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The government has fixed the tariff at $7.5-$22.5, based on the types and sizes, for handling a container by the one of the quay gantry cranes at Chittagong Port, nearly two years after the installation of the cranes.
   It has also increased the tariffs of various services in the port by 40 to 62 per cent to earn more revenue for the government as well as to match the tariffs with the international ones.
   Shipping ministry sources said the finance ministry on October 2 approved the new and revised rates which were earlier proposed by the Chittagong Port Authority.
   The shipping ministry forwarded the approved rates to the CPA in the first week of October to enable it to issue a circular in this regard before the end of this month.
   ‘We have instructed the CPA to take necessary steps to circulate the new rates by the end of this month,’ said an official of the shipping ministry on Tuesday. The port of Chittagong is the country’s premier seaport, handling more than 80 per cent of the total exports and imports. In the 2006-07 fiscal year the port handled around 9.13 lakh containers.
   According to the approved rates, the Chittagong Port Authority will charge $15 and $7.50 respectively for a loaded and an empty 20-foot-long container and $22.50 and $11.25 respectively for a loaded and an empty 40-foot-long container if the shippers avail themselves of the gantry cranes for container handling.
   The government installed four sophisticated gantry cranes at the Chittagong Container Terminal in January last year to speed up the container handling process but could not fix the tariffs because of the dispute over rates with the port’s users.
   Shipping ministry officials said the new rates were fixed in consultation with the port’s users.
   The finance ministry said the tariffs would be applicable to all vessels berthing at the CCT or other jetties where quay gantry cranes have been installed.
   The tariffs only cover container handling from vessel to hook point of the coaster or barge and vice versa, according to the finance ministry’s written order.
   In the case of delivery of import containers to barge or coaster via jetty or receiving from barge or coaster for subsequent shipment, 50 per cent of this tariff will be have to be paid separately by the shipping line or C&F agent or requesting party, said sources.
   ‘For open top, flat side open container, the charges shall be double of the rates shown,’ said the finance ministry.
   On the other hand, the port has also revised the tariffs of some services related to use of tugs and increased the rate above 40 per cent.
   The tariffs to be paid to tugs for towing sea-going vessels were increased to $110-$158 for the vessels ranging between 200 and 1,000 gross registered tonnage, $220-$316 for vessels over 1,000 GRT and up to 5,000 GRT, and $440-$632 for vessels above 5,000 GRT.
   For hiring a tug for any other purpose, the hourly rate will be $110-$158, and for working outside the port the hourly tariff will be $110-$316.
   The CPA will charge $1.5 for supplying 1,000 litres to the ships through pipes, which is 62 per cent higher than the existing rate, and $6.40 for 1,000 litres, up by 46 per cent from the existing rate of $3.42, if the water is supplied by means of water-boat or barge.
   For reefer container service, however, the government has approved a flat rate $9 in place of $11 for supply of electricity and related services.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday fined directors of three companies Tk 12 lakh for violating securities laws, reported the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s official website.
   The SEC fined the managing director of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Deokinandan Kejriwal, and its directors Kanchan Kejriwal, Kanchan Devi Kejriwal, Bhagwati Kejriwal, Uttam Kejriwal and Ashok Kejriwal Tk 1 lakh each.
   The commission also fined the chairman of Raspit Data Management and Telecommunication Md Abdur Razzak, and its directors Md Ashraful Alam and Lt Col (retd) Serajul Islam Tk 1 lakh each.
   The SEC moreover fined the chairman of Raspit Incorporation BD Md Abdur Razzak, and its managing director Md Habibul Alam, and director Md Ashraful Alam Tk 1 lakh each.
   Meanwhile, the SEC warned the directors, managing director and company secretary of Al-Arafah Islami Bank for non-compliance of the securities laws concerning price sensitive information, according to the DSE website.
   The stock market regulatory body also issued show-cause cum hearing notice to the directors, managing director and company secretary of Ashraf Textile Mills for non-compliance with the securities related laws in connection with audited financial statements for the year ended on June 30, 2006.

The committee of advisers’ council on purchase Tuesday sent back a power division proposal to award a Tk 574 crore contract to a Chinese company for setting up 150MW Shikalbaha power plant for re-evaluation of tender process.
   The committee in a meeting held at the cabinet division also approved import of 50,000 tonnes of rice from a Singaporean company at a rate of Tk 22.31 per kilogram at Chittagong port. The price of per kg rice at warehouse will be Tk 23.16.
   The committee, headed by finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, asked the Power Development Board to include power experts in the tender evaluation committee for 150MW power plant as the committee felt the necessity for re-evaluation of the tender.
   The finance adviser told reporters that as per the power division documents, four companies submitted tenders for the turnkey-contract for setting up the power plant with government funds and the tender evaluation committee found bids of two companies technically responsive.
   The Power Division proposed that the contract would be awarded to the Chinese Sino Hydropower Corporation as it became the lowest bidder with an offer of Tk 574 crore.
   ‘After going through all the documents, we feel that there is a need for re-evaluation of all the submitted bids by co-opting power experts in the TEC,’ Mirza Aziz told reporters after the meeting.
   The PDB completed the tender procedure by June before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, headed by chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, approved the Tk 777 crore development proposal of the power project at a meeting on October 8.
   When Mirza Aziz was asked whether it was against the norms to complete tender procedure of any project before getting the ECNEC nod, he said tender procedure could be completed before ECNEC approval in two cases.
   ‘The tender procedure can
   be completed in advance because of urgency and to know about the project cost,’ he explained.
   Regarding to the price of rice that the Singapore-based company will supply, the finance adviser said that the price was economic.
   The committee approved a proposal put forward by local government division to award contract to a company for road development at four upazilas in Brahmanbaria under a project funded by International Development Agency and the government.
   Although the same company became the lowest bidder for road development at five upazilas in Comilla under the same IDA-GOB funded project, the committee didn’t approve another proposal to award the contract as company’s financial capability is less than the cost of the two projects, said Mirza Aziz.

Stocks plunged on Wednesday due to profit taking selling pressure from the investors after five-day’s record surge, said market operators.
   The all share price index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 66.27 points or 2.71 per cent to close at 2381.58 after a single-day record rise Tuesday on the back of the Rupali Bank’s share price surge.
   The share price of Rupali Bank went down to Tk 2779.50 from the Tuesday’s closing of Tk 3124.50. The state-owned lender gained 57.26 per cent on Tuesday over media reports on the development of the bank’s disinvestment process.
   DSE general index lost 61.40 points or 2.14 per cent to close at 2809.71 on Wednesday, while its blue chips index, DSE20, shed 43.76 points or 1.99 per cent to close at 2152.15.
   ‘Investors sold off their holdings for capital gains after the surge,’ said Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, chief executive officer of the DSE.
   Chittagong Stock Exchange’s all share price index lost 154.25 points or 2.08 per cent to close at 7255.43, while its blue chips index, CSE30, shed 99.40 points or 1.53 per cent to close at 6387.69 and the selective categories index 62.28 points or 1.34 per cent to close at 4595.64.
   Of the total 211 issues traded at the DSE floor, 55 advanced, 145 declined and 11 remained unchanged, and out of 122 issues traded at the CSE floor, 31 posted gain, 84 declined and seven remained unchanged.
   Turnover at the DSE also decreased to Tk 252.25 crore from the Tuesday’s Tk 258.01 crore.
   The CSE turnover, however, went up to Tk 38.48 crore from Tk 31.96 crore.
   BRAC Bank topped the turnover leaders at the DSE with a total transaction of Tk 19.05 crore.
   Other turnover leaders at the prime bourse were Summit Power, Dhaka Electric Supply Company, Trust Bank, AB Bank, Aims 1st Mutual Fund, One Bank, United Commercial Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals and NCC Bank.

Foreign direct investment inflows to South, East and Southeast Asia maintained their upward trend last year, rising by 19 per cent to reach a new high of 200 billion dollars, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development annual report on global investment trends.
   South and Southeast Asia saw a sustainable increase in FDI flows, while growth in East Asia was slower. However, FDI in East Asia is shifting towards more knowledge-intensive and high value-added activities, UNCTAD economist Kee Swee Wee said on Tuesday.
   China and Hong Kong retained their positions as the largest FDI recipients in the region, followed by Singapore and India, according to the World Investment Report 2007 of UNCTAD.
   Inflows to China fell four per cent to 69 billion dollars last year, dropping for the first time in seven years due mainly to declining investments in financial services.
   Hong Kong attracted FDI of 43 billion dollars, Singapore 24 billion dollars and India 17 billion dollars, which was equivalent to India’s preceding three years of inflows.
   Meanwhile, FDI inflows to Thailand rose by 9 per cent in 2006, reaching a record of 10 billion dollars and consolidating the country’s position as the second-largest FDI recipient in Southeast Asia.
   The acquisition of Shin Corp by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings accounted for a large part of the Kingdom’s FDI inflows.
   FDI in the service sector in the region was considerably increased but FDI related to mergers and acquisitions in manufacturing dropped.
   The report predicts that rapid economic growth in this region should continue attracting FDI to their countries in the coming year.
   In the first half of this year, the value of cross-border merger and acquisition deals in the region rose nearly 20 per cent on year. FDI outflows from the region are also expected to increase.
   The report also showed that rising demand for oil and gas and metals, particularly from Asia, has spurred an FDI boom in mineral exploration and extraction industries.
   Those industries account largely for the recent increases in FDI in many mineral-rich developing countries, notably in Africa.
   The boom has also triggered a series of cross-border mega-mergers in these industries, resulting in higher market concentration, said Masato Abe, an economic affairs officer with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
   The report shows that the relative importance of trans-national corporations varies between different extractive industries. In metal mining, 23 of the top 25 producers in 2005 were privately owned TNCs, whereas only two were majority-owned by the state.
   In oil and gas, the majority of the top 50 producers were majority state-owned. Mostly such production was controlled by state-owned companies from developing and transition economies. For example, in 2005, the production of Saudi Arabia was more than twice that of the world’s largest privately owned oil and gas producer, ExxonMobil.
   Investment in extractive industries makes up the bulk of inward FDI in low-income countries. Due to small domestic markets and weak production capabilities, these countries tend to have few other industries to attract significant FDI.

The current financial crisis is not particularly severe but it could have more dire consequences for the world economy than more recent episodes of instability, the IMF said Wednesday.
   ‘With the exception of disruption to money markets, recent financial market turbulence has not been unusually large compared with previous episodes,’ the IMF said in its twice-yearly World Economic Outlook report.
   In comments dedicated to examining the implications of four recent episodes of financial market turmoil, the international institution compared the current crisis that stemmed from risky lending in the US housing sector to the Wall Street stock market crash of 1987; the Russian debt default and collapse of Long-Term Capital Management in 1988; the ‘dot-com’ crash of 2000 and the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
   ‘In some ways, market movements have been more limited in this episode,’ the IMF said.
   The Washington-based IMF said that despite heightened volatility, the stock markets fared better than in the previous episodes and the bond market held up, including the debt of emerging market economies.
   ‘A key question is how the turbulence in financial markets is likely to spill over into the wider economy,’ it said.
   The recent financial developments ‘have been associated with, and may exacerbate, an ongoing correction in the US housing market, which could continue to exert substantial drag on the economy.’
   In addition, ‘continuing uncertainty and loss of confidence in structured credits could lead to a sustained retrenchment in stock market activity.’
   The IMF also noted that the current turbulence was straining banking systems in the United States and elsewhere, ‘which could further exacerbate constraints on the availability of credit.’

The IMF warned Wednesday that an increasing global reliance on grain as a source of fuel could drive up food prices in poor countries.
   ‘The use of food as a source of fuel may have serious implications for the demand for food if the expansion of bio-fuels continues,’ the International Monetary Fund said in its twice-yearly report on the world economy.
   It called for greater international coordination to ensure that policies promoting bio-fuels take account of their impact on consumer prices.
   ‘One country’s policy to promote bio-fuels while protecting its farmers could increase another likely poorer country’s import bills for food and pose additional risks to inflation or growth,’ the report said.

The dollar was mixed in Asian trade Wednesday on caution ahead of a meeting of the Group of Seven major industrial nations and fresh US economic data, dealers said.
   Finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of Seven will gather in Washington from Friday to discuss financial turbulence caused by US mortgage sector problems and the weak dollar against the euro.
   The dollar inched up against the euro ahead of the meet, with the euro trading at 1.4168 dollars in early Tokyo trade from 1.4173 dollars in New York late Tuesday.
   But the dollar was softer against the yen. The dollar stood at 116.48 yen in morning trade, dropping from 116.91 yen in New York. The euro was down to 165.30 yen in Tokyo from 165.65 yen.
    ‘Players are cautious about the strength of the euro ahead of the G7 meeting this weekend,’ said Yosuke Hosokawa, head of Chuo Mitsui Trust Bank’s forex group.
   Hosokawa said, however, the market was largely directionless ahead of a batch of statistics to be released later Wednesday in the United States — inflation and housing data, as well as the Federal Reserve’s ‘Beige Book’ on economic conditions.
    ‘Overall, the market remains directionless. Dollar-buying sentiment is also weak as we have monitored mixed signals for the US economy recently,’ he said.
    ‘Considering low interest rates, I would say there should not be a strong reason for supporting the yen.
   But the dollar has gradually risen to 117 yen, and some players are trying to buy back the yen for their position adjustment,’ he said.
   Japan has the lowest interest rates of any major nation in a policy aimed at defeating deflation and stimulating the world’s second largest economy after its recession in the 1990s.
   Australia has high interest rates and has seen a boom in demand for its natural resources, helping the Australian dollar rocket up to 23-year highs against the US currency in recent sessions.
   The Aussie was trading Wednesday at 88.98 US cents, down from 90.79 cents earlier in the week.
   Weakness in global equity markets will keep the Aussie ‘on the back foot,’ said John Kyriakopoulos, head of currency strategy at National Australia Bank.
   But analysts expected that recent falls on global stock markets, triggered by soaring oil costs, would not last long.
    ‘At this stage, the move looks corrective rather than a major sea change, but it is dangerous to try and catch a falling knife,’ said John Noonan, an analyst at Thomson IFR.

Oil prices eased slightly in Asia on Wednesday but remained above 87 dollars per barrel in a market focussed on a potential Turkish incursion into northern Iraq.
   While expressing concern at the price rise, the chief of the OPEC oil cartel said the world oil market remains well supplied.
   New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, was 23 cents lower in afternoon trade at 87.38 dollars per barrel.
   In US trade on Tuesday, oil struck a record intra-day high of 88.20 dollars before dropping back to settle above 87 dollars for the first time, at 87.61 dollars per barrel.
   On Monday it jumped more than two dollars.
   Brent crude oil for December delivery was 23 cents lower at 83.32 dollars per barrel.
   In London trade on Tuesday, Brent for November delivery advanced 1.41 dollars to settle at 84.16 dollars, after earlier hitting an all-time high of 84.49 during the session.

Toyota to recall 470,000 cars
Toyota Motor Corp said Wednesday it was recalling more than 470,000 cars in Japan due to problems with the fuel and steering systems in the latest dent to the automaker’s reputation for quality. The Japanese auto giant will recall 277,074 passenger cars of eight models, including the Crown luxury sedan, produced in Japan between September 1999 and October 2004, the automaker said. Toyota said the recall was aimed at exchanging parts used in the fuel control system and pipes, which may cause fuel leaks. The company will also recall 120,406 cars of various models due to malfunction of fuel pumps, and 74,347 cars to change defective parts in the steering system. Toyota said it had exported some 680 other cars with similar troubles to more than five countries, including Australia, South America and China. The automaker is ready to exchange defective parts free of charge within the scope of regulations in each of those countries, a company spokesman said.
— AFP

Thai auto sales
rise 8.3pc
Thai auto sales rose 8.3 per cent year-on-year in September as consumers turned upbeat on the political outlook ahead of the country’s first polls since last year’s coup, an industry group said Wednesday. Sales increased to 53,491 units last month, Toyota Motor’s Thai unit said in a statement. Vehicle sales in the first nine months of the year fell 7.6 per cent from a year earlier to 451,326 units, Toyota said. Sales of Japanese auto giants Toyota, Isuzu, and Honda account for some 80 per cent of the Thai market. The auto market has been hit hard by a prolonged slump in consumer confidence amid the country’s political turmoil over premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in a bloodless coup last year. Thailand Motor Thailand, the kingdom’s largest auto maker, in August revised down its forecast for overall domestic car sales to 650,000 units from the previous target of 700,000 units.
— AFP

China’s inflation
up 4.1pc
China’s consumer price index rose 4.1 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2007, state media said Wednesday, signalling continued sharp price rises in September. The figure for the key inflation figure was provided by Chen Deming, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Beijing Times reported. Although Chen did not provide a consumer inflation figure for September alone, the data would seem to suggest a relatively sharp rise during that month. In the eight months to August, consumer prices rose 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, while for the month of August they rose 6.5 per cent, bringing inflation to its highest single-month level in over a decade.
— AFP