The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges to prepare a mode of operation for an effective over-the-counter market for junk shares’ trading.
   At a meeting with the bourses on Monday, the SEC gave the stock exchanges the task of preparing a detail proposal in this connection, said officials.
   ‘Price fluctuation of junk shares often misguides investors,’ said SEC executive director Anwarul Kabir Bhuiyan. ‘The commission has asked the bourses to prepare suggestions for an effective and operational OTC market,’ he said.
   The stock market regulatory body introduced OTC rules in 2001. In July of 2004 the Chittagong Stock Exchange introduced the OTC market with which four companies, de-listed from the CSE, are listed. But no trading was held in the market since its inception, said CSE sources.
   The SEC’s instruction came after the Dhaka Stock Exchange earlier initiated a move to segregate junk shares aiming to place them into the OTC market instead of normal market.
   On February 15, the DSE formed a committee to find out criteria for a company under which a stock would be considered junk. The committee was also asked to recommend guidelines on the trading systems in the OTC market.
   Subsequently, the DSE submitted the committee’s finds to the SEC, which has authority to make rules in this connection.
   The bourse’s decision came in the backdrop of a volatility in the share prices of non-performing and non-operation ‘Z’ category companies on various rumours.
   After taking the decision, DSE authority at a press briefing had said, ‘We want to segregate low-profile shares from the normal market to make the retail investors conscious of the conditions of the issues.’
   DSE sources said the bourse had no plan to place all the ‘Z’ category shares into the OTC market but non-operational and non-performing ones.
   As on February, shares of 93 companies were being traded under ‘Z’ category, according to DSE statistics.
   Of them, nine companies of pharmaceuticals and chemicals sector, four cement, six engineering, 22 textile, six insurance, five tannery, 23 food, 6 paper and printings, four bank, one IT, three jute, one ceramics and three other sectors companies.
   Last year, DSE investigation teams found that twenty-six low-profile ‘Z’ category companies either have had no commercial operations, or have had partial operations only, for years together. The bourse had surveyed 28 companies.

The loan recovery of Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation has fallen mainly due to lack of enthusiasm of a section of officers who claim they are deprived of promotions, officials said.
   The loan recovery of the first 11 months (July-May) of the current fiscal year (2008-09) is about Tk 30 crore lower than the same period of the past fiscal year, leading to fear of earning less profit than the previous years.
   As of May 31, the BHBFC has recovered Tk 305 crore loan while Tk 335.17 crore was recovered in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
   The loan recovery target for the current fiscal year was set at Tk 402 crore, while the target for 2007-08 fiscal year was Tk 400 crore, of which Tk 389.69 crore was recovered.
   ‘Without any miracle it is not possible to achieve this year’s loan recovery target, and given the trend so far the net profit is also going to be less than the past year,’ a senior BHBFC official told New Age requesting anonymity.
   The net profit of the BHBFC stood at Tk 165 crore in 2007-08 fiscal year, Tk 135 crore in 2006-07 and Tk 124 crore in 2005-06.
   ‘If the net profit falls this year, this will be the first instance in more than a decade. Over the years the net profit was always on up trend comparing to the previous year,’ said another official.
   About the reasons for the lack of initiatives on part of officials ranging from principal officer to deputy general manager, some officers said that after two years of pause in promotion activities of the officials the process began in February, this year.
   But, the process was suspended for what they call due to high-level political pressure depriving officers of promotion they deserved.
   At a meeting in February, the BHBFC board of directors gave directive to complete the process within March 15, 2009. But, a section of officers, who have no chance of getting promotion in accordance with rules, resorted to mean tactics to stop the promotion that hindered the process to complete in due time.
   Eventually, the interviews of the officials took place on April 21-23 before a selection board comprising of the board members. Though the recommendations of the selection board were scheduled to be placed before the board of directors on April 26, it was postponed.
   Later, the meeting of the board of directors was held on May 3 but they refrained from approving the recommendations of the selection board.
   The aggrieved officials alleged that the chairman and members of the board did not approve the recommendations due to political pressure. ‘It is unprecedented in any government financial institution,’ said an officer.
   The deprived officials alleged that ‘a clique’ claiming to be the supporters of the ruling party is trying to portray them as privileged during the BNP-led alliance government (2001-2006).
   The development caused anger and frustration among the officials, they claimed adding that the activities of the corporation are being severely hindered.
   Lack of manpower and resources are also to blame for the fall of loan recovery, the officials said.
   The BHBFC managing director, Raihana Aneesa Yusuf Ali, admitted that the activities of her corporation are hampered, as ‘the board of directors have postponed the [promotion] process.’
   ‘They [the deprived officials] reacted seriously. It [the corporation] has become standstill,’ she told New Age at her office.
   Aneesa, who was the chief of the selection board, said that the BHBFC does much of the loan recovery and disbursement in May and June but it appears that the corporation is lagging behind this year.
   Asked if this is the only reason, she said, ‘I would say this is the only reason. Promotion would have lifted them up and got rid of their mental anxiety.’
   About the next course of action, the managing director said, ‘Since it is a matter of approval I have left it to the board of directors.’
   About the prospect of decline in profit and loan recovery, she said, ‘I do not expect so. We will give a thrust in June. Hopefully, things will be better.’
   After repeated attempts, the chairman of BHBFC board of directors, M Janibul Huq, could not be reached for his comments.

As the recession is still hitting the global economy, some 5,500 businessmen from across the world got down to series of matchmaking bilateral meetings in Istanbul on Wednesday to figure out mutual business opportunity as well as to overcome the economic downturn.
   Out of the 5,500 business people, 2,300 from 135 foreign countries from Asia to Pacific, South Africa to Latin America and Russia to America assembled here for three days of business talks under the banner of the Turkey World Trade Bridge 2009 to build meaningful cooperation in trade and investment on a win-win deal.
   Twelve per cent of the total global trade volume is represented at this business summit.
   The business summit is being held a day after the first Istanbul Trade Ministers Summit. Commerce Minister Farukh Khan led Bangladesh asking for duty and quota-free access to the markets of the developed world.
   A 15-member business delegation from Bangladesh is participating in the business summit. The delegation members are mainly from apparel and textile sectors.
   Though Bangladesh does not appear as a major player in this high-profile business summit, but Bangladesh officials say the country can offer the best opportunities for investment in setting up Small and Medium Enterprises and joint ventures in agriculture, food processing, tourism, service and hospitality sector and mechanical sector.
   Inaugurating the 3-day business summit, the Turkish prime minister said the summit would provide an opportunity for making new friends and new cooperation particularly among the emerging and developing economies.

The remittance sent by expatriate Bangladeshis hit new monthly high as the country received $890.50 million in May recording about 22 per cent growth over the same month of the last year.
   The previous best on the monthly inflow of remittance was $885.67 million that was recorded in last March, according to the central bank statistics.
   The steady rose against the fear of slow down in inflow of remittance due to worldwide economic recession has pushed up the overall tally at $8765.36 million in the first eleven months of the 2007-08 fiscal year with a growth rate of 22.40 per cent.
   The Bangladesh Bank officials said the country’s macro economy is in most sound position due to the steady inflow of remittance after the eleven-month has already surpassed the last fiscal income by $650.58 million.
   Last fiscal year (July 2007-June 2008) the country received $7914.78 million remittance.
   The steady rise in remittance also dispelled the fear of slow down projected by lenders like World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The multinational lending agencies forecast the country’s target of remittance would be missed.
   Experts attributed number of reasons for remarkable increase of remittance including record number of employment of Bangladeshi workers in the overseas countries despite bleak forecast by the lenders.
   More than 800,000 people went aboard with jobs last year. These workers are sending remittance along with the previous ones.
   Zaid Bakth, senior research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said signs are there to further rise in remittance flow in the coming months.
   A BB official said the country witnessed higher inflow of remittance in recent months as more number of expatriates is sending the money in official channels.
   ‘Quick disbursement of remittance by banks and other financial institutes is encouraging the expatriates to remit money in official channel,’ he said.
   Bangladesh who toppled Pakistan to become ninth highest remittance receiving country in 2008 witnessed substantial growth in remittance during the last two years.

Paper pulp and energy saving lamp will enjoy value added tax waiver at import level from next month.
   The government has made the decision to develop the local paper industries and encourage people to use energy saving lamp.
   ‘The government has become convinced that widespread use of energy saving lamps will help save some electricity. That’s why it has decided to waive VAT at import level for energy saving lamp,’ a National Board of Revenue official told the news agency.
   The NBR official said the government had set a new scale for annual turnover threshold for small and medium enterprises.
   Under the new scale, VAT exempted investment for the SMEs would be Tk 40 lakh as against existing Tk 24 lakh.
   Cottage industries will enjoy VAT-exempted ceiling of Tk 25 lakh on investment in capital machinery compared to existing Tk 15 lakh.
   ‘SMEs with annual turnover below four million (Tk 40 lakh) will not be entitled to take VAT registration number from the next fiscal year. They will have to pay 4.0 per cent as turnover tax instead of paying VAT at 15 per cent,’ the NBR official said.
   The government will announce the new fiscal measures in the next budget focusing on the growth of local industries amid global recession.
   The NBR official said the SME sector had been generating huge employment opportunities in the country and was able to compete with the imported goods.

For the first time in its history of 59 years, imported reconditioned cars were unloaded through the country’s second seaport Mongla on Wednesday.
   The Khulna City Corporation mayor, Talukder Abdul Khaleque, formally inaugurated the unloading of 255 reconditioned cars, imported from Japan, at No 8 jetty at noon.
   A Philippines flag carrier ship, MV Estrellaeterna, carried the vehicles at the port.
   Habibun Nahar MP, importer Abdul Haque, among others, were present on the occasion, which was chaired by the chairman of Mongla Port Authority, Commodore M Faruk.
   Dhaka-based importers Haque Bay Automobile Limited imported the cars through the Mongla port, which was set up in 1950. The unloading at the port was the first since its establishment.
   A total of 34 ships can anchor at the channel of the port at a time, sources said.

The country’s readymade garment exports to Canada grew by more than 30 per cent, year-on-year, in the first quarter of 2009, thanks to flexible duty-free access for the Bangladeshi goods to the north American country.
   Quoting the latest Canadian official data, a Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Expor-ters Association official
   told New Age that apparel shipments from Bangla-desh to Canada was $160.4 million in January-March 2009.
   After EU and US, Canada is the major market for Bangladeshi garment exporters.
   The BGMEA official said Canada imported around $8 billion apparel in 2008 from different countries including Bangladesh, but the demand declined due to less consumer spending.
   He, however, said more price-cautious Canadian importers came to Bangladeshi suppliers for cheaper consignments.

The president, Zillur Rahman, on Wednesday called upon Bahrain government to recruit more manpower from Bangladesh and also urged their investors to invest in various sectors in the country availing a 'very congenial, investment-friendly atmosphere' prevailing in the country.
   He also urged the government of the Gulf country to open a resident mission in Dhaka, in order to enhance the bilateral relations.
   The president made the call when newly appointed Bahrain's non-resident ambassador to Bangladesh Adel Yousif Sater presented his credentials to him at Bangabhaban.
   Zillur welcomed the new envoy to Bangladesh and expressed his happiness over the existing excellent bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries.
   He noted that the volume of trade between the two countries 'lags behind its potential, leaving a wide scope for its expansion'.
   In this connection, the president said Bahrain could import world-class Bangladeshi products, including RMG, pharmaceuticals, leather and leather goods, jute products and halal meat, from Bangladesh.
   Ambassador Adel Yousif Sater, based in Bangkok, praised Bangladeshi workers as they were contributing much to Bahrain's economy.
   As Bangladeshi workers are law-abiding, sincere and hardworking, he said that there was ample scope for taking more skilled workers from Bangladesh. The diplomat assured that he would take initiative in this regard.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched flights to Istanbul, the commercial capital of Turkey.
   The inaugural flight EY097 departed Abu Dhabi Airport on Monday and landed in Istanbul at 12.50pm on the day, said a news release on Wednesday.
   Turkey is one of the UAE’s largest trade partners, with $9 billion in annual bilateral trade volume generating strong economic relations and sound business opportunities for both countries.
   The new route has not only be welcomed by the 6,000 Turkish expatriates currently living and working in the UAE, but will also provide convenient onward connections to some of the well-established Turkish communities served by Etihad’s global network, in particular, Sydney and Melbourne.
   Etihad operates a two-class Airbus A320 to Istanbul, configured to carry 140 passengers with 20 seats in business class and 120 in economy class.

A surge of foreign money spurred by a bullish view of China's economy has fired Hong Kong shares more than 60 per cent higher since March, but doubts are growing over how long the rise can go on.
   Against a dire global economic background, the city has thrived from a belief among international investors that China, buoyed by a four trillion yuan (586 billion US) stimulus package, was the safest bet around.
   And on Monday the Hang Seng Index of blue chip stocks finished at 18,888.59 points, soaring 66 per cent from its 2009 low of 11,344.58 hit on March 9.
   'China has been the only good news story out there,' said Tim Rocks, an analyst with Macquarie Bank in Hong Kong.
   Hong Kong, a southern Chinese financial hub where many mainland firms are listed, has its own legal system and is the only market in China fully open to international investors.
   Rocks said the jump in Taiwan's stock market -- more than 50 per cent since March 9 on the back of improved political and trade ties with the mainland -- showed the appetite to capitalise on China's perceived economic strength.
   The Hang Seng hit its lowest point when worries about the capital position of banking giant HSBC, a crucial market bellwether, were at their most acute.
   The bank dropped 24 per cent on March 9 to 33.00 dollars. It closed Tuesday at 68.05, a rise of more than 100 per cent.
   Howard Gorges, vice chairman of South China Securities, said the shift away from gloom was 'like the blue sky opening' for investors who were brave enough to take the plunge.
   'It has been extraordinary... Later, you had a lot of investors who realised they had not benefited as much as they might have from the initial rise so (they later moved in) which has kept pushing it higher.'
   The market has been able to spin bad news and surge on any positive signs, Gorges said.
   Li and Fung, a trading company that helps foreign firms connect with Chinese manufacturers, jumped more than 10 per cent last Wednesday on strong US consumer confidence figures.
   Francis Lun, a veteran stocks watcher and general manager at Fulbright Securities, described the surge as 'the unbearable lightness of the Hong Kong market.'

Northern General Insurance
   The company has informed that the board of directors of the company has decided to sponsor a close end Mutual Fund in the name of Northern General Insurance Mutual Fund-Scheme One amounting Tk 50 million to be floated by Prime Finance Asset Management Company subject to the approval of SEC.
   National Housing
   In response to a DSE query, the company has informed that there is no undisclosed price sensitive information of the company for recent unusual price hike.
   Monno Jute Stafflers
   Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the Spot Market and Block/Odd lot transactions will also be settled as per Spot settlement cycle from today to June 11, 2009. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on June 14, 2009 as Book Closure will start on June 15, 2009.
   City General Insurance
   Faizah Sarwar, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported her intention to sell 1,000 shares (bonus shares) out of her total holdings of 11,000 shares of the company at prevailing market price through Stock Exchange by July 3, 2009.
   Aftab Automobiles
   Trading of the shares of the company will remain halted pending inquiry by SEC on issuance of Warrant by the company.
   Source: DSE

The United States said Tuesday it wanted to move more aggressively to resolve trade frictions with China, warning that it would not hesitate to drag the Asian giant to the World Trade Organisation.
   Washington would pursue dialogue with Beijing only if it was the ‘fastest, best, and surest way’ to resolve trade disputes, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
   ‘But when our preferred course doesn’t work, we will not hesitate to use other tools, such as dispute settlement, to enforce the rules as written,’ he said at a forum of the US-China Business Council, a group of about 250 American companies doing business with China.
   ‘If we have to file at the WTO, we’ll file,’ he said, citing seven key bilateral disputes that Washington had raised so far with the global trade watchdog.
   ‘We will not yield on enforcing the right of American businesses and exporters to compete on a level playing field with China,’ Kirk said.
   In some cases, he pointed out, China’s industrial and procurement policies, as well as standards and licensing procedures, favoured domestic and state-owned enterprises and discriminated against foreign firms.
   He said China should also ‘do a better job of enforcing intellectual property rights...and standards on the environment, labour, and product safety.’
   The United States has often expressed concern about access to the world’s biggest market in a bid to ease the burgeoning trade deficit with China, a topic often raised by American lawmakers from farm producing constituencies.
   US lawmakers have also long accused Beijing of keeping its yuan currency artificially low — a step they said would boost Chinese exports by making them less expensive relative to US goods on global markets.
   Kirk on Tuesday prodded China, now the third-largest buyer of US exports, to act swiftly on market reforms, saying American producers needed enhanced market access now to save jobs and create new, better-paying jobs at home.
   ‘So we need results sooner rather than later,’ he said. ‘Dialogue and negotiation normally resolve trade frictions far more quickly than litigation. And in a tough economy, time is not on our side.’
   Kirk also said that a US-China government forum presently dealing with bilateral trade issues — the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade — should be more action oriented in grappling with trade disputes.
   ‘We can address immediate trade frictions, such as regulatory and market access issues that impede US businesses in China. But the JCCT must go further,’ he said.
   ‘We must make meaningful progress on bedrock trade concerns that spring from the US and China’s differing economic approaches.’
   President Barack Obama’s administration will hold its first JCCT meeting with China this fall.
   Kirk’s deputy, Demetrios Marantis, is to make his first trip to Beijing soon to begin preparations for the talks.
   American business leaders welcomed Kirk’s remarks.
   ‘China has been the fastest growing market for US exports this decade — by far,’ said US-China Business Council President John Frisbie.
   ‘Ambassador Kirk rightly wants to continue this record of growth by ensuring American companies have access to China’s rapidly developing market for goods and services.’

Australia on Wednesday unveiled surprise economic growth of 0.4 per cent, defying widespread expectations of a technical recession thanks largely to a leap in exports.
   Most analysts had expected Australia to slide into its first recession since the early 1990s but stronger-than-expected export figures released just a day earlier boosted the GDP figure for the March quarter, economists said.
   The result, which averts a second successive quarterly contraction, helped send the Australian dollar to an eight-month high of 82.36 US cents, up 1.67 US cents on Tuesday’s close, while the share market was up 0.52 per cent at noon.
   The Australian government has pumped more than 50 billion dollars ($41b) into the economy since late 2008 in a bid to stave off recession, while the central bank has aggressively cut interest rates to spur demand.
   Commonwealth Securities economist Savanth Sebastian said the GDP figure confirmed Australia’s position as one of the world’s strongest developed economies.
   ‘If you look at developed nations around the world, they’re all negative and quite weak, yet here we are with an actual expansion,’ he told Sky News.
   ‘It’s a great result for the Australian economy.’
   Despite the positive news, some economists said the Australian economy still faced tough times ahead, with large falls expected in employment, business investment and company profit reports.
   RBC Capital Markets senior economist Su-Lin Ong warned there was still a chance that Australia could tip into recession this year.
   ‘The global recession is probably only just starting to bear down on Australia,’ she told Dow Jones Newswires.
   ‘I still think there is a risk that one or two of the next three or four quarters will be negative.’
   The Australian Bureau of Statistics also revised down its growth reading for the December quarter down from -0.5 to -0.6 per cent.

Two-thirds of people believe ‘massive government spending’ to combat the financial crisis shows a lack of clear direction, according to a poll of nations representing 75 per cent of the global economy issued on Wednesday.
   The Ipsos/Reuters survey also found that 60 per cent of the people in the 23 countries polled say increased government regulation will stifle economic growth, an opinion particularly strong in the United States and emerging market giants India and China.
   Clifford Young of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, the international market research and polling company that carried out the online poll, said the survey showed opinions were mixed with a majority still wanting more government action on the economic downturn despite their concerns.
   ‘There’s worry and some degree of uncertainty about government actions,’ Young said. ‘The general message is we want governments to do something, but not too much, and we don’t want to go back to the dark ages.’
   The survey of 23,000 people, conducted from April 14 to May 7, showed 58 per cent don’t think the United States has done enough to reinvigorate the global economy, 53 per cent believe the European Union needs to do more, and more than two-thirds think China has not done enough.
   Opinions were mixed on what actions should be taken, with 54 per cent of people saying governments needed to do more to restrict imports, while two out of three people were worried about other nations blocking exports from their country.
   Ipsos polled people in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, India, Russia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain and Britain.
   Young said there was a particular ‘fear of backtracking in emerging markets’ where it has taken a long time to push the government out of the private sector.
   The poll showed 83 per cent of people in India think more government regulation will stifle economic growth, an opinion shared by 72 per cent of people in Mexico and China, 69 per cent in Poland, 66 per cent in Turkey and 65 per cent in Russia.
   In the United States — where the government is set to own 60 per cent of a new, leaner General Motors Corp as part of the automaker’s bankruptcy filing on Monday and billions of dollars in federal funds gone to bail out banks — 60 per cent are wary of more government regulation.
   Jobs and unemployment strengthened as the No. 1 global issue with 53 per cent saying it is their top concern — a 12-point increase in the past six months — and nearly three-quarters saying they know someone who has lost a job.
   ‘It suggests a political issue; it suggests that jobs are the agenda,’ Young said. ‘There’s immense pressure on governments to react.’
   Respondents in the online poll were recruited and screened, the survey said. The results were then balanced by age, gender, city population and education levels. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 per cent.

The gloomy factory floor of an idled General Motors engine plant and the boarded up shops down the street offered stark reminders of the devastation wrought as the once mighty automaker tumbled into bankruptcy.
   But on Tuesday one of the delegates president Barack Obama sent across the US ‘rust belt’ to allay concerns insisted the Romulus, Michigan plant could serve as the emblem of both GM and the region’s rebirth.
   Labour secretary Hilda Solis told a small group of workers that when work restarts, the fuel-efficient and hybrid engines built in the town will help GM reshape its business for the 21st century.
   She promised them the Obama administration would help fuel the growth of ‘green’ industries that will replace the manufacturing jobs that have drained out of the region.
   ‘Traditions change, history changes and it changes us,’ Solis said. ‘It’s time to step up to the plate and be ready for that change.’
   The political risks for Obama were high as the US government took a 60 per cent stake in the troubled automaker in exchange for providing 50 billion dollars to help finance a restructuring, which includes plans to shutter 14 plants and cut 21,000 US jobs.
   The layoffs will hit states like Michigan and Ohio, which are already devastated by decades of decline in the manufacturing base, and which habitually play a key role in US elections.
   As many as 7,00,000 jobs have been lost in the state of Michigan alone since the beginning of the decade and the state has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates, at 12.9 per cent.
   ‘I know that it’s staggering right now, but the Obama administration is fighting like the dickens to turn it around,’ said Solis, who came bearing another $49 million to help retrain Michigan’s unemployed.
   Those are welcome words, said Dale Zukowski, who is anxious for work to resume on the plant’s assembly line.
   GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, said it hoped to reemerge as a new, leaner company within 60 to 90 days.

Oil prices were down in Asian trade Wednesday, easing from seven-month highs as traders took profits, analysts said.
   New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, fell 36 cents to $68.19 a barrel.
   Brent North Sea crude for delivery in July eased 41 cents to $67.76.
   ‘It’s just gone up too fast too quickly,’ said Tony Nunan, risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, adding that he expected prices to rise in the short-term in tandem with the rally seen in global equities markets.
   ‘The trend is up because equities are strong and the dollar is weak,’ said Nunan.
   A weak US currency makes dollar-priced oil cheaper for holders of stronger foreign units, in turn stimulating demand and pushing up prices.

Mobile phone operator Grameenphone Limited paid advance monthly income tax of Tk 100 crore to the National Board of Revenue for 2008-09 on Monday.
   GP deputy chief executive officer and chief financial officer Arif Al Islam handed over the cheque to NBR chairman Nasir Ahmed, a news release said.
   Grameenphone has already paid Tk 1,605 crore to the national exchequer as income tax, VAT and duty only for 2008-09. In the last fiscal year of 2007-08, Grameenphone was the highest income tax payer and second highest VAT payer in the country, the release added.

Mutual Trust Bank and Dutch Bangla Bank launched a co-branded ATM booth at Raipur in Lakshmipur on Monday.
   MTB senior executive vice presidents Hashem Chowdhury and AKM Shameem, and DBBL executive vice president and head of card division Moyen Uddin Ahmed jointly inaugurated the booth, a news release said.
   Hashem Chowdhury, in his speech, said MTB would bring banking facilities to the doorstep of the common people, and as part of this initiative, the ATM booth was opened in Raipur.
   Local dignitaries, business personalities and bank officials also attended the function, the release added.