Number of big taxpayers
surges sevenfold
Shakhawat Hossain
The number of big taxpayers paying more than Tk 10,00,000 in income taxes has shot up by a record 625 per cent in the 2007-08 fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal.
About 14,236 taxpayers paid more than Tk 10,00,000 each in income taxes in 2007-08 fiscal. The number was a mere 1,963 till 2006-07 fiscal, according a study conducted by the National Board of Revenue.
The study, based on income tax files submitted by 15,75,311 taxpayers in the last fiscal year, was done keeping in mind formulation of tax measures for the upcoming budget, said the board officials.
The board officials attributed the dramatic rise in the number of big taxpayers to the ‘fear factor’ following the ‘anti-corruption drive’ by the military-backed caretaker government.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies research director Zaid Bakth, however, said the scope for regularising undisclosed income and the provision for universal self-assessment return for payments of income tax had also contributed to the rise in the number of big taxpayers.
‘Increase in the number of big income taxpayers is the best way to sustain the revenue generation momentum,’ he told New Age.
The NBR study also found that the number of people paying income taxes of Tk 1,00,000 had grown almost sixfold in the time period.
The number of such taxpayers stood at 6,03,711 in 2007-08 fiscal from 1,29,087 recorded in the previous fiscal.
The number of taxpayers incurring losses in business and showing ‘no income tax’ also marked a rise in 2007-2008 fiscal. About 2,045 people submitted such files compared to 813 in the 2006-07 fiscal, it added.
However, the surge in the number of big taxpayers is welcome news for the government against the backdrop of falling revenue from imports, said the board officials.
The collection of income taxes during July-March of the current fiscal stood at Tk 8,180.47 crore, some Tk 600 crore higher than the amount collected during the same period of the last fiscal, they said.
Income taxes accounting for 24 per cent of the current fiscal’s revenue collection target of Tk 54,500 crore, will help the board to offset some of the losses due to falling import revenue.
The board relies on import duties which will account for about 45 per cent of the targeted revenue. The revenue growth from import duty is, however, far from the target as it achieved half of the target in the first nine months.
Tech giants ride out odds
Reuters/Bdnews24.com . San Francisco
A solid crop of earnings reports from the leading lights of technology suggests the sector is proving adept at cost cuts and more resilient to the economic meltdown than previously thought.
While executives from Apple Inc, Google Inc, IBM and Intel Corp were almost uniformly cautious in talking about the rest of the year, they all reported quarterly profits that beat Wall Street expectations.
Microsoft Corp’s earnings on Thursday were in line with forecasts, but investors sent its shares higher in part because of cost cuts that the world’s largest software maker is undertaking to protect its bottom line.
With corporate and consumer spending under pressure, analysts say many tech companies moved swiftly to slash jobs and output — positioning themselves for growth when a bottom is reached, which some say may have happened already.
‘It does look like tech might very well lead us out of the recessionary market,’ said Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle. ‘They are structured to respond more quickly and they’ve demonstrated they can.’
Although the results were not necessarily strong on a historical basis and the outlook for the economy remains extremely uncertain, analysts see positive signs for the sector.
Technology shares have been surging, with the Morgan Stanley Hi-Tech index of major tech stocks up more than 30 per cent since early March.
While a rally may prove difficult to sustain, analysts say the prospects are better for an IT recovery because tech products and services are integral to the day-to-day functioning of the global economy and people’s lives.
‘Everybody’s taking big cuts in their budgets, but a lot of tech spend is not so variable,’ said M. Eric Johnson, director of the Center for Digital Strategies at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. ‘A lot of their spending needs to and has to occur even in a downturn.’
He said the recession in some ways has benefited information technology service providers like IBM, as corporations have moved to outsourcing.
IBM reported an 11 per cent drop in revenue, which was weaker than expected, but higher margins helped its profit beat analysts’ forecasts.
There were other encouraging signals in major tech earnings reports. Apple’s earnings topped Wall Street forecasts as consumers showed they were still willing to spend on premium devices such as iPhones and iPods even in a tough economy.
Google’s and Intel’s results also beat expectations, thanks to cost discipline. Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini declared the worst is over for the PC market, a message echoed by disk drive maker Seagate Technology, but Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said he saw no sign the bottom had been reached.
Port back on track
Bdnews24.com . Dhaka
Vessel movement at Chittagong port resumed after three days on Friday morning, the Chittagong Port Authority secretary told the news agency.
‘Ship movement resumed at 10:00am. By 12:30pm, nine ships waiting in the outer anchorage zone entered the port for unloading their merchandise at different port jetties,’ Syed Farhaduddin said by phone.
Earlier in the morning, he told bdnews24.com that 10 ships lay anchored at various port jetties and 40 ships in the outer anchorage.
All vessel movement in Chittagong port channel remained suspended since Tuesday night after a cement clinker-laden barge sank in the Karnaphuli estuary zone.
The CPA dredger ‘Khanak’ (excavator) was deployed to dredge the channel contiguous to the sunken ship, which helped in increasing the channel depth and width, Farhaduddin said.
Shipping minister Afsarul Amin visited the port Friday morning and asked the authority to salvage the sunken ship and free the navigation channel.
Amin told reporters that the government would soon take steps for procuring a recovery vessel and other equipment. The port officials assured the minister that the sunken ship would be salvaged and brought ashore within a week.
Three private companies are carrying out the salvation work, aided by the CPA and Bangladesh Navy.
China offers world’s biggest IPO
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong
China Zhongwang, Asia’s largest maker of aluminium extrusion products by capacity, said Friday it would raise up to 1.6 billion US dollars in the world’s biggest intial public offering this year.
The company said in its listings document submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it will sell 1.4 billion new shares in a range of 6.80 to 8.80 Hong Kong dollars (0.87-1.13 US) each.
Zhongwang, based in China’s northeastern province of Liaoning, is the world’s third-largest aluminium extrusion product manufacturer by capacity.
The company said it plans to increase its market penetration in the transport-related extrusion business, which accounted for more than 40 percent of its 11.3 billion yuan (1.66 billion US) revenue last year.
The company will take subscriptions for the shares from retail investors from Friday. The shares will be traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange from May 8, according to the documents.
Citic Securities, JP Morgan and UBS are the IPO’s joint underwriters.
Asian markets hit by weak
earnings, US worries
Agence France-Presse . Hong Kong
ASIAN markets closed broadly down on Friday as weak corporate earnings and worries over the US economy weighed on trade, dealers said.
Tokyo was down 1.57 per cent, Sydney fell 0.82 per cent and Shanghai dropped 0.62 per cent, while Hong Kong edged up 0.29 per cent.
Japan’s top securities firm, Nomura, announced a record 7.3-billion-dollar annual loss while Korean high-tech giant Samsung said first-quarter net profit fell 72 per cent as the global recession continued to take its toll.
Investors also remained cautious ahead of the United States’ ‘stress tests’ aimed at gauging banks’ ability to survive the worst financial crisis since World War II.
‘The outcome of the tests is likely to be the key factor for the outlook of regional markets and this explains why the trading volume has tapered off in the local bourse recently,’ Redford Securities’ Kenny Tang told Dow Jones Newswires in Hong Kong.
Down 1.57 per cent, the Nikkei-225 index fell 139.02 points to 8,707.99.
Japanese traders were nervous ahead of a slew of earnings results next week with sentiment also hit by worries over US carmakers GM and Chrysler.
Although weak results have largely been priced in, gloomy forecasts for the current year could spark a sell-off, said Nikko Cordial strategist Tsuyoshi Kawata.
Auto shares were depressed by a report in the Wall Street Journal that US carmaker Chrysler is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection as soon as next week, while General Motors may follow in May.
Japan’s leading automaker Toyota Motor fell 2.1 per cent to 3,810 yen, while Nissan Motor slid 4.8 per cent to 494 yen.
Steelmaker JFE Holdings dropped 3.1 per cent to 2,825 yen after the company refrained from giving an earnings forecast for the current fiscal year despite a better than expected earnings result.
Up 1.74 per cent, the 30-share Sensex rose 194.06 points to 11,329.05.
The Hang Seng Index rose 44.39 points to 15,258.85.
Analysts said the market was likely to consolidate in the near-term after rising 12 per cent this month.
‘The local market’s trading in the near term is likely to remain volatile as there’s still a lack of clear direction ahead,’ said YK Chan, a portfolio manager at Phillip Asset Management.
Contract handset maker Foxconn International rose 9.6 per cent to 4.67 dollars, extending a 7.9 per cent rise seen on Thursday.
ICBC fell 2.5 per cent to 4.27 dollars on news that Allianz and American Express are considering selling down their stakes in the bank.
In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 30.7 points to 3,712.3.
‘The general feeling is that the market has begun its correction following the recent rally. The real key will be how far the market actually pulls back,’ said IG Markets analyst Ben Potter.
Down 0.62 per cent, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 15.36 points to 2,448.60.
Metals stocks dropped on tumbling commodity prices and investors also shrugged off reassurances from the banking watchdog that China would retain its relaxed stance on credit.
‘Banks extended 4.6 trillion yuan in loans in the first quarter—no one expects them to lend another 4.6 trillion yuan in the second quarter,’ said Zhang Qi, an analyst at Haitong Securities.
Jiangxi Copper closed down 4.2 per cent to 23.42 yuan after gaining 6.3 per cent Thursday, and Yunnan Copper Industry ended down 4.1 per cent at 19.43 yuan after rising 5.9 per cent the day before.
Agricultural companies were hit by profit taking. Shandong Denghai Seeds fell 5.9 per cent to 22.20 after rising 3.7 per cent, and Hefei Fengle Seed shed 5.9 per cent to 12.10 after gaining 2.2 per cent.
The weighted index rose 5.53 points to 5,880.77 in Taipei.
Profit-taking eroded early gains based on the island’s talks this weekend with Beijing, dealers said.
Dynamic random access memory chip makers also suffered greater pressure amid uncertainty over the industry’s outlook.
In Seoul, the KOSPI index fell 14.70 points to 1,354.10.
The Korean bourse snapped a four-day winning streak as investors took Samsung Electronics’ better-than-expected earnings as a chance to book profit.
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index fell 7.13 points to 1,852.85.
Trading was affected by the release of more gloomy data in the recession-hit country showing manufacturing output down 34 per cent in March.
Among the banking stocks, DBS rose one cent to 9.04 dollars, United Overseas Bank fell two cents to 11.18 and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropped 13 cents to 5.43.
Singapore Airlines sank 22 cents to 10.60 and Singapore Telecommunications was two cents higher at 2.49 dollars.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 14.04 points to 992.68 while the Jakarta Composite Index lost 1.37 points to 1,591.33.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index gained 8.01 points to 474.07.
Investors welcomed the lifting of a state of emergency in and around Bangkok before profit-taking later in the day, dealers said.
IN Manila, the composite index gained 35.33 points to 2,103.63.
The market was lifted by regulators’ approval of a rate hike by Meralco, the country’s biggest power distributor, as well as moves in Congress to push for amendments to the constitution to remove a ban on foreigners from owning land.
Samsung sees 72pc slump in profit
Agence France-Presse . Seoul
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s top computer memory chipmaker, said Friday its first-quarter net profit fell 72 per cent year-on-year as poor demand depressed prices.
Net profit for January-March was 619 billion won ($462.6 million) compared to 2.19 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Sales rose 8.5 per cent to 18.57 trillion won over the period, while operating profit year-on-year fell to 148 billion won from 2.15 trillion.
The quarterly result was still better than analysts had expected and compares with a 20 billion won loss in the last quarter of 2008 — the company’s first-ever quarterly loss.
‘Despite the extremely challenging market environment, Samsung made a strong recovery from the fourth quarter of 2008, supported by stabilising semiconductor prices, increased profit margin for mobile phones and careful control of marketing and other expenditure,’ the firm said in a statement.
Vice-president Robert Yi said that ‘lingering uncertainty means it is difficult to predict a sharp improvement in demand or the business environment in the near term.’
Yi added that Samsung Electronics, flagship of the country’s biggest business group, would focus on improving technology and high-end products and strengthening management of its global supply chain.
The chip divisions recorded a quarterly operating loss of 670 billion won on weak demand and seasonal factors. Samsung said demand would improve slightly in the second quarter but oversupply would prevent any meaningful improvement in prices.
The LCD (liquid crystal display) division recorded an operating loss of 310 billion won but Samsung said it outperformed the broader market thanks to increased sales of large panels.
It said it was pushing to boost sales of premium products to China, where the market remains relatively strong.
The telecommunications divisions rebounded in the first quarter to record an operating profit of 1.12 trillion won on a consolidated basis. Samsung said it maintained unit sales despite a shrinking in the overall market.
It said overall demand would stay weak in the second quarter but the market for smartphones, touch-screen mobiles and 3G devices would slightly improve.
The company’s digital media divisions registered an improved operating profit of 380 billion won in the first quarter as sales of premium products rose and marketing costs were controlled.
Samsung said its new range of large-screen LED (liquid electronic display) TVs introduced in the first quarter was well received.
‘Samsung will likely post profits even in its semiconductor and LCD panel operations from the second quarter,’ Koo Ja-Woo at Kyobo Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.
‘This is likely to help Samsung expand overall profits in the second quarter.’
South Korea avoids recession
Agence France-Presse . Seoul
South Korea recorded 0.1 per cent growth in the first quarter, narrowly avoiding recession, after its exports slump slowed amid unprecedented rate cuts and stimulus spending, the central bank said Friday.
The result, which follows a 5.1 per cent contraction in the December quarter, means Asia’s fourth largest economy escapes its first recession — defined as two successive quarters of negative growth — since 1998.
However, the export-dependent economy still shrank 4.3 per cent year-on-year after contracting 3.4 per cent on year in the final quarter of 2008.
‘Private spending and construction investment swung to gains and a decline in exports slowed down in the first quarter,’ the Bank of Korea said in a statement.
Exports fell 3.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months ended March 31, after declining 12.6 per cent in the December quarter.
But private spending grew 0.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter compared with a 4.6 per cent contraction in the previous period.
Capital investment shed 9.6 per cent after falling 14.2 per cent three months earlier. Construction investment rose 5.3 per cent compared with a three per cent decline in the final quarter of last year.
The government last month unveiled a 28.9-trillion-won ($21.3b) extra budget to stimulate the economy, complementing extra spending announced earlier.
The central bank has cut its base rate by 325 basis points since October to a two per cent, a record low.
Finance minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun said Thursday there were ‘some positive signs’ in the economy, such as recent trade surpluses, the successful issuance of sovereign bonds overseas and positive industrial production data.
But he said uncertainty remains, underlined last month when the country recorded the highest number of job losses for a decade. South Korea was last in recession in 1998 during the East Asian financial crisis.
‘The Korean economy is still on a downturn trend although a sharp decline in economic activity eased considerably in the first quarter,’ Choi Chun-Sin, head of the central bank’s economic statistics division, told reporters.
‘We need to see at least one per cent on-quarter growth before we can say the economy has hit bottom.’
Economists were mixed over the news with some bullish and others cautious.
‘The economy reached its bottom in the fourth quarter on a quarterly basis and in the first quarter on a yearly basis,’ Hana Daetoo Securities economist Kim Jae-Eun told Dow Jones Newswires.
‘I’m much more hopeful now.’
Daniel Melser, senior economist with Moody’s Economy.com, said Korea escaped recession ‘by the skin of its teeth’ and Friday’s figure could easily be pushed negative by later revisions.
‘This result has not blown away the storm clouds hovering over the Korean economy, he wrote in a commentary.
While the financial sector was in better health, ‘the real economy still has some way to go before it hits rock bottom.
The central bank predicts the economy will shrink 2.4 per cent this year with growth of 3.5 per cent next year.
The International Monetary Fund Wednesday forecasts four per cent shrinkage this year and modest growth of 1.5 per cent next year.
Fiat pursues Chrysler tie-up
Agence France-Presse . Milan
Italian industry giant Fiat reported a heavy loss on Thursday but still looked a possible saviour for other struggling car makers through a planned tie-up with Chrysler and a rumoured takeover of Opel.
Fiat Group reported a first-quarter loss of 411 million euros ($537m). The results were accompanied by talk of Fiat’s ongoing negotiations with troubled US auto maker Chrysler, as an April 30 deadline loomed, set by the US administration, for the two to strike a deal.
‘We continue to make progress’ in negotiations with Chrysler, Fiat’s chief executive Sergio Marchionne told a telephone conference, adding that he saw ‘no reason’ why the tie-up would not go ahead.
Marchionne even left the door open to possible investment in Chrysler later on, while stressing no such move was planned in the current agreement on the table.
‘We can commit cash at the relevant time if needed,’ he said, although the deal currently on the table includes ‘no cash investment or commitment to fund Chrysler in future.’
Under the deal, Fiat would initially take a 20 per cent stake which would then rise to 35 per cent and could eventually reach 51 per cent, Marchionne said.
According to details of a preliminary deal signed in January, Fiat would pay nothing, but would provide access for Chrysler to its technology, notably for smaller, more economical vehicles.
The US administration has given Chrysler until April 30 to sign a deal or have its bailout money cut off, which could lead to the company’s collapse.
A media report in Germany meanwhile appeared to burnish the once-struggling Italian company’s new image as a potential white knight during treacherous times for auto makers.
German magazine Der Spiegel reported in its online edition that Fiat could take a majority stake in Opel, a German unit of another troubled US auto giant, General Motors.
Dow Jones Newswires cited an unnamed source as saying that Marchionne met last week with German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who is leading the German government’s search for a new investor in Opel.
Marchionne, questioned about Opel, stressed that his priority was wrapping up talks with Chrysler. ‘I’ve nothing to announce,’ he told a conference call. ‘We have not (had) any direct conversation with Opel.’
He added: ‘If the opportunity arises... we’ll give a very hard look, but I don’t think we are there today.’
Der Spiegel said a deal could be signed as early as Tuesday but that Opel staff were opposed because they feared the takeover could lead to job cuts.
Fiat’s earnings statement on Thursday said it had faced ‘difficult market conditions’ and ‘demand volatility’ in the auto market but expected ‘an improvement in the remainder of the year, as trading conditions stabilise.’
Milan-based analysts told Dow Jones Newswires that Fiat’s results were bad but better than expected. Fiat Group shares on the Milan stock exchange closed down 0.80 per cent to 7.42 per cent after the announcement.
Fiat also said on Thursday that it would cut 10 to 15 per cent of administrative jobs at its loss-making US subsidiary CNH, an agricultural and construction equipment maker that employs around 10,000 administrative staff.
The cuts could therefore affect up to 1,500 jobs.
Obama lashes credit card firms
Warns against hidden conditions
Agence France-Presse . Washington
US president Barack Obama met top credit card executives Thursday and vowed reforms to purge their industry of abusive rate hikes and fees and to restore ‘strong’ protections for consumers.
As millions of card holders struggle with high balances amid a deep recession, Obama said the under-fire sector played a crucial role but warned its relationship with customers was ‘out of balance.’
‘We want to preserve the credit card market, but we also want to do so in a way that eliminates some of the abuses and some of the problems that a lot of people are familiar with,’ Obama said.
‘I think that there has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers, protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees and penalties,’ Obama said after meeting 14 executives from companies including American Express, Visa and MasterCard and a representative of the American Bankers Association.
Taking the side of consumers against unpopular banks, the president said credit card agreements should be ‘written in plain language’ and warned against hidden conditions which trap customers with sudden rate increases or costs.
White House plans would force firms to ensure contract terms were easily accessible and provide consumers with information they need to go online to compare various services.
Officials said the industry will faced increased penalties for deceptive practices and called for greater punishments for those who break the law.
ABA president and chief executive Edward Yingling issued a statement after the meeting arguing that new rules for the industry already established by US regulators would address many issues raised by US officials and Congress.
‘The card issuers are currently hard at work implementing these new rules, although the Federal Reserve itself has indicated these rules are likely to shrink credit availability and result in increased rates for some consumers.
‘The goal of any additional efforts should be to achieve the right balance between enhancing consumer protections and ensuring that credit remains available to consumers and small businesses at a reasonable cost,’ he said.
Republicans used the meeting to slap Obama anew over his ambitious political program, which they maintain will bankrupt future generations of Americans.
‘It is the height of hypocrisy for president Obama to summon credit card company CEOs to the White House woodshed when his own reckless spending and borrowing is piling debt onto the federal government’s credit card at an astronomical rate,’ said Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele.
On Wednesday, Democrats in Congress widened their crackdown on the industry, which is accused of offering easy credit in good times and clamping down hard with high rates and reduced credit lines when the economy went sour.
The House of Representatives Financial Services committee voted to send a bill tightening rules on the industry to the full chamber.
New York Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who wrote the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, said the legislation would level the playing field between cardholders and card companies.
‘For too long the relationship has been one-sided; but markets function best when all sides know what they’re getting into — and these deceptive practices need to be stopped,’ she said.
Obama’s meeting included executives from HSBC, USAA Savings Bank, Citi, US Bancorp, MasterCard, Wells Fargo, Capital One, American Express, Visa, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Barclaycard, and the ABA.
IT women use a distinctive
style, survey reveals
Business Desk
A recent survey of women leaders in information technology shows that 92 per cent of those surveyed believe that the ability to influence stakeholders is key to their overall success, and view their influencing approach as very different from the style of their male colleagues.
The study was conducted by US-based The Leader’s Edge/Leaders By Design in partnership with a major professional association for chief information officers.
Of the 57 respondents, many represented large corporations with over half employed by companies with revenues of over $1 billion. Most held the title of chief information officer. The study, conducted on-line in the fall of 2008, sought to determine how women CIOs use the art of influencing and was a follow-up to CIO Magazine’s ‘State of the CIO’ survey, which ranked ‘influence’ as one of the top executive leadership competencies.
‘Influencing is a critical skill in today’s workplace. As organisations have become increasingly complex, more virtual, and flatter in structure, the ability to influence in a variety of ways is paramount to success,’ said Nila Betof, chief operating officer of The Leader’s Edge/Leaders By Design.
‘It is apparent from the study that women employ a more nuanced approach to the art of influencing, Women capitalise on their natural talents to get ahead and use styles, which are significantly different than the men’s.’
The most frequently-cited approaches used by women to influence others were collaboration, building alliances and actively listening, all of which are considered skills and strengths most often associated with women. Men, on the other hand, are reported to ‘exert authority’ and use the power of their position to influence others. One woman CIO said, ‘Men use force and power to get their points made.’
Another commented that ‘Authority is a tricky thing for women… unless you use caution when setting a tone, you may be characterised as being overly emotional.’ These contrasts reinforce earlier research by The Leader’s Edge/Leaders By Design showing that women not only have very different leadership styles than men but also a narrower band of acceptable workplace behaviour.
Women were asked for advice about improving the effectiveness of influencing others. Eighty-six per cent said that one of the best resources was observing the behaviour of leaders who are effective and using this behaviour as a guide to their own. Mentors were also mentioned as a good resource for learning, with 88 per cent of the more effective, experienced leaders having benefited from being mentored during their careers.
When asked for the most important lessons learned, many respondents cited the need to ‘understand the interests, position and motivations of those you are attempting to influence.’ One woman pointed out the need to have this information well in advance by saying, ‘Never walk into a meeting without knowing the vote count.’
Another piece of advice for women was to listen well and communicate effectively. Men and women who independently present the same material are often treated differently, one senior woman cautioned. She added, ‘There is still a strong tendency to have greater trust in what a man says or presents than in what a woman says or presents.’
The study showed that the majority of women respondents take advantage of skills and styles with which they are most comfortable and which have provided successful results in the past. Yet fewer than half of those polled rated themselves as ‘very effective’ at influencing.
JB rewards performers in loan recovery
Business Desk
Special reward has been given to seven outstanding recovery performers out of 35 executives, officers and employees recognised by the Janata Bank Board of Directors on recovery of classified loan last year.
Board of Directors chairman Suhel Abmed Chou-dhury handed over the awards to the performers at a ceremony held in the board room of the bank on Wednes-day, a news release said.
Chief executive officer and managing director SM Aminur Rahinan and Board of Directors were present on the occasion.
In 2007, classified loan of the bank was Tk 1,923.16 crore, which was 17.21 per cent of total loan and advances of the bank. Last year, the classified loan was Tk 1,463.02 crore, which was 10.92 per cent of total loan and advances of the bank, the release added.
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