains, vegetables, textiles and cotton yarn in most neighbouring countries.
   On the other hand, Indian traders are keen on importing electronic gadgets, synthetic blankets, teak, gold and semi-precious stones.
   Last year, India and China put frosty ties behind them to revive direct trade through a famed Silk Road route.
   Trade between the Asian giants, both among the world’s fastest growing economies, has expanded quickly in recent years.

The US Supreme Court has shaken up the standard for patents in rulings that could have far-reaching implications for the technology sector, but also other industries such as pharmaceuticals.
   Two rulings in the past week set new standards for challenges to patents, in the face of some calls to curb litigation from so-called ‘patent trolls’ or firms whose sole existence is based on extracting royalty payments.
   Legal analysts say the court’s decisions may limit ‘junk patent’ lawsuits that have affected the high-tech industry, but may also have some unintended effects of hurting patent protection for other sectors like pharmaceuticals.
   In one key ruling, the nine US justices tossed out a patent for an adjustable accelerator pedal for motorists as ‘obvious.’
   The case involved a suit by auto parts makers KSR International against Teleflex, which developed a system that combines sensor technology with a mechanism to automatically set the height of vehicle control pedals for drivers of different sizes.
   By ruling the patent as ‘obvious’ the justices held that a company cannot hold a valid patent for a device that anyone could have invented, such as a wheel or door.
   ‘Granting patent protection to advances that would occur in the ordinary course without real innovation retards progress and may ... deprive prior inventions of their value,’ wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy.
   ‘In the short-term, this case reduces the average value of patent holdings,’ said law professor Dennis Crouch at Boston University.
   ‘Courts should find it easier to invalidate patents based on expert testimony and the jury’s concept of obviousness. The story also becomes more important—and attorneys who can tell an ‘invention story’ will be in demand.’
   In a separate case the same day, the high court ruled that ATT could not collect damages from Microsoft for patented software sold in other countries.
   The two decisions taken with an opinion earlier this year shifts power away from patent holders, analysts said.
   Some in the technology sector say the court has given a boost to innovation by limiting frivolous litigation.
   ‘We are encouraged by the Court’s efforts to clamp down on obvious patents,’ said Ed Black at the Computer Communications Industry Association. ‘It reaffirms what we have always said: ‘The patent system’s purpose is to promote innovation, not patents.’
   CCIA had been outspoken last year when Research in Motion, maker of the popular Blackberry e-mail device, was sued by NTP Inc., a US firm that had accused RIM of violating its patents in its mobile software. RIM eventually settled the case.
   Another case that drew wide attention was a suit against online auction firm eBay from a company that patented the use of a computer mouse to click and make an online purchase.
   The decision also could benefit Internet telephony firm Vonage Holdings, which risks being shut down in a patent dispute with Verizon Communications.
   ‘Vonage is trying to invalidate Verizon’s patents,’ said John Fuisz, a Washington-based patent lawyer. ‘I’m sure the KSR decision will help them.’
   Some analysts said the court may be turning the tide too far and in the process discouraging innovation.
   Although the impact of the case may be known only after further legal decisions, the pharmaceutical industry has argued against any weakening of the current patent system.
   ‘Given the time and expense necessary to develop new drugs, intellectual property rights, especially those involving patent rights, are critical to (pharmaceutical firms) and their research and development efforts,’ said a brief filed in the case by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Despite a sputtering US economy, the Federal Reserve is likely to hold fire on interest rates as it waits for either an easing of inflation or a pickup in growth, analysts say.
   No change in rates is expected at Wednesday’s meeting of the US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee, which has held its base rate steady at 5.25 per cent since last June.
   Yet some analysts are still holding out hope that the Fed will open the door to a rate cut sometime this year if conditions continue to soften.
   Some recent data have been surprisingly sluggish: gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter was a tepid 1.3 per cent, and April produced a net gain of just 88,000 new payroll jobs.
   Meanwhile US home sales showed their biggest monthly fall in over 18 years in March, suggesting that the biggest drag on US economic activity is not over.
   But other recent data have been firmer: surveys on manufacturing and services have been above expectations, and factory orders rose 3.1 per cent in March.
   Inflation indicators remain a bit too hot for the Fed, which had brought rates up after of a long period of stimulation since 2001. Consumer prices were up 0.6 per cent in March even though ‘core’ prices excluding food and energy have been tamer.
   Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said he remained ‘hopeful, though not overly confident,’ about a message suggesting rates may be headed lower.
   ‘There is little doubt that no change will be made in rates,’ Naroff said.
   But he added that ‘the softer job gains and slowing wage increases would allow the (FOMC) members to hint at a potential rate cut. But they have not been that forthcoming in their comments so I suspect there may be some disagreement on how to proceed.’
   Gary Thayer, chief economist at AG Edwards, said he sees the Fed cutting rates this year if the economy fails to re-accelerate.
   ‘If the economy continues to grow at a subpar rate this year as we expect, the risk of inflation is likely to decline,’ Thayer said.

Australia’s mergers panel on Sunday rejected a private equity consortium’s last-ditch attempt to revive a chaotic 11.1 billion dollar (9.2 billion US) bid for national carrier Qantas.
   The Airline Partners Australia (APA) bid initially collapsed late on Friday after it failed to garner more than 50 per cent of shareholder acceptances by a 7:00 pm (0900 GMT) deadline.
   But a revival of the bid looked possible after a major American investor decided to partially back the deal, pushing acceptances to 50.6 per cent, just hours after the deadline had passed.
   Those hopes were dashed on Sunday after the Takeovers Panel refused an appeal to count the late acceptances, effectively scuttling the consortium’s chances of getting the bid off the ground.
   ‘The panel has decided not to commence proceedings in relation to APA’s application,’ it said in a statement.
   The bidding consortium, which is led by Macquarie Bank and includes Australian and foreign partners, immediately said it would challenge the ruling by asking for an urgent review of the panel’s decision.
   ‘APA notes that a majority of Qantas shareholders (around 60 per cent by number) representing more than 50 per cent of Qantas shares have indicated their support for the offer,’ it said.
   The director of the Takeovers Panel, Nigel Morris, said the body would appoint another group of members to consider the second appeal.
   Asked whether the decision on Qantas was final, Morris said: ‘Yes and no.’
   ‘The sitting panel which received the application has said that it would not proceed with the application,’ he told AFP.
   ‘(But) APA has said it will be seeking a review.’
   News of the panel’s decision was welcomed by shareholders, unions and pilots.
   ‘Had the panel allowed this takeover to go ahead, Australian securities markets would have looked weak and perhaps even laughable in the eyes international markets,’ deputy chairman of the Australian Shareholders Association, Steven Mathews, told the ABC.
   Peter Somerville, head of the Pilots Association, said the APA deal had been ‘simply about money’ and jeopardised Qantas’ high professional standards.
   ‘We’ve been concerned that Airline Partners with their truck load of debt was always going to bring into question those professional standards,’ he said.
   Analysts had earlier said it was unrealistic for the consortium to be allowed to count the late acceptances after the final deadline had closed.
   But they acknowledged that some hedge funds may have misjudged the situation by presuming the deal, believed to be the largest ever private equity bid for an airline, would reach the 50 per cent mark without their acceptances.

South Korea and the European Union on Sunday declared the formal launch of free trade talks to combine Asia’s third largest economy and the world’s largest trading bloc.
   The first round of talks opens in Seoul on Monday, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and South Korean Minister of State Kim Hyun-Chong said in a joint news conference.
   The negotiations, if concluded, would create a bilateral free trade area where two-way trade reached almost 80 billion dollars last year.
   The 27-member EU remains the biggest foreign investor in South Korea, investing 4.97 billion dollars last year alone, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.
   The EU was South Korea’s second largest trading partner after China last year, with trade reaching 78.56 billion dollars, according to the ministry.
   The bloc’s 2005 economy totalled 13.5 trillion dollars (9.9 trillion euros), bigger than the US gross domestic product of 12.5 trillion dollars, according to the International Monetary Fund.
   The two ministers called ‘for rapid progress in the FTA (free trade agreement) negotiations’ in a joint statement, as Seoul officials said they hoped to conclude the deal within one year.
   An FTA ‘would open new markets and expand opportunities for Korean and EU businesses while giving valuable momentum to liberalisation of global trade,’ the statement said
   South Korea hopes to boost exports of cars, microchips, electronic goods and textiles to the EU, whose tariffs on Korean goods average 4.2 per cent.
   Seoul officials also say they expect a free trade pact with the EU to help alleviate a trade deficit with Japan, from which South Korean electronics firms now import many of their high-tariff parts and machinery.
   Mandelson said the EU was pushing for an ‘ambitious and balanced’ pact with South Korea, addressing not only liberalising goods and services but also removing various non-tariff issues for its investors.
   He also said for the European Union to launch trade talks with South Korea signified a shift to fast-growing Asia.
   ‘For the EU, it represents a turning towards a stronger focus on Asia,’ Mandelson told reporters.
   His South Korean counterpart Kim said his country would eventually serve as ‘an FTA hub in Northeast Asia’ for the world.
   ‘The opening of our market is not a matter of choice but a matter of survival,’ Kim said in a strong commitment to South Korea’s liberalisation.
   South Korea wrapped up an FTA with the US last month. It has also signed FTAs with Chile and Singapore, and one with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, excluding Thailand, will take effect on June 1.
   It is reportedly close to a pact with Canada and in June is set to begin a second feasibility study with China on a potential deal.

Bahrain took full ownership of Gulf Air on Saturday as joint-owner Oman withdrew from the loss-making carrier, the company’s vice-chairman said.
    ‘Gulf Air is now 100 per cent Bahraini,’ Mahmood al-Kooheji told Reuters. ‘Today, we had an EGM (extraordinary general meeting) and the handover took place.’
   ‘There is a committee evaluating how much each party is to be receiving or paying ... The committee has been given a maximum of six months but we think it will be (finished) much earlier,’ he said.
   Gulf Air said last month it would shed 25 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,500 jobs, to cut losses of more than $1 million a day and launched a two-year restructuring plan that includes a cash injection of 310 million dinars ($822 million).
   The plan was announced after Bahrain said it was aiming to own the whole airline, which is based in the small island kingdom.
   From the 1970s, Gulf Air was the joint carrier of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, but Gulf Arab states have increasingly moved towards creating their own national carriers.
   Oman’s government is increasing its stake in Oman Aviation Services, which operates Oman Air.
   The parent company recently approved a plan to nearly quadruple its capital to 50 million rials ($130 million) through a placement by Oman’s government to expand operations and acquire new planes.

Iran’s Central Bank has adopted a directive that would allow foreign firms to set up branches in the Islamic republic and buy stakes in Iranian banks, state media reported on Sunday.
   ‘The directive allows the opening of banks with joint Iranian and foreign investment, the possession of shares in Iranian banks by foreign investors and foreign banks to set up branches in the country,’ the central bank said in a statement on the state-run IRNA news agency.
   It did not say whether there would be an upper per centage limit for the stakes that foreign investors could take in Iranian banks.
   Foreign banks currently are allowed to open in Iran only in free trade zones like the southern resort island of Kish and have no branches elsewhere in the country.
   It remains to be seen whether the central bank’s decision could pave the way for an important shake-up of the Iranian banking landscape, currently an entirely domestic industry.
   The legislation still needs to be ratified by the cabinet and then presented to the parliament for a vote, the bank’s statement said.
   The move comes amid US pressure on European banks to cut their business with Iran as part of a package of measures to pressure on Tehran to end its defiance over freezing sensitive nuclear work.
   The US pressure on European banking giants has made it harder for Iran to win credit lines for projects.
   It is not clear whether the central bank’s move is related to this pressure.
   The United States has also blacklisted two major Iranian state-owned banks, banning them from carrying out transactions in US dollars.
   Washington accuses Iran’s Sepah bank of helping finance the country’s weapons programme and Bank Saderat of supporting terrorism by channelling funds to Islamist militant groups.

Asian currencies mainly weakened against the US dollar this week, on subdued activity as many markets closed for public holidays.
   Japanese yen: The Japanese yen continued to slide, weighed on by strong US data boosting the dollar.
   ‘So far this week, the US data has been better-than-expected and the dollar has been supported by it,’ said Thomas Lam, a treasury economist with Singapore’s United Overseas Bank.
   The yen stood at 120.29 against the dollar on Friday in Singapore, down from 119.39 a week ago.
   The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the US service sector expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in April.
   Australian dollar: The Australian dollar is expected to fall against the greenback next week after the Reserve Bank of Australia lowered expectations of an interest rate rise with a reduced inflation outlook, dealers said.
   The Aussie was trading at 82.01 US cents Friday, down from the previous week’s 82.42.
   New Zealand dollar: The New Zealand dollar ended the week at 73.46 US cents, down from 73.95 US cents the previous Friday.
   The kiwi lost ground against the greenback late in the week as more positive economic data from the US boosted the US dollar.
   Chinese yuan: The Chinese yuan ended at a new high of 7.7027 to the US dollar on the exchange-traded market last week, though the week’s trading was cut short due to long holiday.
   Hong Kong dollar: The US-pegged Hong Kong dollar ended the week at 7.821 compared to 7.822 a week earlier.
   Indonesian rupiah: The rupiah ended the week trading at 8,970/8,975 to the dollar compared 9,070/9,075 to the dollar a week earlier.
   Philippine peso: The Philippine peso ended the week unchanged at 47.460 to the dollar.
   Singapore dollar: The dollar ended the week at 1.5226 Singapore dollars from 1.5162 the previous week.
   South Korean won: The won closed at 927.60 won per dollar Friday, compared with 929.20 won a week earlier, as overseas investors are expected to increase purchase of the country’s stocks.
   Taiwan dollar: The Taiwan dollar ended the week at 33.280 to the US currency, slightly down from 33.265 a week earlier.
   Thai baht: The Thai unit closed Friday at 34.75-77 to the dollar, compared with 34.79-81 a week earlier.

US authorities have launched investigations into suspicious trading in Dow Jones Co before a bid for the company by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
   Dow Jones received a subpoena from the New York state attorney general’s office and an inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission, a company spokesman told the newspaper.
   ‘We will cooperate fully with the authorities investigating the matter,’ an unnamed spokesman for Dow Jones was quoted as saying.
   An official with News Corp. confirmed the company had received a subpoena from the attorney general and the SEC, saying the company was ready to cooperate ‘fully.’

Dividend warrants distribution
   NCC Bank Ltd.
   The bank has requested the concerned shareholders to collect their dividend warrants from May 7 to 16 from the share department of the bank’s head office, 7-8, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
   
   Transaction
   Standard Bank Limited
   Marina Mahabub Sumi, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported her intention to sell 3,000 shares out of her total holdings of 21,334 shares of the bank at prevailing
   market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days. While Moshfeque Mamun Rizvi another sponsors/
   directors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 5,000 shares out of his total holdings of 31,668 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Response to DSE query
   Prime Bank Ltd.
   In response to a DSE query regarding rumor on right issue, the bank has informed that they have neither discussed the issue at management level nor at board level.
   
   Trade
   BATBC
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from May 7 to 9. Trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date May 10.
   Square Textile
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from May 7 to 9. Trading of the shares will remain suspended on record date on May 10.
   Mercantile Bank Ltd.
   Trading of the shares of the bank will remain suspended on record date on 7.
   Uttara Bank Ltd.
   Trading of the shares of the bank will remain suspended during May September 7-9, 2007 for finalization of demat process. Trading of the shares of the bank will be held through CDBL with effect from May 10, 2007 as announced earlier.
   Source: DSE, CSE

Starbucks strikes Ethiopia deal
Starbucks and the Ethiopian government have reached an agreement which could help end a dispute over trademarks. The two sides agreed in principle to sign a licensing and marketing deal which recognises the importance of Ethiopia’s speciality coffee beans. Cultivation of the coffee bean first began in Ethiopia, and the country has been seeking to trademark its best-known coffee beans. However, US officials have argued that the plan is not economically viable. Ethiopia and UK charity Oxfam claimed Starbucks was attempting to block plans by the African nation to trademark its Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe coffee beans.
— BBC

Philips no easy target for investors: CEO
The chief executive of Dutch group Philips has held talks with financial investors but believes the TVs-to-hospital equipment maker would not be an easy target, he told a German newspaper. ‘I have spoken several times with financial investors,’ Gerard Kleisterlee told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published on Saturday, when asked whether the 35 billion-euro ($48 billion) market cap was low enough to attract investors. Asked whether financial investors could be interested in breaking up the group and selling off the pieces, he answered: ‘Believe me, it’s not that easy.’ ‘Whether it is a computer tomograph or a light bulb — all our products live from our strong brand, from our research and distribution. You cannot simply strip out parts and believe they sell themselves just as well elsewhere,’ he added.
— Reuters/bdnews24.com