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

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The Privatisation Commission, apparently hamstrung by the fiasco of offloading government’s shares in Rupali Bank, has now taken fresh initiatives to sell out about 10 state-owned enterprises.
   The statutory regulatory body responsible for disinvestment recently formed a three-member committee to identify pubic sector industrial units for privatisation. The committee will also suggest ways and means to resume operation of already privatised entities which now remained closed, sources in the commission have informed New Age.
   ‘The Rupali privatisation process, which is perhaps the biggest setback of the commission, is absolutely beyond our operational jurisdiction now. We are trying to concentrate on disinvestment of other industrial units listed earlier,’ said an official of the commission.
   The official expressed the hope that tender for privatisation would be floated soon after the valuation of big enterprises such as North Bengal Paper Mills and Khulna Newsprint Mills.
   Representatives of a Saudi Arabian investor, who captured the focus of the policymakers and the media for months for his highest $458 million offer for Rupali Bank shares, stopped communicating with the commission. But the commission has not yet cancelled the tender process.
   The commission, apparently in a bid to overcome the embarrassing situation, took fresh move to privatise 10 state-owned enterprises earlier listed for disinvestment. It held a series of meetings on valuation of the enterprises in January and is scheduled to review the progress at another meeting tomorrow [February 10].
   The chairman of the commission, M Abu Solaiman Chowdhury, will preside over the meeting.
   But the Rupali Bank fiasco seems to have largely diminished the commission’s enthusiasm about publicising its activities until those take a clear shape.
   Officials said the Sunday’s meeting would take stock of the latest status of as many as 15 enterprises out of 26 units that are under its jurisdiction for privatisation.
   The 15 units are Rangamati Textiles Mills Ltd, Magura Textiles Mills Ltd, Daulatpur Jute Mill in Khulna, Monowar Jute Mills in Narayanganj, Service Facilities in Brahmanbaria, Rajshahi Silk Factory, Thakurgaon Silk Factory, Chittagong Chemicals Complex, Karnaphuli Rayon and Chemicals Ltd in Kaptai, Rangamati, Dhaka Leather Company Ltd at Savar, North Bengal Paper Mills Ltd at Pakshi in Pabna, Khulna Newsprint Mills Ltd, Bangladesh Can Company Ltd in Chittagong, SAF Industries Ltd in Jessore and Arco Industries Ltd in Chittagong.
   Commission officials said legal complicacies and disputes relating to land ownership and possession of machinery, assets and liabilities were slowing down the valuation process.
   During the tenure of the interim government, only four entities have been handed over to private entrepreneurs and letters of intent issued for selling off three more units, whose disinvestment process was initiated earlier. The commission has disinvested so far 74 enterprises since its inception in 1993.

Farmers have been continuing plantation of boro seedlings in full swing in respond to recent call of chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed in Rangpur to make the boro farming successful in northern Bangladesh.
   So far, plantation of seedlings in over 68 per cent of targeted land has been completed as the farmers have engaged their full efforts and resources with huge enthusiasm with the understanding that the government is giving its maximum priority to an increased boro rice production.
   ‘We are encouraged by the chief advisor’s assurance of smooth supply of fertilisers, pesticides, power and all other necessary inputs for achieving an all-time record boro production to ensure food security in the country,’ a number of farmers told the news agency on Friday.
   Officials in the Department of Agriculture Extension told the news agency that the government has engaged its maximum efforts and resources to ensure smooth managements in boro farming and increasing rice production during this rabi season.
   As a part of the steps, the government has appointed agri-scientists and experts to 61 districts (except three hill districts) for providing necessary practical knowledge, experience, advice and assistance to the district and upazila level DAE officials and field level farmers for the purpose.
   They advised farmers for more boro plantation within first week of February to get one metric ton of more
   paddy per hectare and it
   will also help avoiding
   natural calamities as the paddy will be harvested a month earlier than those to be planted afterwards.
   Additional 6,205 hectares brought under boro cultivation in Gaibandha.
   The government has taken up a massive programme to cultivate boro paddy in the district during the current season.
   The Department of Agriculture Extension sources said the government took a plan to plant boro paddy on 1,06,440 hectares in the district at the initial stage.
   Later, additional 6,205 hectares of uncultivated land have been brought under the program with a production target of 20,090 tonnes to recover the losses caused by floods in last year.
   Now target has been fixed to cultivate boro paddy on 1,12,645 hectares in 7 upazilas of the district to produce 4,59,049 tonnes of rice, the DAE sources said.
   Out of the total land 75,345 hectares have been brought under high yielding variety, 35,400 hectares under hybrid variety and 1900 hectares under the local variety, sources said.
   Deputy director of DAE ANM Mizanur Rahman Amin told the news that 81 per cent of the land has already been planted and the rest would be finished within 10 days.
   To make the programme a success, the government has distributed necessary agriculture inputs including quality Boro seeds, fertilisers and ensured of supply of electricity and fuel for irrigation.
   After visiting some villages of the district it is seen that the farmers of the district are now busy preparing their land for raising seedlings and transplanting those in the fields.
   On the other hand, the members of joint forces led by Major Mizan, commander of Gaibandha Army Camp, have been monitoring the overall progress of boro cultivation and supply of fertilizers, electricity and other agri-inputs to the farmers.'

The UK-based First Solutions Money Exchange Company, which was announced bankrupt last year, intends to resume its operation with Bangladeshi banks under a new management, central bank sources said.
   The new owners contacted with seven Bangladeshi banks the company had agreement with and also with the central bank, said an official of Bangladesh Bank.
   ‘They want to restart business as soon as possible,’ he said adding that the central bank had instructed officials of the seven banks to be very cautious regarding new agreement with the company.
   ‘Our main priorities are to ensure full payment to all clients who were cheated by the previous management of the company, and to check recurrence of such frauds in future,’ he said.
   The new management of the London-based exchange house has been asked to repay major portion of the money to the victims if it wants to restart business with Bangladeshi banks.
   The company owed its clients 1.7 million pound sterling. It took the amount from Bangladeshi expatriates living in the UK to remit to their relatives at home.
   The new owners agreed to pay 445,000 pound or a fourth of the amount.
   Coastearth Limited, comprising some of the former agents of First Solution, bought certain assets of the company and changed the name of the company to XTL Limited.
   Later the name of the company was again changed to First Solution Money Exchange Company.
   First Solution has less than Tk 1 crore as security money with seven local banks, said a central bank official.
   BRAC Bank, National Credit and Commerce Bank, Prime Bank, Janata Bank, Southeast Bank, Eastern Bank, Mututal Trust Bank and Uttara banks had remittance agreement with the First Solution.
   The money transfer company sent transaction advice for Tk 14 crore to Southeast Bank, Tk 78 lakh to BRAC Bank, Tk 28 lakh to Prime Bank, Tk 1.37 crore to National Credit and Commerce Bank and Tk 12 lakh to Uttara Bank. But it did not deposit the amount with the nostro accounts of the banks, which failed to disburse the money to local beneficiaries.

Russia’s veterinary and phytosanitary watchdog has agreed to partially lift the ban on the import of plant products from India which was imposed following the discovery of a ‘dangerous pest’ in the consignment of sesame seeds.
   Agro-watchdog ‘Rosselkh-oznadzor’ announced that it is lifting the ban, imposed on January 28, on the import of tobacco, onions, dried mushrooms and mixed vegetables after the Indian side has agreed to launch investigation into the export of sesame seeds with dangerous grain pest Khapra beetle accompanied by the certificate issued by the Indian inspectors.
   Russia agreed to reconsider its stand after a series of meetings by Indian Ambassador Prabhat Shukla with Russian agriculture minister Alexei Gordeyev and ‘Rosselkhoznadzor’ chief Sergei Dankvert.
   India has agreed to ink a memorandum of understanding between the phytosanitary authorities of the two countries to promptly resolve all such issues.
   Since it would take at least six months for drafting such an MoU, India had requested the Russian Agriculture Ministry and its sanitary watchdog to resume import of plant products from India.
   Describing the watchdog’s reaction as ‘overblown’, Indian diplomatic sources said that the imposition of the ban on January 28 came at a time when Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is preparing for his India visit with the aim of inaugurating the Year of Russia in India and to boost bilateral trade.

Thailand’s newly elected prime minister Samak Sundaravej said Friday that he expects the finance ministry and the central bank to lift tough currency controls next week.
   ‘We politicians, we think it doesn’t do good to the country,’ Samak said of the exchange controls.
   ‘As far as I have heard from the minister of finance,
   he says that it will be removed,’ Samak told a briefing for foreign media.
   Finance minister Surapong Suebwonglee said Thursday that he would meet the central bank next week to consider lifting the controls imposed by the previous military regime in a bid to halt the baht’s rapid rise against the dollar.
   The controls spooked foreign investors and caused the biggest one-day drop in the Thai stock market in late 2006, with losses worth 23 billion dollars.
   Many exemptions have since been made to the currency rules, including some just this week, but the general policy remains in place.
   Samak also said that his government would push ahead with ambitious projects to improve Thailand’s infrastructure, including expanding public transport in Bangkok, upgrading the national rail network and piping water to ease chronic droughts in northeastern provinces.
   He also said his government would try to tackle inflation, especially in food prices.
   Thailand’s inflation rate jumped to an 18-month high of 4.3 per cent in January due to soaring energy costs and rising food prices.
   Poultry prices rose 11.2 percent, while fruit and vegetable prices were up 9.6 percent in January, according to the commerce ministry.

The month-long Mymensingh Trade Fair-08 was inaugurated at Khachari Ghat near Shaheb Quarter Park in the Mymensingh town Friday evening.
   Deputy commissioner of Mymensingh Md Shamsul Alam inaugurated the fair as chief guest with Md Dabir Hossain Bhuiyan, president of Mymensingh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in the chair.
   The MCCI and the National Association of Small and Cottage Industries, Mymensingh have jointly organised the month-long trade fair.
   Local municipality chairman advocate Mahmud Al Noor Tareq, Habibur Rahman Sheikh, editor of local Daily Jahan, also ex-president of NASCI, additional district magistrate Nazmul Hasan Khan among others were present as special guests.
   A total of 135 stalls displaying different commodities have been set up in the fair. The speakers urged the people to make the fair a success with their all-out participation.

Near-perfect knockoffs of 21 different Microsoft programmes began surfacing around the world just over a decade ago. Soon, PCs in more than a dozen countries were running illegal copies of Windows and Office, turning unwitting consumers into criminals and, Microsoft says, exposing them to increased risk of malicious viruses and spyware.
   The case began to turn in 2001 when US Customs officers seized a shipping container in Los Angeles filled with $100 million in fake software, including 31,000 copies of the Windows operating system.
   From there, Microsoft pushed the investigation through 22 countries. Local law enforcement officials seized software, equipment and records, and made arrests. A court in Taiwan handed down the last of the major sentences in December. Microsoft estimates the retail value of the software the operation generated at $900 million.
   ‘That is a tremendous accomplishment,’ said James Spertus, a former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles who later led anti-piracy efforts for the Motion Picture Association of America. ‘There are only going to be a few cases like this a decade.’
   Now Microsoft is eager to talk about the experience because taking down that operation — responsible for about 90 per cent of the fake software the company found between 1999 and 2004, more than 470,000 disks — didn’t actually stop piracy. It just left room for more counterfeiters to rise. Microsoft hopes would-be pirates will think twice if they know how far it will go to protect the computer code worth billions in revenue each quarter.

The Group of Seven finance ministers and central bank governors gathering in Tokyo on Saturday will reaffirm their determination to ensure financial stability, according to a draft G7 statement obtained by Reuters.
   ‘We will continue to watch developments closely and remain committed to taking necessary action, individually and collectively, in order to secure stability and growth in our economies,’ the draft read.
   ‘Euro-area growth, though slowed to a more moderate pace recently, is projected to stay broadly in line with trend potential.’
   ‘The Japanese economy is expected to get through some weaknesses seen recently, and return to a moderate growth path.’

The Asian Development Bank chief, Haruhiko Kuroda, warned Friday that the continent was not immune to a US economic slowdown, despite its resilience amid the housing market turmoil.
   Asian economies ‘are not totally immune to global market turbulence and negative developments,’ Kuroda told a symposium in Tokyo ahead of this weekend’s meeting of Group of Seven finance chiefs.
   ‘A deep and prolonged US recession, should it ever occur, could be accompanied by much slower growth in Asia,’ he said.
   ‘A significant slowdown in the US economy will most certainly affect the region’s growth performance through trade, investment and financial linkages,’ he said.
   Kuroda said spillover from the world’s three largest financial markets — US, Europe, and Japan — could be ‘potentially large’ and called on Asian policymakers to take steps to ensure confidence in the regions’ money markets.
   The subprime crisis erupted last year as a growing number of Americans defaulted on loans which they received during the last housing boom despite patchy credit histories.
   Asian banks have been less exposed to subprime losses than their US and European counterparts but the region’s equities have still seen volatility.
   Governments ‘must continue to pursue sound macroeconomic management, strengthen prudential supervision of financial institutions and improve structural resilience through more comprehensive reform efforts,’ Kuroda said.
   The US Congress overnight passed a major stimulus package aimed at reviving the economy. But Washington’s calls for other major economies to take similar action are expected to meet some resistance at Saturday’s G7 meeting.
   Kuroda said Southeast and East Asian economies including Japan and China could implement fiscal stimulus plans if global growth cools, but said it was not necessary for the moment.
   ‘If necessary, emerging economies in Asia with increased fiscal space could introduce some stimulus measures,’ Kuroda said.
   But ‘last year many Asian economies including China were overheated with accelerated inflation. For them a still important challenge is how to contain inflationary pressures rather than introducing a fiscal stimulus,’ he said.
   ‘At this stage, Asian economies have been increasing inflationary pressures rather than recession prospects,’ he said.
   Kuroda, a former senior finance ministry official, is seen as a potential candidate to replace Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui when his term expires in March. Another likely candidate is current deputy governor Toshiro Muto.
   For Japan only, Kuroda projected year-on-year growth of 1 to 1.5 per cent, significantly lower than the 2 per cent annualised rate attained in early 2007 as the country finally came out of a protracted slump.
   Echoing Bank of Japan projections, Kuroda attributed the slower growth to tighter construction regulations that the government enacted in September after a scandal in which an architect faked earthquake-resistance data.
   Kuroda expected Japan’s growth to be back on track by the second half of the year.

Japan’s closely watched machinery orders fell for the first time in five years in 2007, official data showed Friday, sparking fears that a US slowdown may pull Asia’s largest economy down.
   The data raised renewed concern about Japan’s economic recovery, which has been based on exports, and contributed to a 1.44 per cent fall on the Tokyo Stock Exchange despite a positive lead from Wall Street.
   The private sector’s core machinery orders, which exclude particularly volatile demand from power companies and for ships, fell 4.0 per cent in 2007 from the previous year, with orders in December alone tumbling 3.2 per cent.
   The machinery orders are closely watched by policymakers and markets as a leading indicator of corporate capital spending.
   The December fall was significantly steeper than a drop of 0.8 per cent expected by the market and marked the second straight month of decline after a 2.8 per cent drop in November.
   Despite the sustained downturn for the last two months of 2007, the Cabinet Office stuck to its assessment of a flat trend in machinery orders — the eighth straight month that it has made the same view.
   Economy and fiscal policy minister Hiroko Ota said there was ‘no need to be so pessimistic,’ noting orders were likely to rise in the January-March quarter.
   The Cabinet Office said machinery orders are forecast to rise 3.5 per cent for the January-March term from the previous quarter, following an overall 0.9 per cent rise in the October-December period.
   But the minister admitted she needed to watch economic developments closely.
   ‘As the US economy is showing signs of a slowdown, we need to be cautious on whether the January-March forecast can be achieved,’ she told reporters.
   Private-sector economists snubbed the government projection. ‘Who would believe the projection, which has not been trustworthy?’ said Toshio Sumitani, an economist at the Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.
   ‘The Japanese economy is slowing down as the US economy has put one of its two legs into recession,’ he said, noting that foreign orders from Japan fell 4.9 per cent from November.
   Naoki Murakami, senior economist at Goldman Sachs, said foreign orders were very volatile but their latest fall ‘matches a slowdown in Japan’s exports since November 2007 in trade data.’
   ‘A slowdown in exports, which had led Japan’s economy for the past five years, is now inevitable,’ he said.
   However, Shinichiro Kobayashi, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, said the small rise in October-December showed that the US economic slowdown had been offset by strong growth in emerging countries.

Western tourists oblivious to the severe drugs laws in the United Arab Emirates often end up in jail after arriving in the conservative Muslim country with tiny amounts of narcotics for their own use.
   But the UAE authorities do not deviate from their strict rules which stipulate imprisonment for a minimum of four years followed by deportation for those convicted of having drugs in their possession.
   People convicted of the more serious offence of drugs trafficking can face capital punishment, although executions rarely take place in the desert Gulf nation.
   With Dubai a favourite holiday spot, dozens of Westerners have been arrested upon arrival in recent years, according to a diplomatic source familiar with cases of people caught with small amounts of narcotics.
   One such visitor was British dance DJ Grooverider, who was arrested last November for possession of 2.16 grams of marijuana upon arrival in Dubai.
   He had been due to perform a club gig in the emirate, which is known as one of the party capitals in the Middle East.
   Grooverider was quoted in local press reports on January 28 as telling a court he had forgotten he had a small amount of the drug in his pocket. His case was adjourned until later this month.
   ‘There are over a million British tourists a year coming to the UAE,’ said Simon Goldsmith, spokesman at the British Embassy in Dubai. ‘We have a travel advice making it clear that the penalty is very severe’ for drug possession.
   AFP tried unsuccessfully to get a comment from the office of Dubai’s public prosecutor.
   Most Western countries warn their citizens about the consequences of drug possession in the UAE.
   In its travel report, the Canadian foreign ministry says that ‘even if used while outside of the UAE, (using drugs) can be punishable by law if traces of the substance are found in the blood or urine, and can also carry a minimum prison term of four years.’
   In London the foreign office warns Britons travelling to the UAE that ‘the presence of drugs in the system is counted as possession,’ cautioning also that ‘the possession and/or import of even the smallest amount of drugs can result in a minimum prison sentence of four years.’
   The US embassy adds that even having poppy seeds, which are used for cooking in some countries, could send their carrier to prison.
   But many people do not think to check travel warnings before setting off.
   In 2006, acclaimed US hip-hop music producer Dallas Austin was sentenced to four years in jail after he was found in possession of 1.26 grams of cocaine and other banned substances.
   But the 34-year composer, who had come to Dubai for a three-day birthday bash for British supermodel Naomi Campbell, was pardoned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum immediately after sentence was pronounced.
   ‘Our experience is that authorities have a zero tolerance policy,’ Goldsmith said, adding that the British embassy can only help people arrested on drug charges by seeing them within 48 hours and providing them with a lawyer.
   A French consular source said that 19 French citizens have been arrested during the past 18 months at Dubai airport for possession of drugs, including four in one day on January 1.
   Eleven out of 12 jailed were pardoned after a few months while seven other cases are still being investigated, said the source who requested anonymity, adding that because of the increase in the number of cases investigating each one lasts about two months.
   After they have been convicted and sentenced, one hope left to Western offenders is that they will be included in one of the royal pardons usually issued during festive seasons.
   A Canadian benefited from one such pardon on the occasion of the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast last December.
   Bert Tatham, 35, was jailed for four years in Dubai in June after he was arrested during a stopover from Afghanistan, when customs officials found two poppy flowers in his luggage and 0.6 grams of hashish in his clothes.
   He was also charged with having traces of drugs in his urine.
   Also in June, a 24-year Italian tourist landed a four-year jail term followed by deportation after being found in possession of 0.01 grams of hashish, which he said he had forgotten in a jacket pocket.

As of now wheat import is no more on the agenda of the Indian government. Last year the import of wheat had caused a controversy with both right and left wing parties attacking the government.
   India’s agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, said that better wheat production due to favourable weather conditions was expected this year.
   He said rain in some parts of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh would be really beneficial for wheat crop and growth would be good.
   Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry has released the Advance Estimates of production for major crops grown.
   In 2007-08 the food-grains production at 219.32 million ton was estimated to be an all time record. Also the government has revised upwards wheat production to over 75 million ton for 2006-07 and hopes that output in the current season too will be better as weather conditions have been conducive for the crop. The final estimates, however, would be released later.
   Rice and maize production at the estimated level of just over 94 million ton and 16.78 million ton respectively are going to touch an all time high. Soyabean and cotton production at 9.45 million ton and at 23.38 million bales of 170 kg each respectively were also estimated to be a record.
   As compared to 2006-07, rice production is estimated to increase by about I million ton and coarse cereals production was estimated to increase by about two million ton during 2007-08. Oilseeds production is estimated to increase by about three million ton during 2007-08 over 2006-07.

Libya and Indonesia signed a deal on Thursday for the north African state to supply the world’s most populous Muslim nation with crude oil for the next 20 years, the National Oil Corp said.
   Under the agreement, Tripoli will supply Jakarta with a minimum of 50,000 barrels per day, a figure rising to 200,000 bpd from 2013, the NOC said.
   ‘We want to ensure Libyan oil is exported to the Southeast Asian market,’ said NOC Chairman Shukri Ghanem, who added that his country also aimed to be invloved in constructing a refinery in Indonesia to process Libyan crude.
   The accord was signed during a visit to Tripoli by Indonesia’s energy and mining minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
   OPEC member Libya is the African continent’s second largest oil producer with 1.7 million bpd. It has estimated reserves of 42 billion barrels and aims to reach a production level of three million bpd in 2010.

The European Commission urged Gazprom and Kiev on Thursday to resolve a gas dispute after the Russian energy giant Gazprom threatened to cut Ukraine’s supplies over unpaid debts.
   ‘The Commission calls on the two parties to find a solution to this commercial issue as soon as possible, and will continue to monitor closely the development of the situation,’ EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs said.
   Piebalgs said in a statement that Gazprom had contacted the Commission on Thursday about the matter and had provided assurances that the dispute with the Ukraine would not crimp the flow of Russian gas to the European Union.
   ‘The Commission expects that, independently of the development of this commercial dispute, gas supplies to the EU will not be affected,’ he said.
   Earlier Gazprom said that it could cut a portion of Ukraine’s supplies from next Monday if Kiev does not settle gas back payments of 1.5 billion dollars.

The World Trade Organisation has ruled against the European Union on tariffs for bananas, officials said Friday, possibly opening the door to millions in US commercial sanctions.
   The confidential decision — distributed earlier this week to the parties and confirmed by trade officials — is an important development in a decade-old WTO dispute pitting Latin American countries and the United States against the EU. The EU can still appeal.
   The verdict will be closely followed by Chiquita Brands International Inc., whose shares climbed 9.2 per cent in one day last year on early reports that the EU would lose a similar case against Ecuador. The tariff costs Chiquita $1 per share annually, according to Barry Sine, an Oppenheimer & Co. analyst.
   The WTO has consistently ruled against how Brussels sets tariffs for bananas, forcing it to overhaul a system that grants preferential conditions for producers from African and Caribbean countries, mainly former British and French colonies.
   Trade officials said the latest ruling closely follows the findings by a separate panel that found in Ecuador’s favor in December. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as both decisions remain confidential and are only expected to be released in the coming months.
   Michael Mann, spokesman for EU Farm Commissioner Marian Fisher Boel, confirmed the loss, but criticized the WTO panel for a finding ‘against something that does not exist anymore’ — a reference to new rules for European banana imports that came into effect this year.
   The case centered on a banana tariff established by the EU in 2006 — 176 euros ($258) per ton — which the 27-nation bloc claimed was in line with WTO rulings. But the U.S. rejected the argument. Ecuador, the world’s largest banana producer, contended in its complaint that the new tariff took away some of its market share in Europe, hurting more than 1 million Ecuadoreans dependent on the banana industry.
   Latin American bananas currently have around 60 per cent of the EU banana market, while African and Caribbean producers have 20 per cent, according to EU officials. Bananas grown in the EU — mostly on Spanish and French islands — account for another 20 per cent.
   The case was first brought to the Geneva-based trade referee in 1996, but has since spawned a series of disputes as trade lawyers wrangle over procedural intricacies and legislation that had previously never been tested.
   The US, in 1999, and Ecuador a year later, both won the right to impose trade sanctions on European goods after the WTO found the EU’s rules to be illegal.
   A deal in 2001 gave the EU five years to comply with WTO rulings.

Economic growth in the world’s principal industrialised nations is likely to weaken in the months ahead, the OECD predicted Friday.
   The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said its composite leading indicators index for its 30 members fell 0.3 points on a monthly basis in December to 99.1 and was down by 2.1 points over 12 months.
   ‘The latest composite leading indicators suggest that a slowdown in economic activity lies ahead in the OECD area,’ the OECD said.
    ‘December 2007 data indicate a weakening outlook for all the major seven economies.
    ‘The latest data for major OECD non-member economies point to a potential downturn in China, while continued expansion is ahead in Brazil, India and Russia.’
   The CLI summarises information from a number of key short-term economic performance indicators and provides early signals of turning points between expansions and slowdowns in activity.
   It has a long-term average of 100.

The US Congress has overwhelmingly approved a giant economic stimulus plan sought by the White House amid mounting fears that the world’s biggest economy could be sliding into a recession.
   Senate and House of Representative lawmakers approved the economic aid package in separate votes, clearing the way for it to be signed into law by president George W Bush.
   ‘The president will sign it next week,’ White House spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman told the news agency. She said an exact date had not yet been announced.
   Bush has hailed the package amid a worsening housing market downturn and a dramatic slowdown in American economic growth.
   The stressed economy lost jobs last month for the first time in over four years and a Wall Street credit crunch, triggered in part by rising home foreclosures, has roiled global financial markets in recent months.
   ‘This plan is robust, broad-based, timely, and it will be effective. This bill will help to stimulate consumer spending and accelerate needed business investment,’ Bush said in a statement released Thursday by the White House.
   The plan is valued at around 150 billion dollars and crammed with temporary tax rebates and business incentives.
   Tens of millions of Americans are likely to receive tax rebate checks in their mailboxes in coming months after Bush gives the stimulus his official blessing.
   Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also welcomed congressional approval of the package, saying it would inject money into a stressed economy.
    ‘This package of payments to individuals and incentives for businesses to invest will support our economy as we weather the housing downturn,’ the Treasury secretary said.
   Democratic and Republican senators had sparred over different incentives after the House of Representatives passed an initial version of the plan last Tuesday.
   The Democratic-controlled Senate approved an amended version of the House measure Thursday which senators changed to include tax rebates for low-income retirees and military veterans.
   House lawmakers met in an evening session to quickly approve the final amended package.
   The plan calls for tax rebate checks of up to 600 dollars for individual taxpayers and up to 1,200 dollars for couples, plus additional cash for dependent children.
   It also expands financing opportunities in the housing market by allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two mortgage finance companies, to purchase or guarantee mortgages larger than 417,000 dollars up to 729,750 dollars.

French finance minister Christine Lagarde on Friday welcomed the European Central Bank’s more cautious view of the economic outlook but said the euro was still too high for comfort.
   Lagarde was in Japan to meet with her counterparts from the Group of Seven rich nations in the wake of intense market volatility due to the fallout from a slump in the US housing sector.
   The ECB on Thursday left interest rates unchanged but bank president Jean-Claude Trichet underscored ‘unusually high’ uncertainty about eurozone growth prospects, raising speculation of future rate cuts.
   Lagarde, speaking to AFP after arriving in Tokyo, welcomed Trichet’s statement, saying ‘it gives a more accurate appraisal of the economic situation as we see it.’
    ‘Considering the different interest rate cuts’ in the United States ‘and what European Union members have said of their respective views on the economic situation in Europe, this is pretty logical,’ she said.
   ‘We’ve repeated it for so many times that it’s become convincing,’ she said.
   The ECB on Thursday left its main rate at 4.0 per cent despite a series of rate cuts in the United States in light of turmoil in the housing market in the world’s largest economy.
   Trichet’s remarks caused a fall in the euro, with the single European currency trading Friday at 1.4495 dollars, slightly back from 1.50 dollars a week earlier.
   The euro is ‘still probably at a high level and all of our exporters are telling us that, even at this level, it penalises them compared with those (companies) whose costs are in dollars,’ Lagarde said.
   The euro is too strong ‘compared with other currencies like the dollar, yuan and yen, so it’s not just a matter of looking at the euro against the dollar,’ she said.
   ‘Taking into account the appraisals of the International Monetary Fund, the euro is still at a higher level than it ought to be in theory considering the economies of the European Union,’ she said.
   A high currency hurts a country’s exporters by making their goods more expensive overseas and reducing their repatriated profits.

Energy-rich Nigeria has approved a new policy requiring gas producers to direct a part of their output to the domestic market, rather than exporting it, a presidential statement said Friday.
   Under the new policy regime, ‘all oil and gas developers in the country are to allocate a specified amount of gas from their reserves and annual production to the domestic market,’ it said.
   The policy also stipulates that producers ‘must realign their gas development portfolios’ to ensure that gas resources which are rich in valuable natural gas liquids are supplied to ‘strategic domestic sectors.’
   It also says that gas will be supplied at the lowest commercially sustainable prices to the domestic electricity producing sector that provides energy for residential and light commercial users.
   Nigerian oil minister Odein Ajumogobia has previously spoken of a ‘misalignment’ between the objectives of oil and gas multinational companies operating in Nigeria and the objectives of the government.
   He referred to the use of gas as one area where the objectives of the two parties diverged.
   The overall aim of the new policy is to ensure that all natural gas liquids in Nigeria are preferentially deployed for domestic use rather than for export.
   The liquids, contained in gas reserves, are more valuable as raw materials than gas and can be used as fuel as well as for producing chemicals and gasoline.
   The new policy, called the National Gas Pricing Policy and Regulations, is to ensure short and long-term gas availability at affordable prices for all domestic sectors, the statement said.
   Nigeria is the ninth-largest gas producer in the world with a proven reserves of 124 trillion cubic feet representing about one third of Africa’s total gas reserves. dollars.

Germany defended its rank as top global exporter last year, beating a fast growing China for possibly the last time as it posted a sharp increase in its trade surplus on Friday.
   Exports by the biggest European economy came to 969 billion euros ($1.4 trillion) last year, an increase of 8.5 per cent from 2006, official figures showed.
   China sold 1.22 trillion dollars worth of goods abroad, according to the Chinese trade ministry’s Internet site.
   The World Trade Organisation had said last year that China would surpass Germany in 2009.
   For 2007, Germany posted a trade surplus of 199 billion euros, up 40 billion euros, the figures showed.
   European Union members remained Germany’s main trade partners, helping offset in part the impact from the rise of the euro against other major currencies.
   Exports to EU members increased 11.1 per cent to 627.6 billion euros, while imports grew 8.4 per cent to 502.6 billion, the Destatis statistics service said.
   Other exports rose by 12.9 per cent despite the stronger euro, while imports gained 10.1 per cent, the data showed.
   ‘This rounds off another successful year for the German export sector,’ said UniCredit economist Alexander Koch.
   ‘Germany defended its title as world champion in merchandise exports for the fifth year in a row, after overtaking the US in 2003.’
   Koch forecast continued strong German exports this year, adding ‘it will be a tough competition between Germany and China.
   ‘In the long term, however, more than 1.3 billion Chinese will outperform 82 million Germans in terms of exports,’ Koch said.

The Lafarge Surma Cement Limited has engaged the Madonna Advertising Limited to launch an advertising campaign on the new pack of Supercrete Cement.
   Mike Cowell, managing director of the Lafarge Surma Cement Limited, and Fakhrul Kamal, chairman of Madonna Advertising Limited, inked the deal on behalf of their respective organisations, said a press release.
   Other high officials of the companies were also present.

The City Bank Limited has launched insurance coverage against the locker facility of the customers.
   An agreement to this effect was signed between The City Bank Limited and the Pragati Insurance Limited held at a ceremony at the bank’s head office in the Dhaka city recently.
   Sohail RK Hussain, acting managing director of City Bank, and ABM Mir Hossain, additional managing director of Pragati Insurance, inked the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations, said a press release.
   Raihan Ul Amin, deputy managing director (operations), DH Chowdhury, deputy managing director (legal and compliance) of the bank, and AKM Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Pragati Insurance Limited, were also present.
   The customers will get the insurance coverage without any additional fee and will receive a maximum of Tk 2.50 lakh from any loss or damage, according to the deal.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, warned on Friday that Russia’s economy is highly inefficient and that a failure to diversify from oil and gas exports could threaten the country’s existence.
   ‘The main problem of the Russian economy is its extreme inefficiency,’ Putin said in a speech to regional governors and parliamentary leaders in Moscow, referring to low labour productivity in Russia.
   Putin urged far-reaching modernisation of the economy and said that Russia was overly reliant on the natural resources sector. ‘We have only modernised the economy in a piecemeal way,’ he said.
    ‘This will lead to increased dependency on the import of goods and technologies and to a strengthening of our role as an energy annexe to the global economy,’ he continues.
    ‘Following this scenario, we will not be able to guarantee the security of the country or its normal development and we will threaten its very existence,’ Putin said.
   In his speech, which outlined his vision of Russia’s development until 2020, Putin highlighted in particular the ‘very tough’ bureaucratic difficulties faced by small businesses in Russia.
    ‘You can’t start your own business for months. You have to go to every agency with a bribe: to the firemen, the health inspection, the gynaecologists. Whom don’t you have to go to? It’s just terrible,’ Putin said.
   But Putin also praised the economic successes of his eight years in power, pointing to a more than twofold increase in salaries for public sector workers and in pensions, as well as a halving of the poverty rate.

The dollar dipped against the euro on Thursday but rose against sterling ahead of interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England.
   Traders were also cautious about a weekend meeting of world finance chiefs in Tokyo where recent financial market turmoil and fears of a global economic slowdown are set to top the agenda.
   Activity was subdued due to market holidays in many Asian countries for the Lunar New Year.
   In European trade on Thursday, the euro firmed to 1.4638 dollars from 1.4633 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.
   Against the Japanese currency, the dollar slipped to 106.50 yen from 106.56.
   Dealers were betting that the European Central Bank (ECB) would leave its interest rates on hold at 4.0 per cent at a meeting Thursday due to worries about upward price pressures in the eurozone.
   ‘Given high inflation, it looks to be too premature to start talking about the possibility of a rate cut’ in the eurozone, said Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ chief analyst Osamu Takashima.
   ‘If so, the euro is most likely to maintain its rising trend against the dollar.’
   Investors will be closely watching remarks from ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, who is scheduled to speak after the rate decision, for any signs of a softening in the bank’s policy stance.
   The Bank of England (BoE), meanwhile, was widely tipped to trim its key interest rates by a quarter point to 5.25 per cent as it seeks to bolster flagging growth while containing inflationary pressures.
   The BoE’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee was set to announce a quarter-point decrease, according to most economists.
   A cut by the British central bank would follow moves by the US Federal Reserve to slash 1.25 per centage points off its key rate in January amid worries that the American economy could fall into recession.
   Jitters ahead of Saturday’s meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Seven rich nations in Tokyo were deterring players from active trading, dealers said.
   The dollar had drawn some support after a warning from the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Charles Plosser, about the potential dangers of inflation, dealers said.
   His remarks sparked concern that the Fed may have only limited scope for further rate cuts if inflationary pressures mount, they added.
   In Europe on Thursday, the euro changed hands at 1.4638 dollars against 1.4633 late Wednesday, at 155.88 yen, 0.7491 pounds and 1.6033 Swiss francs.
   The dollar stood at 106.50 yen and 1.0950 Swiss francs. The pound was at 1.9541 dollars.
   On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to 908.93 dollars an ounce from 903 dollars late on Wednesday.

Gold prices moved up by Rs 70 at Rs 11,770 per 10 gram for the second day in the bullion market here today as marriage season demand continued.
   Marketmen said local demand was so strong that reports of a fall in its prices in the overseas markets did not have any effect in the domestic market which usually follows the global trend.
   They also said funds also seen shifting from weakening stocks to bullion, lending support to the precious metal The precious metal in overseas markets fell 92 cents to 909.59 dollar an ounce. It reached a record 936.92 dollar an ounce on February 1.
   Standard gold and ornaments rose further by Rs 70 each at Rs 11,770 and Rs 11,620 per 10 gram respectively.

Oil prices steadied Thursday amid fresh supply concerns as energy giant Shell said it would not be able to honour export contracts from Nigeria owing to unrest in Africa’s biggest exporter of crude.
   Prices had declined Wednesday after the US government reported another rise in crude oil inventories amid mounting worries that demand for energy would fall owing to the weak US economy, traders said.
   On Thursday New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, was unchanged at 87.14 dollars per barrel.
   Brent North Sea crude for March delivery dipped one cent to 87.77 dollars.
   ‘Oil futures were fairly flat as news of production shutdowns in Nigeria offset market fears over the global economy,’ said Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar.
   Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell said Thursday it would not be able to honour all of its export contracts from its southern Nigerian Bonny export terminal for two months because of sabotage.
   Shell did not give figures on the expected loss in production but industry sources said it runs into thousands of barrels of crude.
   Shell is Nigeria’s largest oil operator, accounting for around half of the country’s daily output of 2.6 million barrels at peak production, but unrest in the Niger Delta have slashed production by a quarter since January 2006.
   A force majeure allows companies to suspend contractual obligations such as deliveries of oil and gas following unforeseen events without incurring penalties.
   On Wednesday, oil prices closed down more than a dollar after the US Department of Energy said American crude inventories had jumped by 7.0 million barrels in the week ending February 1, marking a fourth straight rise in stocks.
   The increase was much higher than analysts’ consensus forecast which had predicted a gain of just 2.2 million barrels.
   US gasoline, or petrol, stockpiles increased by 3.6 million barrels, which also beat market expectations calling for a 1.7-million-barrel rise.

Indian share prices were seen slipping further next week in the absence of fresh overseas inflows and increasing investor worry over the global economic outlook, dealers said.
   They said uncertain global market trends could impact emerging markets such as India in coming weeks.
   For the week to February 8, the Mumbai stock exchange’s benchmark 30-share Sensex index fell 4.26 per cent or 777.69 points to 17,464.89.
   ‘Investors are clearly spooked by global trends and local concerns linked to weak primary markets. There’s choppiness ahead,’ said a dealer at brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher.
   Real estate developer Emaar MGF Land on Friday said it had withdrawn its initial public offering temporarily due to uncertain market conditions.
   Emaar, which sought to raise up to 1.64 billion dollars, had cut its price band twice and extended its IPO by three days to February 11.
   On Thursday, India’s Wockhardt Hospitals, which had also lowered its price band, withdrew its IPO due to weak investor demand.
   Earlier this week, the government forecast India’s economy would expand by 8.7 per cent in the financial year ending March as farm and manufacturing output slowed from last year’s rapid pace.
   The Indian economy grew by 9.6 per cent in the year ended March 2007, the second-fastest rate for a major economy after China.

DCCI signs deal with Tejari FZLLC
The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry was signed an agreement with Tejari FZLLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Thursday. Hossain Khaled, president of the DCCI, and Omar Hijazi, chief executive officer of the Tejari FZLLC, signed the memorandum of understanding for their respective organisaitons, said a press release. Among others, DCCI secretary AKM Nawsherul Alam and Rizwan Bin Farouq f RIZ Events were present at the signing ceremony.
— New Age

Eight-day cake fair begins
An eight-day cake fair began at Padma garden in Rajshahi on Friday. Rezaun Nabi Dudu, acting mayor of the Rajshahi City Corporation, inaugurated the fair in the afternoon. Ward commissioners Abdul Hamid Sarker Tekon and Shariful Islam Babu were presented during the inauguration ceremony.
— New Age

India inflation crosses 4pc
India’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.11 per cent on the back of higher food prices, latest data showed on Friday, lessening chances of any early interest rate easing. Inflation climbed to 4.11 per cent for the week ended January 26 from 3.93 per cent from the previous week, according to the wholesale price index, India’s most watched cost-of-living monitor. Inflation has fluctuated in recent weeks but stayed well below the central bank’s ceiling of close to five per cent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2008. The Reserve Bank of India last month held key rates steady, but said the risk of higher inflation had increased. It has raised interest rates nine times since 2004 to keep prices in check amid an economic boom.
— AFP

China posts 95pc growth in wind power generation
China made remarkable progress in wind power development in 2007 and the industry will expect further regulatory boost in the coming years. China Electricity Council, an industry association, said the wind power sector generated electricity of 5.6 billion kilowatt hours last year, a growth of 95.2 per cent over the previous year. The growth rate was 22 percentage points higher than the year before.
— Xinhua