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Some 400 engineers and non-engineering cadre-service officials of the newly created Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited are now in a dilemma over future of their career following the transformation of the state-owned telecom sector.
   After the creation of the new state-owed public limited company BTCL, these cadre officials of the defunct Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board were asked to join the new entity without mentioning the status of their service under the new management.
   The BTTB officials joined the BTCL in compliance with government order and since they have been working under the new corporate body in the country’s telecom sector.
   The BTCL started functioning on July 1, 2008 by taking over all assets and liabilities of the now-defunct BTTB.
   However, on July 16, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications issued an order asking the new management to define the status of their officials and employees and inform the ministry about the matter.
   The ministry also asked the BTCL management to prepare the terms and conditions for the officials and employees. But, up till now, the BTCL management could not put in place any ‘service terms and conditions’ for the staff members.
   Expressing frustration, a senior official of BTCL, who joined from the BTTB as a telecom cadre officer, said under the new company nothing but the name did change.
   This official noted that under the new corporate body, they have to work under a new business competition with other private telephone operators.
   ‘But, we don’t have any discretionary powers to take our own decision for the sake of our own business. Still, we have to seek decision from the higher authority in addressing any case relating to either customer service or business improvement,’ said the official on condition of anonymity.
   He said everything in BTCL moves in the old style of BTTB, which creates only frustration among the officials and employees.
   Post and Telecoms Ministry sources said the government might have to face complications in dealing with the cadre officers in the BTCL as their recruitment was under the Public Service Commission.
   Since July 1, two new state-owned public limited companies have been created by the caretaker government under a reform recipe.
   Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd was created dissolving the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority while BTCL came out from BTTB.
   But in DPDC, all the officials and employees were recruited under fresh appointment to a 3-year term under a new enhanced salary structure.
   On the other hand, BTTB officials and employees were absorbed in the BTCL under the old appointment with old salary structure.

Dhaka stocks plummeted on Wednesday due to profit taking selling pressure from the investors after a nine-day ride.
   The general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 34.09 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 2797.32, while its blue chips index, DSE20, shed 15.48 points or 0.64 per cent to finish at 2418.75.
   A DSE stock broker said the investors offloaded their holdings to earn profits after the recent rise in share prices.
   The market started to rebound from August 20 after a nine-week slump that pushed down the DSE general index to as low as 2571.62 points on August 19 from 2,801 points on July 30 last.
   Of the total 2 29 issues traded at the DSE, 44 advanced, 171 declined and 14 remained unchanged.
   Turnover at the DSE decreased to Tk 269.98 crore from the Tuesday’s Tk 271.57 crore.
   Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company topped the turnover leaders with a total trasction of Tk 39.39 crore.
   Beximco, Grameen Two Mutual Fund, ACI, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, LankaBangla Finance, ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund, Pragati Insurance, Square Pharmaceuticals and Uttara Bank were among the top 10 turnover leaders.
   Chittagong Stock Exchange’s selective categories index lost 55.60 points or 0.98 per cent to close at 5646.96, while its blue chips index, CSE30, shed 56.34 points or 0.72 per cent to finish at 7788.46.
   Of the total 134 issues traded at the CSE, 27 posted gain, 102 dropped and five remained unchanged.
   Turnover at the CSE, however, increased to Tk 36.68 crore from the Tuesday’s Tk 30.87 crore.

Laos will grant provincial administrators unlimited power to approve business investments, provided they are not subject to environmental concerns, according to an investment policy maker.
   Ministry of planning and investment’s investment promotion department deputy director general, Manothong Vongxay, yesterday said the Lao government had amended decrees regarding domestic and foreign investment promotion at a meeting in Vientiane last week.
   ‘But it will be some time before the amendments are implemented,’ he said.
   Manothong said the modified decrees allowed provincial investment officials to approve unlimited investments in one of three business categories; namely enterprises that do not use raw materials sourced from natural resources.
   Under previous decrees authorities in the four major provinces of Luang Prabang, Champassak, Savannakhet and Vientiane could only approve investments of less than 43 billion kip ($5m), with the remaining provinces having the power to approve Investments of up to 25 billion kip ($3m).
   ‘Provinces used to have limited power in terms of what investments they could approve and investors had to seek permission from the government before investing. But once the amended decrees are enforced, all provincial administrations will have equal and unlimited power to approve investments in this category,’ Manothong said.
   He said provincial authorities would also have the power to grant tax reductions or exemptions as defined in the law to promote investments.
   ‘Different provinces will have their own way of promoting investment, but they must comply with all relevant laws,’ he said.
   ‘We will organise a number of training courses for provincial officials to ensure they can effectively approve and manage investments in accordance with national laws.’
   He said the amended decrees would also encourage investors to visit local areas.
   ‘Local and foreign investors will no longer have to travel to Vientiane to ask for investment permission,’ he said.
   He dismissed doubts over concerns that provincial officials lack adequate skills and knowledge to handle the investment process.
   Manothong said the government would still continue to hold power over investment approvals for the second and third business categories, which cover businesses such as banks, insurance companies, furniture production, and mining and hydropower projects.

Issuing a note of warning, the commerce adviser, Hossain Zillur Rahman, said negotiations could be held on the logical demands of the garment workers, but any ‘anarchy’ in this sector would be quelled with a ‘strong hand’.
   Calling upon all to discharge duties from their respective positions in ensuring working environment in the garment sector, the adviser reminded that the garment industry is a sector of pride for all.
   ‘Strong roles should be played in every step in future with the coordinated initiative of owners, workers and government,’ said the commerce adviser while inaugurating rationing programme for the garment workers during Ramadan.
   Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association arranged the programme at Dilon Complex on Gazipur crossing on the Dhaka-Gazipur road.
   Zillur said this initiative would play a supplementary role in developing production and business for the owners. Apart from the OMS programme of the government, BDR’s Dal-Bhat and TCB’s fair-price shopping progarmmes to offset price rises, BGMEA’S initiative would help keep the prices of essentials stable during Ramadan, he hoped.
   Under the rationing recipe for some two million workers in the export industry, rice will be sold at Tk 27.10 per kg while lentils Tk 80 and gram Tk 50.
   BGMEA introduced the rationing system in country’s 11 places and opened eight medical camps.
   The BGMEA authorities through the Adviser handed over a 36-seat pickup van to Gazipur Police Administration to ensure security for the garment factories.
   BGMEA president Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury, vice-president Mahmud Hasan, deputy commissioner M Borhanuddin Bhuiyan and police super M Abdul Baten were among others present on the occasion.

National Board of Revenue chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid Wednesday said
   that his agency is doing whatever possible to turn the self-motivated taxpaying effort into a social movement.
   He made the statement during an exchange of views meeting with the top officials of the city’s elite clubs at the NBR conference room.
   The revenue chief said
   from this month they would establish camps at every upazila for the convenience of the taxpayers.
   He also opted to train up the officials of the elite clubs to deal with income tax return forms so that they can help the club members.
   Mazid mentioned that it is not possible to do everything by using force.
   ‘Awareness of the taxpayers is the key to more income tax collection,’ he said.
   The NBR chairman
   admitted that the workforce of his office is limited and they
   are trying their best to get
   the optimum result in tax collection.
   Dhaka Club president Sadat Hossain Selim, Gulshan
   Club president Faizul Islam, Uttara Club president Jafar Akram, and RAWA Club chairman Brig Gen (retd) M Moazzem Hossain also spoke on the occasion.

When India’s Tata Motors unveiled what it billed as the world’s cheapest car early this year, it was greeted by industry applause and forecasts the vehicle would revolutionise how millions travel.
   But since then, the jelly-bean shaped Nano has crashed into the competing interests of India’s farmers and industry.
   Now a battle at the Singur plant in Marxist-ruled West Bengal, where the mini-car was slated to be made, is being seen as a test case for India’s industrialisation. On Tuesday, Tata announced it was suspending work at the plant and seeking other sites in the face of unrelenting protests by activists demanding the return of farmers’ land taken for the project.
   The plant situation is ‘hostile and intimidating,’ said a spokesman for Tata Motors, India’s top vehicle maker.
   Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata conceived of the no-frills 100,000 rupees ($2,264) car as a means to get millions of India’s poor masses off their motorbikes and into safer cars.
   He even compared the car’s launch to a landmark in the history of transportation, like the first powered flight by the Wright brothers and the first lunar landing. But he has been facing spiralling raw material costs, with the steel, plastics and rubber needed to make the vehicle all shooting up in price in recent months.
   That means the target price may not be feasible for longer than an introductory period.
   Now a write-off of the factory, on which Tata has spent 350 million dollars, could put a further burden on the firm’s bottom line, analysts say.
   The West Bengal government wooed the Tatas to set up the plant in the impoverished state to create jobs.
   Tata Motors, in turn, ‘came to West Bengal hoping we could add value, prosperity and create job opportunities in the communities in the state,’ the Tata spokesman said.
   But the atmosphere at the plant site has soured with almost daily protests culminating last week in massive rallies that blocked the highway leading to Kolkata.
   The plant itself is plastered with posters threatening employees with ‘fatal consequences’ if they show up.
   Indian industrialists have warned the fate of the project could tarnish the nation’s appeal as an attractive investment destination.

The High Court has stayed the operation of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s order issued on August 20 fining Tk 1 lakh each of the directors of One Bank Limited.
   The High Court bench of Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Farid Ahmed on August 28 also issued a rule on the SEC to explain in four weeks why the August 20 order would not be declared illegal and void.
   The court passed the orders after hearing a writ petition filed by the eight directors of the private bank challenging the legality of the order that fined them Tk 1 lakh each and asked them to deposit the fine in 15 days.
   Senior Supreme Court lawyer M Zahir moved the case for the petitioners and deputy attorney general Razik-Al-Jalil appeared for the SEC.

Turkey has grown increasingly concerned that a crisis over customs procedures between itself and Russia may spread to gas and petroleum commerce, local Today’s Zaman reported on Wednesday.
   At the moment, 60 per cent of Turkey’s natural gas and about half of its crude oil demand are supplied by Russia.
   The report said that any possible disturbance in crude oil needs to be supplied from other countries and the international spot market, however, a similar solution for a natural gas crisis is not available.
   Turkey has threatened to retaliate against new Russian import controls that are seen as an attempt to punish Turkey for allowing US warships carrying aid to Georgia to pass through the Turkish straits, which connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
   Experts do not think Russia would cut gas imports completely, but they worry that Russia may not provide more gas than already promised. In such a case, Turkey would likely be faced by a serious energy crisis.
   Turkey has signed two deals with Russia over natural gas. The first deal was signed in 1986 for a 25-year period. The deal, which will expire in 2011, let Turkey buy 6 billion square meters of natural gas per year.
   The second deal was the Blue Stream, again for 25 years. With this deal, Turkey buys 16 billion square meters of natural gas per year directly.
   Last year the Turkish Pipeline Corporation bought 36.4 billion square meters of natural gas from Russia, 23.1 billion square meters of which were a result of the contracts.
   Apart from the natural gas, crude oil imports from Russia are increasing exponentially. In the given period, 9.3 of 23.4 million tons of crude oil Turkey exports are purchased from Russia.
   The increase in the natural gas and crude oil trade has changed the commerce balance between the countries rapidly, to the disadvantage of Turkey.

The BASIC Bank Limited recently organised a two-day training course on ‘laws relating to securities and documentation’ in the Dhaka city.
   Shaikh Ahmed, general manager of the bank, distributed certificates among the participants at a closing ceremony, said a press release. Ahmed advised the participants to follow the rules and regulation regarding proper documentation and take appropriate securities for loan management.
   Monzur Morshed, general manager, and Md Mujibur Rahman, in-charge of the bank’s training cell, were also present on the occasion.

Md Abdul Awal, director of the Credit and Development Forum, has been elected member to the 7-member executive committee of the Banking With The Poor, a Singapore-based network of Asian microfinance institutions.
   The election was held at Hanoi in Vietnam on August 25, said a press release.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday dismissed fears of a second financial crisis in South Korea, saying the country’s fundamentals are much stronger than in 1997.
   Financial markets have been spooked by concerns of possible massive capital flight this month, when bonds worth 6.71 billion dollars held by foreigners mature.
   The Korean won closed Wednesday at 1,148.5 to the dollar, down 14.5 won from Tuesday and the lowest level since October 2004.
   The IMF said some parallels had been drawn to 1997 given the rising external debt, a weakening currency and the current account moving into deficit.
   ‘It is important to emphasise that these similarities are largely superficial, and the fundamentals of Korea today are much stronger than 10 years ago,’ said the IMF’s resident representative Meral Karasulu.
   She said much of the short-term foreign debt was linked to currency hedging by Korean exporters and investors abroad.
   ‘Furthermore, despite the recent increase, the outstanding external debt is still not unusually large when compared to Korea’s export earnings or international reserves, or when compared to other countries in the region.’
   Seoul officials also say there is no comparison to 1997, when the IMF made its biggest ever bailout of 57 billion dollars to help rescue the nation from state bankruptcy.
   They say foreign exchange reserves of some 243.2 billion dollars are enough to meet liabilities.
   ‘Such crisis talk is no more than wild rumours,’ prime minister Han Seung-Soo told reporters. ‘No one in the government believes what we are experiencing now is similar to the International Monetary Fund crisis of 1997.’
   Karasulu said that in the last decade Korea’s corporate sector had de-leveraged significantly and was profitable, while banks had high levels of capital and low levels of non-performing assets.
   ‘Financial supervision has been strengthened significantly. And Korea operates under a flexible exchange rate system,’ she said.
   Karasulu said the ‘modest’ current account deficit and weakening won largely reflect ‘challenging global circumstances’ and high oil prices.
   ‘This is very different from 1997, when the driving factor behind the deterioration of the current account was a badly misaligned currency.’
   Stocks rebounded Wednesday from an 18-month low as investors snapped up brokerage and construction shares despite the concerns over financial instability.
   The KOSPI index rose 19.75 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,426.89.
   Deputy Minister for International Affairs Shin Je-Yoon said local financial markets would stabilise after 6.7 billion dollars worth of won-denominated bonds held by foreigners matures next week.
   ‘Our foreign reserves are sufficient to cover’ short-term foreign debt and local banks have enough liquidity, he said.
   Shin said the government expects foreigners to re-invest in domestic treasuries after their bond holdings mature in September.
   ‘We already have funds procured to amortise Korean treasuries maturing in September.’

Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers and exporters of Bangladesh, has received accreditation from the United Kingdom Medicines and HealthCare Products Regulatory Agency for its new plant at Tongi.
   ‘With this, Eskayef has also received permission to export medications in tablet, capsule and granular forms to the UK and other European countries,’ AM Faruque, managing director of Eskayef Bangladesh Limited said Monday.
   Before this, only two other local pharmaceutical companies – Reneta and Square Pharma – obtained the MHRA certificate.
   ‘This is a milestone for the company paving the way to export Eskayef products to European countries. The opportunity will help the company develop into a global supplier of medication and thereby enhance its contribution to the country’s foreign currency earnings,’ Faruque pointed out.
   The UK MHRA approval is one of the toughest registration processes for pharmaceuticals in the world which allows for marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products in the UK and other EU countries, he explained.
   ‘This approval will also help Eskayef to enter the highly regulated markets like Australia, South Africa and GCC countries. And we have already started preparing to register our products in those countries,’ he added.
   The MHRA registration is a very complex process that examines every aspect of pharmaceutical production to marketing – starting from raw material sourcing to production process to quality control processes — and thus finally leading to the total quality assurance of the products.
   UK MHRA sent a team of inspectors who did a thorough inspection of the Eskayef plants starting from auditing the physical lay-out of the plant, quality of the machinery and equipment, HVAC or heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, purity of water used, effluent treatment system, proper validation of the machines, equipment and materials.
   The inspectors found that Eskayef does comply with the good manufacturing practices of the UK.
   Eskayef Bangladesh Limited since its inception as the successor of the Smith Kline & French of USA has all through been maintaining the standard operating procedures of a multinational company, and the UK MHRA certification proves its commitment to total quality compliance, said a company high executive.
   ‘UK MHRA certification is just a beginning for us! We are now planning to obtain the US FDA certification and have already started the groundwork towards that end,’ Faruque said.
   In the last fiscal year, the company exported its products to some 15 countries across four continents.
   Faruque believes the country has the ability to win a greater share of the international drug market due to the low manufacturing costs here.
   ‘Bangladesh also has a number of unique opportunities, or we can say waivers, under the World Trade Organisation’s agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights that gives it the right to manufacture generic drugs and export them to other less developed countries,’ Faruque said.
   The country earned $32.97 million by exporting pharmaceutical products to around 67 countries in the first nine months of 2007-08, posting a 60 per cent rise over the figure during the same period in the previous fiscal.

Hong Kong stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as concerns over global recession overshadowed the falling oil prices in global market.
   The benchmark Hang Seng Index moved down 77.71 points, or 0.37 per cent, to open at the day’s highest 20,964.75 and widened its losses afterwards before picking up a little from the day’s lowest 20,526.73 to close at 20,585.06.
   Turnover rose to 56.09 billion HK dollars (US$7.19b) from Tuesday’s 49.01 billion HK dollars (US$6.28bs).
   Among 43 components of the Hang Seng Index, declining stocks greatly outnumbered advancers 40 to 2, with HK Electric unchanged.
   Huiyuan Juice, one of China’s leading fruit and vegetable juice producer, stunned the market by skyrocketing 164.25 per cent to 10.94 HK dollars as Coca-Cola Co. offered 17.92 billion HK dollars, or about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, to acquire the Chinese juice maker.
   According to a joint statement by the two companies submitted to the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Coca-Cola’s wholly-owned subsidiary Atlantic Industries would purchase the Chinese company’s equities for 12.20 HK dollars per share, almost triple their last closing price.
   Coca-Cola also offered to pay for all outstanding convertible bonds and options, bringing the total amount of the deal to as much as 19.6 billion HK dollars (around US$2.51b).
   Market heavyweight HSBC, which accounts for the largest weighting of the Hang Seng Index, lost 1.06 per cent to 121.6 HK dollars, dampening the index by 36.27 points alone.
   China Mobile, the largest stock measured by market capitalization, continued its weak performance by further falling 2.65 per cent to 86.4 HK dollars, dragging the index by 60.72 points.
   Energy companies were the hardest hit shares as global oil prices fall below 109 US dollars a barrel with the US dollar hitting its 11-month high. The US government said it would release oil from its strategic reserve to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Gustav, which battered its southern coastal areas Tuesday.
   PetroChina, or the country’s largest oil producer, slumped 3.22per cent to 9.63 HK dollars. Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner, appeared to have failed from getting a boost from the falling oil prices, down 2.39 per cent to 7.35 HK dollars. CNOOC, China’s largest offshore oil producer, plunged 5.98 per cent to 10.7 HK dollars.
   Local property companies in Hong Kong were all lower. Cheung Kong, one of Hong Kong largest house developers controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, slid 0.18 per cent to 112.2 HK dollars. SHK Property, the largest house developer in Hong Kong, dropped 2.43 per cent to 104.6 HK dollars. Henderson Land fell 0.94 per cent to 47.25 HK dollars. New World Development shed 0.53 per cent to 11.36HK dollars. Sino Land edged down 0.29 per cent to 13.62 HK dollars. Hang Lung Property skid 0.42 per cent to 24 HK dollars.
   China Enterprise Index, or H-shares composed of companies registered in the Chinese mainland, moved down 376.32 points or 3. 29 per cent, to 11,076.83.
   China’s banks and insurance companies softened sharply from previous strong tally. ICBC, China’s largest lender, lost 3 per cent to 5.19 HK dollars. Bank of China, the country’s second largest bank, weakened 1.5 per cent to 3.28 HK dollars. China Construction Bank fell 1.92 per cent to 6.13 HK dollars. Bank of Communications slumped 2.47 per cent to 8.68 HK dollars. China Merchants Bank softened 3.55 per cent to 24.45 HK dollars. China Life, the country’s largest insurer, moved down 2.53 per cent to 28. 95 HK dollars. Ping An, the second largest insurance company, plunged 5.06 per cent to 55.3 HK dollars.

China’s banking regulator is calling on banks and other lenders to provide more loans to small enterprises, highlighting growing government concerns about the need to boost growth and create jobs.
   Financial institutions must ‘make maximum use’ of a five-per cent increase in the loan quota, focusing the money on small enterprises, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement on its website.
   They must also make sure that lending to those companies rises faster than overall loan growth, according to the statement, which was posted Tuesday.
   Interest rates on the loans should be set at a level that limits risks but ‘supports the sustainable development of the small enterprises,’ it said.
   The banks were also told to open more outlets where private business is active and provide more innovative funding channels, such as allowing equity shares and intellectual property rights as loan security for those enterprises.
   The statement was posted one day after the central bank published a note on its website pledging to expand loan access for three sectors, including small companies.
   ‘Small- and medium-sized enterprises have been under big pressure amid the global economic slowdown,’ said Li Ruoyu, an economist with the State Information Centre, a government think tank.
   ‘They are a key job creator ... and it is a more dynamic part of the economy. So the government wants to reduce the impact from slowing exports by providing some financial support,’ she said.
   China’s central bank last month raised this year’s quota of new yuan loans by five per cent, the official Xinhua news agency said earlier.
   The previous cap was widely understood to be no more than 3.63 trillion yuan ($530b), the same amount as was lent in 2007, as the government intended to curb the country’s runaway inflation using a tight monetary policy.
   Stephen Green, an analyst with Standard Chartered in Shanghai, said the credit controls had particularly affected small and medium-sized enterprises, as banks tend to lend to large state-owned companies.
   Smaller companies have little other choice, since borrowing from private lenders tends to be much more costly, he argued.

Argentina announced Tuesday it will pay off its 6.7 billion dollars debt to the Paris Club of international creditors, as the South American country slowly regains its footing following the disastrous economic crash of 2001.
   ‘I have instructed my economy minister to use the available Central Bank reserves to pay off the debt to the Paris Club,’ said President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
   The Paris Club members include the United States, Japan and other members of the Group of Seven economic powers, which crafted a financial bailout for formerly bankrupt Argentina following its 2001 meltdown.
   Argentina’s business community hailed the announced debt payoff as a welcome bid to put the country’s financial house right, after years of economic disorder.
   ‘I believe that the debt repayment is going to have a positive effect domestically and internationally,’ said Juan Carlos Lascurain, president of the Argentine Industrial Union manufacturers’ group. ‘I think creditors will respond well to it.’
   ‘It will give us the possibility of improving the economic situation, and will give businesses a chance to get better financing,’ he said.
   The peso crashed in 2001, leading to widespread riots by desperate Argentines who lost their life savings.
   The crisis nearly caused the government to default Argentina has been struggling ever since to recover.
   Washington welcomed the move. ‘This decision represents an important first step in consolidating Argentina’s position in international markets,’ said US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
   ‘We hope that this important step will create opportunities for US financial institutions and international investors to resume operations in Argentina,’ McCormack said.
   The US government also ‘reiterates its commitment to work closely with Argentine government authorities in strengthening and expanding the rich bilateral and multilateral agenda with Argentina,’ he said.
   Osvaldo Cornide, head of the Argentine Chamber of Mid-sized Businesses, said getting rid of the country’s debt will give private business access to loans at much more attractive rates — perhaps six or seven per cent — rather than what he considers the unreasonably high rates he says Argentine businesses have had to pay.
   ‘At present, these rates are usurious in Argentina,’ he said. ‘This announcement will radically change the conditions of financing, both outside and inside the country.’
   Despite its struggles, Argentina’s economy has grown by an average of eight per cent over the past five years and government reserves are still near 50 billion, according to official statistics.

Hewlett-Packard, world leading printer and IT equipment manufacturer, has recently launched Eid promotional offer.
   The offer was launched at the HP reseller get-together held at a hotel in Dhaka city, said a press release.
   Shabbir Shafiullah, country business development manager of Hewlett-Packard, AK Azad, retail channel development manager, Sarower Chowdhury, corporate channel development manager, Ashaduzzaman, supplies channel development of Hewlett-Packard Bangladesh, were present at the launching ceremony.
   Under the offer, HP customers can win attractive gifts with the purchase of HP Inkjet printers, HP all-in-ones, HP scanjets, HP laser jet printers, HP color laserjet printers or original HP print cartridges.
   Customers can collect the gifts from the HP centres located at BCS Computer City, Elephant Road IT Market or HP authorised resellers country-wide. The promotion started from the first day of the month of Ramadan.

The Eastern Bank Limited along with seven other financial institutions signed an agreement with the Malek Spinning Mills Limited at a ceremony held in Dhaka recently.
   Under the agreement, Malek Spinning Mills got a loan of Tk 352 crore, of which Tk 63 crore as term loan, said a press release.
   Dhaka Bank, HSBC, One Bank, Trust Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, IPDC and Citibank NA were the other participating financial institutions. Malek Spinning Mills managing director A. Matin Chowdhury, EBL MD and chief executive officer Ali Reza Iftekhar, Dhaka Bank MD Shahed Noman, One Bank MD Farman R Chowdhury, Shahjalal Islami Bank MD Muhamad Ali, IPDC MD Masih-Ul-Huq Chowdhury, Trust Bank DMD Ishtiaque Ahmed
   Chowdhury, Citibank NA director Abrar A. Anwar and HSBC head of corporate banking Mahbub-Ur-Rahman were present in the agreement signing ceremony.

The US government sued Boeing Co on Tuesday, alleging the aerospace manufacturer illegally overcharged Air Force for building a B-1 bomber self-protection system.
   The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that during 1998 contract negotiations, Boeing exaggerated its contract price and submitted 140 illegally inflated invoices to Air Force, in violation of the federal False Claims Act, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
   Boeing failed to disclose that it would out-source the manufacture of most of the components that were to be used for the Towed Decoy System, the lawsuit claims.
   During negotiations, Boeing promised to fabricate 50 parts of the system at its Palmdale Site 9 facility in California, but was instead planning to close the Palmdale site and use suppliers and subcontractors to make the parts, according to the complaint.

The euro on Wednesday fell below 1.44 dollars for the first time since late January as the market continued to anticipate lower interest rates for the eurozone, dealers said.
   The euro dropped to 1.4385 dollars in London trading. It later stood at 1.4396 dollars from 1.4517 in New York late on Tuesday. Sterling meanwhile hit a fresh record low against the euro and near 2.5-year trough versus the dollar as Britain is forecast to fall into recession before the end of 2008.
   ‘The euro is faced with further downside risks, both against the dollar and the yen,’ a trader told Dow Jones Newswires.
   Dealers said that a slide in oil prices should dampen inflation and leave more room for the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to reduce interest rates, making European currencies less attractive to investors.
   In the short term, however, the ECB and BoE were both expected to leave their key lending rates unchanged at their next meetings on Thursday.
   ‘Some are speculating that the Bank of England might perhaps deliver a surprise rate cut’ as soon as Thursday, said Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking chief foreign exchange manager Hideaki Inoue. British borrowing costs stand at 5.0 per cent and ECB rates at 4.25 per cent.
   Oil prices fell on Wednesday after the US government decided to tap its strategic reserves after Hurricane Gustav had brought a halt to energy production in the Gulf of Mexico.
   While the US economy is in bad shape, analysts say, the outlook appears even bleaker elsewhere.
   The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday raised its forecast for growth in the US economy this year while downgrading its outlook for the eurozone, Japan and Britain, which it said would enter recession this year.
   The United States is now expected to grow faster than the eurozone and Japan, ‘a theme which has helped the dollar recover over the past one and a half months,’ NAB Capital strategists wrote in a note to clients.
   In London trading on Wednesday, the euro changed hands at 1.4396 dollars against 1.4517 late on Tuesday, at 156.47 yen (157.61), 0.8136 pounds (0.8142) and 1.6064 Swiss francs (1.6062). The dollar stood at 108.56 yen (108.55) and 1.1145 Swiss francs (1.1063).
   The pound was at 1.7719 dollars (1.7829). On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to 792.59 dollars per ounce from 798.50 dollars late on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell on Wednesday as the US government decided to release crude stocks from its strategic reserve after Hurricane Gustav halted energy production in the Gulf of Mexico, analysts said.
   ‘The release of the oil will prevent any shortage and that will, of course, help calm the market,’ said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz. Oil prices were also weighed down by a strong dollar, which Wednesday struck an eight-month high against the euro.
   A stronger US currency makes oil more expensive for buyers paying in weaker currencies, which in turn reduces demand and leads to lower prices.
   New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, shed 1.42 dollars to 108.29 dollars a barrel after sliding almost six dollars by the close on Tuesday. Brent North Sea crude for October was down 1.25 dollars at 107.09 dollars.
   Brent had tumbled below 105 dollars at one stage on Tuesday to reach its lowest level in four months after Gustav appeared to have wreaked less damage than feared on Gulf of Mexico US energy facilities.
   The United States announced late on Tuesday that it was releasing 250,000 barrels of oil from its strategic reserve to help cover lost production.
   There was no oil production on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico region, where a quarter of US oil is normally produced, the US Department of the Interior said. Ninety five per cent of natural gas production was also offline.
   The threat from Gustav had raised grim memories of the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita which damaged or destroyed about 165 of around 4,000 oil platforms in the Gulf. Damage this time appeared to be much less severe.
   A fire meanwhile broke out at Kuwait’s largest oil refinery on Wednesday but was quickly brought under control, an oil official said. Kuwait pumps around 2.6 million barrels of oil per day.
   Oil prices have eased about 25 per cent since reaching record levels above 147 dollars in July, largely because of falling demand as the global economy slows, analysts say.
   Elsewhere, the oil market was gearing up for next week’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Some members of the cartel have said that OPEC, which produces 40 percent of world oil, was likely to maintain current output quotas, citing oversupply and falling demand.

Inflation may touch 13.5pc in Nov: Goldman
Inflation is likely to touch 13.5 per cent in November and the Reserve Bank may be forced to raise short-term lending rates and statuary deposits of the banks with the Central bank by 25 basis points each by next month, said global investment banker Goldman Sachs. ‘We expect inflation to remain in double-digit levels through 2008, peaking at 13.5 per cent in November, before declining to 9 per cent by March 2009,’ it said in a report on Asian economic situation. It pointed out wholesale-price-index-based inflation has ‘unexpectedly’ moderated to 12.4 per cent in the week ending August 16, against 12.6 per cent in the previous week, as the impact of slowing oil prices were felt in the non- administrated component of fuel inflation. Crude oil prices have come down to 111.78 dollars a barrel from all time high of about 147 dollars per barrel on July 11. Goldman Sachs, which has invested in many listed companies in India, said it expected further tightening of monetary policy by the RBI.
— PTI

Chery factory goes into production in Malaysia
The 8th overseas factory of Chinese carmaker Chery in Malaysia has been formally put into production and it has already got the mass production capacity. The company’s president Yin Tongyao made the remarks at a launching ceremony of its first CKD MPV Eastar in Malaysia on Tuesday. The car is assembled in the Chery’s 8th overseas factory set up in Johor Bahru, capital of Malaysian southern Johor state, with all parts made in China. The company also announced that more new models will be introduced in Malaysia soon. ‘Malaysia is the largest passenger car market in ASEAN and also the important link for Chery to other ASEAN countries’ market,’ Yin Tongyao said. Before the new factory, Chery has established 7 overseas factories in Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and
Argentina.
— Xinhua