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The government is not in a position to raise fuel prices though it is necessary to do so for adjusting the local prices with the surging oil prices in the international market, said the finance and planning adviser, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, at a seminar on Tuesday.
   Experts there underlined the urgent need for increasing the use of natural gas to decrease import of petroleum products and for helping local companies to increase the exploration of oil and gas.
   They also proposed upward adjustment of fuel prices to make up for losses incurred by state agencies and provide the poor and vulnerable groups, such as farmers, with targeted subsidies to protect them from fuel price-hikes.
   ‘We need to consider this [price adjustment] but everything desirable is not feasible. I understand the need for price adjustment and also targeted subsidies,’ said the adviser. The Media Foundation for Trade and Development and the Global Bangla Foundation jointly organised the roundtable on ‘Surging Oil Price and Need for a Global Mitigation Fund’ at the National Press Club.
   The country director of the Asian Development Bank, Hua Du, also cautioned against price adjustment at the moment to save ‘the patient [economy] injured by the floods and the cyclone’.
   However the discussants, demanding the mitigation fund for helping developing countries such as Bangladesh, expressed their doubts about the feasibility of the mitigation fund in view of global politics.
   ‘We are not in a position to influence global governance and creation of such a fund,’ said economist Sajjad Zahir, and former commerce secretary Suhel Ahmed citied the example of the failure of the Common Fund for Commodities.
   ‘Everybody is too realistic to support the mitigation fund, but we have to pursue such a fund,’ said journalist Sadeq Khan while presiding over the session.
   The finance adviser urged the country’s media to continue to raise the demand for the Global Mitigation Fund in collaboration with international media so that the poorer countries can get assistance in this regard.
   Energy expert Nurul Islam and former secretary Siddiqur Rahman Chowdhury stressed the need for empowering local companies to explore for oil and gas for the sake of the country’s energy security.
   Wali Bhuiyan, president-designate of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, referred to the losses incurred by the state-owned enterprises and said the government should not be in business.
   Economist Mahbub Ullah, moderator of the session, called for reviewal of the production sharing contracts with the international oil companies, and asked, ‘Why are we giving so many concessions to them?’
   The finance adviser replied that it would be dangerous for the country to do so unless the contracts contain the clause of reviewal of the contracts.

The visiting Iranian trade delegation, led by Gholam Hossein Shafeai, on Tuesday called on the industries adviser, Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury, at her textile and jute ministry’s secretariat office in the city.
   During the meeting, they discussed the ways of boosting economic relations and possibility of cooperation in different fields between the two countries, an official handout said.
   The delegation told the adviser that there were lot of possibilities for expansion of trade and business between Bangladesh and Iran.
   It further said both the countries could be benefited in this regard.
   Gholam Hossein Shafeai, who is also president of the Mashad Chamber of Commerce, offered to provide training facilities to the Bangladeshi labour to make them skill industrial workers.
   The delegation also expressed their keen interest to provide cooperation in the fields of agri-product, processing, heavy and light transports sector.
   They also offered tax-free trade and business in the interest of Bangladeshi goods exporting to the middle-eastern Asian countries through exporting processing zone of Khorasan province of Iran.
   The adviser urged the Iranian trade delegation to import more jute and jute goods from Bangladesh. She also sought cooperation from the delegation in fulfilling the demand of fertilisers.
   Geeteara assured the delegation of considering their proposals with significance.
   The Iranian ambassador to Bangladesh, Hassan Fwiazandes, was present on the occasion.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has amended the rules for omnibus accounts with a provision of transferring shares to individual accounts within eight days of the execution of trade.
   ‘We have amended the rules to bring more transparency in the stock market transaction to prevent hideout of investors under omnibus accounts,’ said Farhad Ahmed, executive director of the SEC, on Tuesday.
   He said while making the amendment, the commission also kept in mind check of money laundering and terrorist financing.
   Under an omnibus account, which is managed by merchant banks, a number of investors can take part in the transaction, he added.
   The amended rules would make clear the identity and transaction volume of individual investors of the omnibus account, said the SEC executive director.
   The amended rules will also be applicable for the foreign port folio managers, he said.
   He said the commission brought the changes as merchant banks used to take long time in transferring shares to individual accounts which comprise the omnibus account. Even all the participating investors under an omnibus account might not have individual accounts, he said.
   ‘To this effect, the commission at a meeting Tuesday amended the SEC (Merchant Banker and Portfolio Manger) Rules-1996 and the SEC (Security Custodial Services) Rules-2003,’ said the SEC official.
   The SEC at the meeting also approved the application of Trust Bank for merchant banking license.
   ‘Under the license the bank will perform merchant banking activities as issue manger, underwriter and portfolio manger,’ said Farhad Ahmed.
   Meanwhile, the SEC on Tuesday confiscated Tk 8.40 lakh initial public offering applications money as the commission did not found owners of 168 beneficiary owners’ accounts through which the investors applied for IPO of Progressive Life Insurance.
   ‘We took special measures for some dubious IPO applications in the refund warrant giving process and found that refund warrants of 168 BO accounts remained unclaimed,’ said Farhad Ahmed.
   ‘The Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange will get the
   money got through the confiscation for their investors’ protection funds on equal basis,’ he added.

Nepal has agreed in principle to issue three-year business visas to businessmen of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation member countries engaged in travel trade with Nepal.
   The plan was approved when the BIMSTEC regional agreement on the Business Visa Card was being drafted, The Kathmandu Post reported Tuesday.
   ‘Nepal is ready to go ahead with the long-promised facility, which was sought to promote trade, tourism and investment in the bloc,’ said a senior government official.
   However, the scheme would be enforced only after the bloc approved the regional agreement drafted in this connection, he added.
   In order to push for the finalization and an early adoption of the draft agreement, senior officials from BIMSTEC countries including Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Myanmar are convening in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
   ‘The BIMSTEC Business Visa will remain effective for three years, and allow the visa holder to travel to any BIMSTEC member country and stay there for 90 days at a time,’ he said.
   Likewise, it has proposed various modalities for operationalising the BIMSTEC Travel Card to government officials, tourists and other visitors.
   It has also proposed various ways to facilitate travel for tourists within the bloc. BIMSTEC is looking at moving towards a common visa regime, which would allow travelers to visit any BIMSTEC country with a single regional visa, said the report. BIMSTEC was set up in June 1997 to foster socio-economic cooperation among Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Myanmar was admitted as a full member in December 1997. Bhutan and Nepal were admitted in 2004.

India’s banking system shows no real sign of mortgage-linked problems which have hit the United States, central bank governor YV Reddy said Tuesday.
   ‘Our banks with an overseas presence have confirmed that they have insignificant exposure to the US sub-prime mortgage market,’ the head of the Reserve Bank of India told a banking conference.
   Reddy said the Indian system did not show systemic implications of solvency or liquidity risks despite reports of a rise of non-performing assets in consumer credit, housing and real estate in a few banks.
   ‘The Indian banking system may not invite disturbances akin to sub-prime. The initial exposure of most banks to the sensitive sectors has been very modest. Pre-emptive steps have also been taken to address evolving monetary and credit environment,’ he said.
   This year the reserve bank has hiked the amount of cash banks must place in reserve four times — to 7.5 per cent from 5.5 — to control money supply growth and liquidity, which have risen due to strong capital inflows.
   Since July, Indian shares have soared nearly 32 per cent led by overseas investments which are in excess of 16 billion dollars, banking on India’s economic growth story.
   Some analysts and fund managers believe that Indian markets are showing signs of decoupling from the US-linked sub-prime crisis.
   India has seen average annual growth of 8.5 per cent in the past four years, rising by a surprise 9.3 per cent in the first quarter ending June.
   The central bank governor however warned that India could not be immune to global developments.
   ‘We are monitoring the process of restoration of full normalcy in global financial markets and the possible spill over to the real sector economy after accounting for the possible extent of decoupling,’ Reddy said.
   The RBI would continue to focus on liquidity as a key issue, as the recent turbulence in the global markets was characterised by liquidity concerns.
   In the US, the housing market slumped since early 2006, triggering multi-billion dollars losses at major investment and commercial banks in recent months including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch.

Germany announced to provide in advance its financial commitment of 46 million euro for the fiscal 2008-09 for earlier implementation of planed development projects in Bangladesh.
   The decision was made at the annual consultation of two countries concluded in the capital Tuesday. This measure has been taken as a further expression of support of the German government for the democratic reform efforts of the interim government, said a release of the German embassy Wednesday.
   Joint secretary of economic relations division of the ministry of finance Aslam Iqbal led the Bangladesh delegation while the German delegation was headed by Udo Weber, deputy head of division for Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan at the federal ministry for economic co-operation and development in the two-day annual Bangladesh-German governmental consultations on bilateral development cooperation.
   The delegations reviewed the implementation progress of German funded projects in Bangladesh in power, energy, local governance, rural infrastructure and empowerment of women.
   They also discussed future German assistance for the country in various sectors.
   The next governmental negotiations between the two countries will take place in Dhaka in 2008.
   The consultations concluded with both sides expressing the confidence that development cooperation between the countries would grow further in the coming days.

Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday approved an increase in the minimum wage, handing out raises of between 1.6 and 3.8 per cent to workers around the country.
   Thailand’s minimum wage follows a scale that reflects the cost of living in different parts of the country. Starting January 1, the minimum wage in Bangkok and five other provinces will increase by three baht to 194 baht ($5.74) a day, up 1.6 per cent, the cabinet said in a statement.

Twenty-five families each have been provided with four milch cows, cow shed and bio-gas plant under a pilot project in the monga-prone areas in Gaibandha.
   The army chief, Lt General Moeen U Ahmed, who had conceived the integrated small milk farm project, inaugurated it at Shahpara union on Tuesday.
   Each family was provided with small milk farm comprising four improved variety cows, a cow shed and bio-as plant capable of producing two cubic meter gas every day.
   Armed forces gave Tk 1 lakh, local administration and individuals Tk 1.21 lakh, and NGOs provided the rest Tk 79,000 — in total Tk 3 lakh — for each family as loan at four per cent simple interest, repayable in five years on monthly instalments. Each farm will be covered by insurance.

Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Tuesday that it aimed to be the world’s first manufacturer to open an aircraft-related production plant in Vietnam with a new facility due to open next year.
   The production plant, which is due to open in Hanoi in January, will employ up to about 200 people when production picks up assembling flaps for the Boeing 737, a company statement said.
   It said the move was in response to growing price competition, praising Vietnam’s ‘diligent labour force, robust economy, stable public security and the presence of overseas transport routes.’
   Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it would be ‘the first manufacturer in the world to locate its aircraft-related production facility in Vietnam.’

SriLankan Airlines wants a new management contract to be signed soon with Dubai-owned Emirates, chief executive Peter Hill said Tuesday, forecasting a ‘tough’ year for the island’s carrier.
   The Colombo government is holding another meeting on January 8 with Emirates to discuss the renewal of the 10-year management contract of SriLankan Airlines that runs out next March, an airline official said.
   ‘The negotiations between the government and Emirates have been going on for
   18 months. I would have liked to have seen them resolved
   by now,’ Hill admitted to reporters in New Delhi.
   The Sri Lankan national carrier, in which Emirates holds a 43.6 per cent stake, needs a decision to push ahead with its business plans, he said.
   Hill was in the Indian capital to announce that SriLankan Airlines had become the first foreign carrier to operate 100 flights a week to India.
   SriLankan Airlines, formerly known as Air Lanka, entered into the strategic partnership with Emirates in 1998 in which the Colombo government retained a majority stake, but gave full power to Emirates to run the airline.
   Media reports say the
   Sri Lankan government wants a bigger role in managing the
   carrier and that Emirates
   opposes such a move.
   The reports have also said that the government has complained the deal is ‘heavily tilted’ financially in favour of Emirates.
   Hill declined to comment on the reports.
   He said he expected the airline’s profits this year would be better than in 2006-07.
   But he added it would still ‘be a tough year’ for the airline with the escalation in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict deterring foreign tourists and fuel costs nearly one-third higher than expected.
   SriLankan Airlines Group posted a post-tax profit of 862.18 million Sri Lankan rupees ($7.8m) for the financial year to March 31, 2007, down 50 per cent from the previous year.

Thai Airways International said Tuesday its net profit dropped nearly 30 per cent in the fiscal year to September 2007 due to weaker sales of aircraft and a fall in foreign currency gains.
   Net profit totaled 6.34 billion baht ($187m), down 29.5 per cent year-on-year with pre-tax profit falling 28.6 per cent to 9.14 billion baht, the flag carrier said.
   Thai Airways said weaker profits were mainly due to technical factors such as sluggish aircraft sales and a fall in foreign currency gains.
   ‘We had one-off factors that pressured our profits. But overall our performance was better than last year,’ a company official said, adding Thai Airways filled 77 per cent of seats, the highest in recent years.
   The airline carried about 20 million passengers during the year, up three per cent year-on-year, said the official, who declined to be named.
   Sales rose 7.5 per cent to a record 192.03 billion baht, the company said, adding some 93 per cent of its revenue came from international flights.
   Flights from Bangkok to major European cities and those from the Thai capital to New Delhi, as well as to Tokyo, were among the most profitable routes during the year, he said.
   Operating costs rose 5.3 per cent to 179.2 billion baht, and jet fuel costs alone accounted for 33 percent of its total operation expenses.

Sultana Afroze, economic counselor at the Bangladesh embassy in Rome, recently met with the leaders of the Italy-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
   The IBCCI president, HM Hakim Ali, had a meeting with the economic counselor on November 18 at its office, said a press release.

The Nestle Bangladesh Limited has launched its new consumer products, the MAGGI healthy soup, recently.
   This is a special kind of soup with its low fat and low cholesterol contents, which are even less than those in half a teaspoon of soyabean oil (1/2 tea-spoon = 2.3 grams), said a press release.

Economic globalisation is increasingly being matched by greater antitrust enforcement as more nations scrutinise mergers and fight price-fixing.
   For corporations it can mean more paperwork to complete mergers, as in the case of Google, which filed with Australia, Brazil, Europe and the United States to buy DoubleClick. Australia and Brazil have approved the deal while Europe and the United States are still considering it.
   And there are more venues to battle rivals. Advanced Micro Devices failed to convince Washington to probe Intel for allegedly offering discounts to computer makers to keep them from using AMD processor chips. But Japan, South Korea and European Union have opened investigations.
   Another consequence is that firms caught fixing prices face prosecution in more jurisdictions.
   While the United States has encouraged other countries to create competition watchdogs, there are also worries in US antitrust circles as the number of agencies grows.
   India’s new Competition Act, which has not yet been implemented, has raised eyebrows in Washington because of its low threshold for claiming jurisdiction on mergers. Further, approval for even non-controversial deals could take 210 days.
   And there is some fear in the United States that China will use its new law, which is expected to go into force next year, to protect domestic industry. ‘They could enforce it in a perfectly professional and responsible way, or they could really play games with it,’ said Barry Hawk, director of the Fordham Competition Law Institute.
   The first US federal legislation came in 1890, when the Congress got fearful of corporate power and passed the Sherman Act which was used to break up the Standard Oil trust in 1911.
   By 1960, just Australia, Britain, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Norway and the United States had antitrust legislation, and most failed to enforce their laws.
   ‘The United States had the only robust antitrust enforcement for many years,’ said Eleanor Fox, who teaches at the New York University School of Law.
   But the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, and former Russian satellites in the process of creating market economies adopted antitrust laws on the advice of Washington and Western Europe.
   ‘They often did it on faith. They adopted it without knowing how to apply it,’ said Fox. ‘The laws were to contain the greed that they thought would come with capitalism.’
   Today, about 100 nations monitor corporations to guard against monopolies and price-fixing, antitrust experts say.
   While some antitrust agencies are hobbled by little enforcement clout, many are not. South Africa’s Competition Tribunal took on steel giant ArcelorMittal SA, fining it $95 million dollars in September for ‘excessive prices.’
   Brazil which passed its first antitrust law in 1938 but had no enforcement until 1994, refrains from scrutinizing mergers like Google’s purchase of DoubleClick.
   ‘If the US or EU is handling a merger, Brazil will let it go,’ said Fabio Nusdeo, who teaches antitrust in Sao Paulo.
   But the state oil company Petrobras has been sued for requiring distributors to buy more fuel than they can sell and for summarily dismissing them, said Nusdeo.
   More antitrust agencies means international scrutiny for mergers that was unheard of even 20 years ago. ‘Certainly I am not aware of any cases where you had merger review in other countries until the late 1980s and early 1990s,’ said Bill Kolasky, a former deputy assistant attorney general for international enforcement.
   And antitrust agencies don’t always agree. Europe blocked GE’s purchase of Honeywell in 2001 after approval in the United States.
   ‘Corporations are very unhappy about the proliferation of antitrust,’ said Doug Rosenthal, a partner at Constantine Cannon who once filed merger papers in 15 jurisdictions.
   Accounting firms Ernst and Young, and KPMG Peat Marwick were surprised to get notices from Canada and Australia seeking to examine their proposed merger. They abandoned their plans in 1998, citing lengthy regulatory reviews.
   Rival auditors Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand also faced substantial reviews in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia before merging that same year, said Kolasky.
   ‘I think since then a lot of the other jurisdictions have become more active. You do have more substantive reviews. Japan is probably one of the best examples of that,’ he said.
   South Korea has been accused of protecting domestic firms. But it has also actively fought price-fixing, as has Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union and Japan, said Scott Hammond, a US deputy assistant attorney general, who backs a strategy of enticing firms to confess to price-fixing to avoid penalties.
   Hammond said he had been told that Japanese companies would never implicate other firms, that it was culturally unthinkable. But, he said, it had been a success. ‘If you’re talking about saving your own skin, you’d be surprised what compromises you’ll make,’ he said.

South Korea’s trade minister said Tuesday that the United States could lose out on a ‘golden opportunity’ to secure a firm bridgehead in the Korean market if it fails to ratify a free trade pact.
   Kim Jong-Hoon also told US businessmen that the failure by either country’s legislature to ratify the pact may have ‘negative repercussions’ on relations.
   The deal, signed by the two countries on June 30, awaits approval by both legislatures. The Democrat-led US Congress has indicated it may not approve the deal.
   A failure of ratification may deprive Washington of ‘the golden opportunity to secure a firm position in the Korean market’ ahead of the European Union, Canada and China, Kim said, according to Yonhap news agency.
   ‘It would also undermine US leadership and credibility in promoting open markets and fair competition across the globe,’ he said.
   Kim admitted that South Korea’s imports restrictions on beef and cars have been ‘key obstacles’ for US lawmakers to ratify the pact.
   South Korea last year ended its total US beef ban imposed due to concerns over mad cow disease and allowed some imports. Washington wants Seoul to open its market wider.
   ‘We should be mindful not to sacrifice the Korea-US FTA as a whole to cater to interests of certain sector,’ Kim said, adding South Korea would try to resolve the beef issue soon.
   Allegations that the Korean auto market is inaccessible are ‘simply not true,’ he added.
   South Korea is the US’s seventh-largest trade partner, with commerce between the two countries last year worth 78 billion dollars. Some studies show this could rise by up to 20 billion dollars in coming years under a free trade regime.

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday the future looked bright for emerging markets like India, saying their rapid growth was good news for the world economy as a whole.
   Trichet, speaking at a banking conference in India’s financial capital Mumbai, also said growth in India and other emerging economies would help fuel demand for goods and services from eurozone countries.
   ‘The present looks promising but the future is even brighter. The projection for long-term growth tells us that emerging markets are likely to become weightier in the world economy,’ he said.
   ‘The world economy may be better able to rely on the dynamism of these economies, in particular should growth in other regions lose some momentum.’
   Trichet said emerging economies had grown at an average of more than seven per cent a year over the past six years. The Indian economy is growing at an annual rate of about nine per cent.
   ‘Integration of India into the global markets has been rapid,’ Trichet told banking executives, calling it a ‘young giant which is still growing.’
   He noted that India’s share of world exports of goods and services stood at 1.5 per cent in 2006 — triple the 0.5 per cent share it had about a decade ago.
   ‘Vigorous growth in the emerging markets increases the demand for the goods and services where the euro area has competitive advantages,’ he said.
   Trichet’s comments came as the European Union said it was seeking fast agreement on a free trade deal with India ahead of a summit in New Delhi on Friday.
   The ECB chief also expressed approval for India’s recent response to rising capital inflows.
   Its stock market regulator moved last month to limit the anonymous buying of shares by foreign investors, with participatory notes that allow funds to buy shares without revealing their identity to be phased out within 18 months.
   Indian markets have risen over 39 per cent this year on strong overseas fund flows of more than 16 billion dollars for the year, which has sent the rupee soaring against the dollar.

European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos said Monday that the ECB faced an uncomfortable combination of rising inflation and slower growth in the months ahead.
   ‘The current conjuncture seems to point to an uncomfortable, though temporary, combination of higher inflation and somewhat slower economic growth in the coming months,’ Papademos said in a speech posted on the ECB website.
   ‘Inflation risks and financial market volatility confront us with significant challenges,’ he warned in an address delivered in the Cypriot capital Nicosia.
   ‘The ongoing process of risk reappraisal and re-pricing in financial markets could be more protracted than previously expected and may have a broader impact on financial markets and the economy,’ Papademos said.
   Effects from a home loan crisis in the United States might slow growth for some time in the eurozone, while inflation was being fueled by higher prices for oil and food items such as milk and butter.
   Inflation shot to 2.6 per cent in October, well above the ECB target of close to but below 2.0 per cent.
   Papademos stressed that maintaining price stability was the central bank’s primary mandate and said it was prepared to take action to ensure that inflation did not spiral out of control.
   The comments suggested the bank could raise interest rates despite the danger of the euro’s rise against other major currencies, though most economists do not expect this to happen.
   The ECB is to announce its next decision on interest rates on December 6.

The BRAC Bank Limited has recently signed a nationwide collection service agreement with the Unilever Bangladesh Limited.
   Under this agreement, BRAC Bank will collect the payment of the distributors of the Unilever through its own branch network and also through its correspondent bank’s branch network through out the country.
   Imran Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer of BRAC Bank, and Rakesh Mohan, chairman and managing director of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, inked the deal on behalf of their respective organisations, said a press release.
   Kaiser Tamiz Amin, deputy managing director and chief operation officer, Khwaja Shahriar, head of corporate banking, of BRAC Bank, and Mahtabuddin Ahmed, finance director of Unilever Bangladesh, were present at the signing function.

The Apollo Hospitals Dhaka recently signed a corporate agreement with the embassy of the DPR Korea in Dhaka to provide medical services and special corporate benefits to their staff.
   Dr Edwin Lee Hansen, chief executive officer of the Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, and Kim Chol Jin, counselor from embassy of the DPR Korea in Dhaka, signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations, said a press release.
   Senior executives from both sides were also present at the signing ceremony.

German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck defended the strong euro in a newspaper interview published Tuesday, while acknowledging it was in part responsible for darkening economic prospects.
   ‘No one has an interest in a weak euro,’ Steinbrueck told the business daily Handelsblatt as the euro remained over 1.48 dollars, causing other German economic leaders to express their concern.
   ‘Over the course of the past few months, the German economy has held up well against the rise of the euro’ versus the dollar, yen and yuan, the finance minister noted.
   On Monday, Walther Otremba, deputy economy minister, had warned that Berlin might have to revise its forecast for the eurozone’s biggest economy due to the impact of the strong euro on exports, its main growth engine.
   But Steinbrueck told Handelsblatt: ‘It is much too early to give concrete indications’ and ruled out changes to the 2008 forecast before the end of January.
   The finance minister acknowledged however that while he remained ‘naturally’ in favour of a strong euro, it was one reason why Germany growth prospects have dimmed.
   ‘The US financial crisis, which is still far from over and which could affect other financial markets, is partly responsible’ as well, he said.
   ‘Then there is the price of oil, even if its effect on inflation is in part compensated for by the high rate of the euro. Finally, the euro has risen higher and faster than expected,’ Steinbrueck said.
   His comments came four days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the euro’s rise ‘naturally poses problems’ for German exporters, a piller of the national economy.
   Several industrialists, including Airbus chief executive Thomas Enders have rung alarm bells as the stronger single currency makes their products more expensive on international markets.
   But Steinbrueck warned Tuesday that ‘we should be careful not to announce the next recession the day after economic euphoria,’ a reference to a long-awaited rebound by the German economy in 2006 and early 2007.
   Authorities expect growth of 2.4 per cent for all of this year, following an expansion in 2006 of 2.9 per cent.
   Economic activity is forecast to weaken in 2008 however, with the economy tipped to grow just 2.0 per cent.

European and Asian stock markets mostly fell Tuesday after fresh worries about the fallout from the US sub-prime loan crisis battered Wall Street overnight, dealers said.
   ‘Markets are generally volatile at the moment,’ a Paris dealer noted.
   London’s FTSE 100 index of leading companies dropped 0.39 per cent to 6,156.40 points in late morning trade. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.54 per cent to 7,526.27 points and in Paris the CAC 40 shed 0.26 per cent to 5,444.20 nearing the half-way mark.
   The European single currency stood at 1.4850 dollars.
   In London, Britain’s third biggest bank Barclays jumped 4.12 per cent to 517.5 pence after saying it expects in-line annual earnings, as robust growth in retail and business services offsets losses caused by the US housing crisis.
   Earlier this month, Barclays announced hefty losses linked to the sub-prime mortgage debacle and consequent global credit crunch.
   Barclays said its investment arm, Barclays Capital, took a 1.3 billion pounds ($2.7b) hit between the start of July and end of October but the liability was far less than had been feared by analysts.
   Meanwhile Northern Rock, the embattled British lender set to be saved by British tycoon Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, gained 4.81 per cent to 115.4 pence.
   The stock had jumped by more than 57 per cent at one point on Monday, before ending with a gain of 28.17 per cent to 110.10 pence.
   In Asia on Tuesday, investors dumped shares as initial optimism about the outlook for the US holiday shopping season gave way to fresh jitters about the impact of recent credit market turmoil on major US banks.
   Hong Kong shed 1.5 per cent, Shanghai lost 2.0 per cent, Sydney gave up 0.6 per cent, Singapore fell by 1.5 per cent and Taipei dropped 1.8 per cent
   Major markets had been as much as three per cent in the red in early deals after Wall Street’s Dow Jones index lost 1.8 per cent on Monday.
   ‘The market is full of uncertainty, which investors hate most,’ said Park Hyoung-Ryol, a fund manager for Consus Asset Management in Seoul.
   ‘There might be additional sub-prime loan-related bombs from the US financial sector and the stock market will take a hit every time,’ said Park.
   Bucking the trend, Tokyo was up 0.6 per cent and Seoul added 0.2 per cent as news of a 7.5 billion dollar investment in Citigroup by the Abu Dhabi government helped to ease some concerns about the credit market turmoil.
   ‘The news on Citigroup, one of the most badly hit by the sub-prime mess, helped soothe the market to some extent,’ said NTT Smart Trade director Takashi Kudo in Tokyo.
   Media reports had earlier said Citigroup was planning its second round of ‘large-scale’ layoffs in under 12 months.
   Meanwhile British bank HSBC announced it was readying up to 35 billion dollars to bail out two funds it manages.
   There are fears still more bad news could come from global banks on their exposure to US sub-prime loans to risky American homebuyers amid a wave of mortgage defaults, said Matthew Kwok at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.
   ‘It’s hard to tell when the market will end the correction as overseas markets have not yet stabilised,’ he said.

Citigroup, America’s second biggest banking group by market worth, is planning ‘large’ job cuts just seven months after it announced a mass layoff of 17,000 employees, a media report said Monday.
   The CNBC business television channel said Citigroup, which has seen its finances stretched by multibillion dollar write-offs largely tied to mortgage investments, was preparing a second round of big layoffs.
   Citing people with knowledge of the matter, CNBC said the total number of employees affected could be as high as 45,000. Citigroup currently employs 275,000 staff, according to its website. A Citigroup spokesman said the bank was assessing ways to cut costs.
   ‘We are engaged in a planning process in anticipation of our new CEO and our business heads are planning ways in which we can be more efficient and cost effective to position our businesses in line with economic realities. Any reports on specific numbers are not factual,’ the Citigroup spokesman told AFP.
   The banking giant is reeling from its exposure to the US housing slump and a related credit squeeze.
   The banking behemoth is also searching for a new chief executive officer after former CEO Charles Prince stepped down on November 5 as Citigroup revealed it was facing likely investment write-offs of between eight and 11 billion dollars.

The dollar rebounded against the yen on Tuesday as news of a big investment in US banking giant Citigroup by the Abu Dhabi government eased credit market worries, dealers said.
   The euro, while also falling against the dollar, won support from a key indicator of German business confidence that came in well above forecasts.
   The euro dropped to 1.4857 dollars from 1.4872 late Monday in New York. On Friday, the European single currency hit a record 1.4967 dollars. On Tuesday, the dollar rose to 108.19 yen, as it rallied away from a two-year low.
   Dealers said news that a United Arab Emirates investment fund would buy 4.9 per cent of the US banking giant revived interest in risky ‘carry trades’ that favour high-yielding currencies over low-return ones such as the yen.
   They said the move helped to calm jitters about the global credit squeeze which had been stoked Monday by global banking giant HSBC’s announcement that it would spend 35 billion dollars to bail out two funds it manages.
   In Europe, dealers digested data that showed German business confidence picked up surprisingly in November as companies in the eurozone’s biggest economy took a brighter view of their current prospects, bucking a six-month losing streak.
   The closely watched business climate index, calculated each month by the Munich-based economic research institute Ifo, rose to 104.2 points from 103.9 points in October.
   ‘November’s rise in the German Ifo index provides some encouragement that activity is not slowing too sharply, for now at least,’ said Jennifer McKeown at Capital Economics.
   Analysts continued Tuesday to warn of possible further woes for global markets as they grapple with the fallout from the US subprime home loan crisis.
   ‘The financial markets are not out of the woods yet,’ said David Mann, currency strategist at Standard Chartered Bank.
   ‘There are still some pressures on the dollar which are linked to the US market.’
   The market was looking to US existing home sales data due out Wednesday and new home sales figures set for Thursday for fresh clues on the extent of the US housing slump.
   Market participants were also looking ahead to Wednesday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book economic report for fresh leads on whether the US central bank will cut interest rates at its December 11 meeting, dealers said.
   In European trade Tuesday, the euro changed hands at 1.4857 dollars, against 1.4872 late on Monday, at 160.72 yen (159.72), 0.7180 pounds (0.7179) and 1.6337 Swiss francs (1.6312).
   The dollar stood at 108.19 yen (107.40) and 1.0996 Swiss francs (1.0967).
   The pound was at 2.0694 dollars (2.0710).
   In London, the price of gold fell to 822.85 dollars per ounce from 830 dollars late on Monday.

Transaction
   UCB
   Yunus Ahmed, and Kaiser Ahmed both the sponsors/directors of the bank, have reported their intention to sell 5,086 and 13,126 shares out of their total holdings of 69,713 and 26,126 shares of the bank respectively at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Islami Bank
   Muhammad Mosharraf Hossain, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 160 shares out of his total holdings of 810 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Fareast Islami Life Insurance Co Ltd
   Mohammed Fakrul Islam, sponsor/director of the company, has reported its intention to buy 20,000 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Social Investment Bank
   Kamaluddin Ahmed, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 10,000 shares out of his total holdings of 1,86,500 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Spot Trade
   Padma Printers
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market from November 28 to December 5, as book closure will start from December 7.
   GMG Ind Corp
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market from November 28 to December 5 as book closure will start from December 8.
   
   Dhaka Fisheries
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market from November 28 to 29 as book closure will start from December 3.
   
   Northern Jute
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market from November 28 to December 5 as book closure will start from December 9.
   
   Monno Ceramic
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market with cum benefit from November 28 to 29 as book closure will start from December 3.
   
   Monno Jutex
   Trading of the shares of the company will also be allowed in spot market with cum benefit from November 28 to 29 as book closure will start from December 3.
   
   Bata Shoe
   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 November 28 to December 2. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on record date December 3.
   
   Dividend
   Yousuf Flour
   The board of directors has recommended 3 per cent stock dividend for the year 2006-2007. The date of the AGM is on December 19 at 11:00am at the registered office of the company at Purana Paltan Lane in Dhaka. Book closure is from December 4 to 19.
   
   Profit
   Olympic Industries
   As per audited accounts as on June 30, 2007, the company has reported net profit of Tk 32.57 m with earning per share of Tk 18.84.
   
   Loss
   Tripti Industries
   As per audited accounts for the period of 10 months that ended on June 30, 2007, the company has reported net loss of Tk 17.94m with EPS of Tk 11.63. Accumulated loss of the company was Tk 254.53 m as on June 30, 2007.
   
   Response to a DSE query
   AB Bank
   In response to a DSE query regarding joint venture agreement of AB Bank Ltd with Euronet and Networld Bangladesh Ltd, the bank has further informed that the total amount of investment for the proposed project will be about $ 12.0 million or Tk 81.60 crore approximately at the initial stage. Source of financing the project comprises of Equity $ 4.0 million and Debt $ 8.0 million respectively. Shareholding pattern will be- AB Bank Ltd 30 per cent, Euronet 10 per cent, Networld 11 per cent, and the rest 49 per cent, will be offered for subscription by other commercial banks in Bangladesh.
   Source: DSE, CSE

Temasek sells 1.08b BoC shares
Singapore’s state-linked investment firm Temasek Holdings said Tuesday it had sold 1.08 billion shares in Bank of China. Temasek said it had made the sale in order to rebalance its portfolio. ‘We review our portfolio from time to time and may rebalance it against new opportunities,’ said Yap Chwee Mein, Temasek’s managing director of investment, in a statement. ‘As part of our active portfolio management, we have successfully placed out a tranche of 1.08 billion BoC shares which we had subscribed to at the time of the bank’s initial public offering,’ she said. ‘We remain optimistic on China’s long-term potential.’ Prior to the sale, Temasek had 11.792 billion H-shares, or about 15.5 per cent of the bank’s 76 billion issued Hong Kong shares, according to the Hong Kong exchange’s website. The firm said it had reduced its overall holdings in BoC shares from 4.6 per cent to 4.13 per cent.
— AFP

Indonesia cuts 2008 growth forecast
The Indonesian government on Tuesday cut its 2008 economic growth forecast after reviewing the impact of record oil prices, finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said. It now forecasts growth of 6.4 per cent to 6.7 per cent compared with an earlier target of 6.8 per cent. If the average oil price reaches 100 dollars per barrel in 2008, compared to the previous estimate of 60 dollars, there will be some major changes in the state budget as well, Mulyani said. It could see the budget deficit widen to 1.8 per cent of gross domestic product, against 1.7 per cent in the previous forecast. The government has also revised other economic assumptions for the 2008 budget, including an average interest rate of 8.5 per cent in 2008, against a previous forecast of 7.5 per cent. The rupiah-dollar exchange rate was expected to average 9,200 rupiah, against 9,100 rupiah previously, Mulyani said.
— AFP