A seven-day silk fair begins in Rajshahi on Sunday aiming to expand the local silk industry.
   Bangladesh Silk Industry Owners’ Association and two non-government organised — Barendra Unnayan Prochesta and Sachetan – are the joint organisers of the fair to be held at the green plaza of the Nagar Bhaban.
   Rajshahi city mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton will inaugurate the fair.
   The organisers, at a press briefing on Friday at a city restaurant, said that country’s silk industry is facing different barriers obstructing its development.
   In a written statement read out by the BSIOA president, Manjur Faruk Chowdhury, the organisers also said that the current demand of silk cotton stands at minimum 300 tonnes of which only 50 tonnes are produced in the country while the rest is imported.
   ‘If the government takes initiatives to develop the silk industry through supply of modern technology and backing the silk farmers, who are giving up the profession, the demand can be met locally,’ the statement read.
   The price of locally produced yarn was Tk 1,300 per kilogram while the China-yarn was Tk 2,500 in 1988, the statement said adding that after the opening of market in 1991, businessmen and non-businessmen had started importing substandard silk taking the advantage of the open market.
   At least 1,200 tonnes of silk yarn was imported at that time against the annual local demand of maximum 350 tonnes per year at that time. Huge imported silk yarn was smuggled out to the neighbouring country, the statement alleged.
   Having been deprived of fair price of their produced yarn, many professional cocoon farmers already started leaving their ancestral profession.
   Many factories that were involved in producing clothes have been forced to close their looms.
   The BSIOA president informed the press conference that he himself slashed partial production of his factory and feared that many more factories would become non-functional after they are finished with their existing yarn stock.
   According to the national silk policy-2005, the silk industry belongs to agro-based industries, the organisers said adding that they never got facilities like agro-based industries.
   They also said that they want to arrange such fairs in the six divisional cities to expand the silk market in the country.
   ‘We want to increase the silk market in the country through publicity of the silk products and reach at the door of the customers,’ the statement stated.
   Merajul Alam, former president of BSIOA, Fayezullah Chowdhury, executive director of Barendra Unnayan Prochesta, Hasibul Islam Chunnu, executive director of Sachetan, Mostafizur Rahman Sawdagarh, a silk entrepreneur and Rashed Ibne Obayed, project director of BUP, also spoke at the press briefing.

Intel Corp. agreed to pay Advanced Micro Devices 1.25 billion dollars to settle the long-running legal dispute between the two chipmakers on antitrust and patent issues.
   Intel, the world’s biggest maker of semiconductors, is facing litigation in the United States, Europe and Asia alleging it abused its dominant position in the sector and the AMD settlement may help bring an end to its legal troubles.
   The companies said in a joint statement that the settlement represents ‘a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes.’
   ‘While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development,’ the statement said.
   AMD and Intel agreed to patent rights from a new five-year cross license agreement, and to give up any claims of breach of contract.
   In addition to the payment of 1.25 billion dollars, which is to be made in cash within 30 days, Intel also agreed to abide by a set of business practice provisions.
   In exchange, AMD will drop all pending litigation including a case in US District Court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan and will withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide, the statement said.
   Intel shares lost 0.81 per cent on Wall Street on Thursday to 19.68 dollars while AMD shares soared 21.80 per cent to 6.48 dollars.
   Intel is already being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission and faces scrutiny from regulators around the world.
   European Union antitrust regulators fined Intel a record 1.06 billion euros (1.45 billion dollars) in May, claiming the company abused its stranglehold on the semiconductor market to crush AMD.
   Intel denied the charges and has appealed the EU ruling.
   Intel last year also challenged an 18 million dollar fine imposed by South Korea’s anti-trust watchdog.
   The Intel-AMD agreement comes just a week after the attorney general of New York state filed an antitrust lawsuit against Intel alleging the chip giant engaged in illegal practices to dominate the market.
   It accused the company of ‘exacting exclusive or near-exclusive agreements from large computer makers in exchange for payments totaling billions of dollars’ and threatening retaliation against firms that did not fall in line.
   Intel chief executive Paul Otellini, speaking to analysts and reporters in a conference call, said the company decided to settle with AMD because the antitrust case ‘became massive and promised to become even more so.’
   ‘We have not wavered in our conviction that Intel has been in compliance with the law,’ he said. ‘We have said we don’t do the acts they accuse us of doing.’

As part of implementation of Bangladesh Automated Clearing House project, Mutual Trust Bank Limited has started Systems Integration Testing this week with Bangladesh Bank.
   The central bank is introducing automated clearing in Bangladesh to replace the existing manual cheque clearing process. MTB has been distributing magnetic image character recognition to its customers since June 2009.
   MTB has already installed necessary IT connectivity links with Bangladesh Bank. The bank exchanged digital certificate key using security device HSM and electronic envelop file with Bangladesh Bank.

A Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation, environment-friendly ‘Surya Hurricane Project’, has been selected for ‘2009 SEED Gold Award’ of the Global Network SEED established jointly by UNEP, UNDP and IUCN.
   Outstanding social and environmental projects from Colombia, Southern Africa, India, Niger and Zimbabwe are also the winners of the 2009 SEED Gold Awards, the SEED Initiative announced on Wednesday.
   A Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation has developed a low-cost solar lantern, ‘Surya Hurricane’, from recycled parts of the conventional and much-used kerosene lantern.
   The prize recognises promising, locally driven start-up enterprises that work in developing countries to improve livelihoods, tackle poverty and manage natural resources sustainably.
   The winners of the SEED Gold Awards for entrepreneurship in Sustainable Development were chosen by an international jury made up of experts from the environment, social and business fields.
   All the SEED Gold winners will be given their awards at in- country award ceremonies. Rather than the traditional monetary prize, they will receive individually-tailored business and partnership support services, worth $ 35,000 for up to one year to help them become established and increase their impact.
   This includes access to relevant expertise and technical assistance meeting new partners and building networks developing business plans and identifying sources of finance.
   ‘Shidhulal Swanirvar Sangstha,’ ‘Daridra Bimochon Sangstha, Panchshisha Bahumukhi Samobay Samity, Social Development Research Programme and ‘Rupkatha’ worked together to invent and promote the ‘Surya Hurricane’ in Bangladesh.

A panel of Indian ministers has told flagship state-run airline Air India that it must cut costs in order to qualify for a government bailout.
   ‘If the recovery (in the airline’s performance) is visible, the support from the government will also be visible,’ Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters in New Delhi late Thursday.
   The airline ‘will have to provide a revenue enhancement and cost-cutting programme’ worth about 20 billion rupees (429 million dollars), Patel said.
   Based on the carrier’s performance, the government would be able to decide ‘at the end of March as to what will be the final support which the government will provide,’ the minister said.
   On Wednesday, Air India announced a net loss of 55.48 billion rupees (1.19 billion dollars) for the fiscal year ended March, hit by the global recession and low air traffic.
   Patel said the government panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, would review the carrier’s performance each month until March.
   ‘We are broadly looking at an equity infusion linked to its monthly performance,’ Patel said.
   He said in October that the government would inject 50 billion rupees into the airline in phases, but added that the handout would be conditional on measures to cut costs and increase revenues.
   Air India has set up a committee, led by the carrier’s chairman Arvind Jadhav, to seek ways to make the carrier profitable.
   The airline announced plans in September to cut performance-related pay by up to 50 per cent for over 7,000 employees, including top management.
   But the carrier was forced to delay implementation of the plan after senior pilots staged a five-day work stoppage in protest.
   The airline faces a new threat of disruption by pilots who have said they will launch a strike November 24 to protest cost-cutting proposals by the carrier.

Warid, a mobile operator, on Thursday distributed more than five hundred schoolbags among the under privileged students of Khan Hasan Adorsho Government Primary School at Kathalbagan in the capital.
   As part of Warid's corporate social responsibility, the chief executive officer, Muneer Farooqui, distributed the bags among the students.
   Under the initiative, the telecom operator will donate 12,000 school bags in phases among underprivileged school children across the country.
   General manager (HR and Admin), Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, general manager (Government and Operator Relations) Ashraful H Chowhdury and general manager (Sales) Mahboob Hossain were also present on the occasion.

A weeklong Eid handicrafts exhibition will begin on the premises of Democracywatch in the city on November 14.
   Democracywatch, a non-government organization, has organised the exhibition with a view to displaying and selling the goods made by small and underprivileged women entrepreneurs of the country, said a press release.
   Different sarees with handwork, dresses for tiny-tots and jute and various eye catching toys will be displayed on the exhibition. The exhibition will conclude on November 20.

Asian markets were mixed in choppy trade Friday with traders taking profits amid mixed signals, as Wall Street fell overnight despite positive economic and corporate news.
   Lower commodities prices also hit resource-related shares. Tokyo closed 0.35 per cent lower, Sydney shed 0.87 per cent while Seoul and Taipei ended flat.
   However, Hong Kong and Shanghai were buoyed by Chinese President Hu Jintao’s speech on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s annual summit, where he pledged to boost domestic demand, a move seen as beneficial to the global economy.
   Renewed talk of a possible yuan appreciation ahead of US President Barack Obama’s first China visit next week also lifted Hong Kong, which put on 0.70 per cent while Shanghai posted a 0.46 per cent gain.
   TOKYO: Down 0.35 per cent. The Nikkei-225 index fell 34.18 points to 9,770.31.
   HONG KONG: Up 0.70 per cent. The Hang Seng Index gained 156.06 points to 22,553.63.
   SHANGHAI: Up 0.46 per cent. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 14.70 points at 3,187.65.
   SEOUL: Flat. The KOSPI lost 0.74 points to close at 1,571.99.
   Concerns mounted about the potential loss of price competitiveness by major exporters as the dollar remained weak. Samsung Electronics fell 0.8 per cent to 714,000 won. Hynix Semiconductor lost 3.8 per cent to 18,850 won.
   LG Electronics declined 3.8 per cent to 101,500 won while LG Display advanced 3.9 per cent to 30,750 won.
   Hyundai Motor shed 0.98 per cent to 101,000 won and Kia Motors fell 2.2 per cent to 17,300 won. Hanjin Shipping fell 0.9 at 17,350 won.
   Steelmakers rose on growing expectations for a possible appreciation of the Chinese yuan. POSCO rose 1.9 per cent to 543,000 won. Hyundai Steel advanced 4.1 per cent to 81,700 won.
   TAIPEI: Flat. The weighted index fell 5.30 points or 0.07 per cent to 7,665.63.
   The financial sector underperformed the broader market after authorities said a planned financial agreement with China would not immediately provide the green light for banks to buy into their mainland counterparts, dealers said.
   Chinatrust Financial shed 2.40 per cent to 20.35 dollars, Fubon Financial lost 1.65 per cent to 38.70, and Cathay Financial fell 1.16 per cent to 59.60.
   SINGAPORE: Flat. The blue-chip Straits Times Index closed 0.99 points higher at 2,727.23.
   Banking shares were up, with DBS Group rising two cents to 14.14, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp up three cents to 8.16 and United Overseas Bank edging up four cents to 18.96.
   Among property shares, CapitaLand gained three cents to 4.13 and Keppel Land advanced a cent to 2.85 while City Developments fell six cents to 10.02.
   BANGKOK: Up 0.23 per cent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index rose 1.61 points to close at 698.33 points.
   KUALA LUMPUR: Flat. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index fell 0.79 points to close at 1,270.96.
   Leading investment holdings firm Tanjong lost 1.0 per cent to 16.40 ringgit while engineering company Mudajaya shed 3.9 per cent to 4.17.
   Publishing company NSTP added 20 per cent to 2.40 ringgit on a revised buyout offer from Media Prima.
   JAKARTA: Up 0.27 per cent. The Jakarta Composite Index gained 6.52 points to 2,426.80.
   Coal miner Indotambang rose 2.2 per cent to 25,650, rival Adaro Energy gained 5.6 per cent to 1,710, Bumi Resources added 2.1 per cent to 2,450 while United Tractors fell one per cent to 15,550 rupiah.
   MANILA: Down 1.29 per cent. The composite index fell 39.60 points to 3,034.32.
   Mining companies that had risen during the week felt the brunt of the fall on Friday.
   MUMBAI: Up 0.92 per cent. The 30-share Sensex index rose 152.8 points to 16,848.83.

Asian economies must handle their monetary and currency policies carefully to avoid unleashing a wave of potentially destabilizing inflation, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Friday.
   The US and European economies, which are barely starting to recover from the global meltdown, are less at risk, but in Asia the massive liquidity flowing into regional markets could push asset prices up dangerously high, Zoellick told a business forum on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
   ‘In this region some care must be taken because as we get recoveries ... we could see inflation or some flow into commodities markets or certain asset price markets,’ Zoellick said.
   Stimulus spending and loosened credit and monetary policies have helped spur a recovery in the region, especially in India and in China, which clocked growth at 8.9 per cent in the third quarter.
   Zoellick noted that Asian central banks, which normally take their cues from the US Federal Reserve, are doubly reluctant to raise interest rates to fight inflation because that will likely push the values of their currencies higher — weakening the potential for growth in their exports by making them less competitive.
   Interest rate hikes in the US are not expected in the immediate future out of fears they could threaten the incipient recovery at a time when jobless rates remain at their highest in more than 26 years.
    ‘If the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates low and they keep interest rates low you’re going to see this danger I think increase in potential,’ Zoellick said.
   Such concerns have sharpened, especially in China, in recent months given the 74 per cent rise in the Shanghai Composite Index share benchmark since the beginning of the year. Real estate prices and commodity prices have also rallied in recent months.
   ‘We are at the stage of the recovery where confidence is important,’ Zoellick said. ‘If you have asset bubbles that are not properly dealt with, then that could in turn undermine confidence in 2010, which is the year I’m more concerned about,’ he said.

A stronger yuan would benefit China by boosting domestic demand, and Asian countries as a whole should not resist currency revaluations, IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Friday.
   ‘Most of the Asian currencies are undervalued,’ he told reporters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. ‘My advice would be not to resist this revaluation for too long.’
   ‘A revaluation of the currency in China, for instance, will have the result of an increase in household income,’ he said.
   The IMF boss commended the Chinese government’s handling of the economic crisis, saying that its implementation of a stimulus package and an emphasis on domestic consumption was ‘the right way to go’.

China, India and other Asian countries are leading the world out of the global economic crisis, business leaders said Friday, as trade and finance ministers pledged to make Asia-Pacific a cheaper, faster and easier region to do business in by 2015.
   The biggest economic crisis since the 1930s has been the focus of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, an annual gathering of 21 member economies from Asia and the Pacific Rim.
   As spending drops and savings increase among consumers in the United States, the world’s biggest economy, ‘somebody else has to spend more somewhere else in the world. This has to be in Asia,’ Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
   ‘The next few years’ growth will be slow worldwide but in the long term, Asia will do well,’ Lee said in a keynote address to a conference of business leaders.
   He said the demographics are favorable for growth in China and India, two rare bright spots in the world economy with growth rates of over 6 per cent.
   The International Monetary Fund said last month that Asia would grow 2.75 per cent in 2009 and 5.75 per cent in 2010, far outpacing the West.
   Lee said the growing middle class in China and India will have greater spending power amid greater urbanisation and demand for infrastructure.
   Other business leaders at the meeting, held on the sidelines of the annual APEC forum, agreed.
   ‘Historically, the developed economies led recoveries. This time, it’s going to be the developing economies,’ said Dennis Nally, global chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International.
   Still, while the worst is over, sustaining the recovery — and ensuring that it is balanced — remains a key challenge, APEC and business leaders said.
   The weeklong forum culminates in a weekend leaders’ summit that will include President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, as well as leaders from Southeast Asia and Latin America.
   Finance, trade and foreign ministers debated ways out of the crisis and to ensure sustained growth in the post-crisis period.
   APEC members set a specific target of making the region a better place to do business, pledging to improve regulatory conditions in five key areas — from starting a business to enforcing contracts — by 2015.
   ‘APEC ministers agreed to make it 25 per cent cheaper, faster and easier to do business in the region by 2015,’ trade and foreign ministers said Thursday in a statement.
   They also set an interim target of 5 per cent improvement by 2011, saying the goals will mean ‘concrete gains’ for businesses by reducing expenses to export goods and cut down the time it takes to start up a business.
   Every year, the World Bank releases its annual ‘ease of doing business’ index that tracks a set of regulatory indicators related to business startup, operation, trade, payment of taxes and closure by measuring the time and cost associated with various government requirements.
   It does not track variables such as economic policies, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions or crime rates.
   APEC ministers selected five of the bank’s 10 indicators as key areas for improvement: Starting a business, getting credit, enforcing contracts, trading across borders and dealing with permits.
   Nine APEC members, including Singapore, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and the United States, are among the top 20 in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings.
   To achieve the collective goal, six member economies with higher rankings in each sector — the US, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore — will share their practices and success stories to help other members carry out regulatory reforms.

The global economic recovery faces serious pitfalls including mass unemployment in rich nations, asset bubbles, and a lurch towards protectionism, world leaders warned Friday.
   IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn ruled out a ‘double-dip’ recession in the United States once a huge dose of stimulus spending runs out. But he said the world economy would struggle to meet pre-crisis levels of growth for now.
   The sobering assessment of the fragile status of world recovery came from top economic officials on the eve of an Asia-Pacific summit to be attended by US President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao and 19 other leaders.
   World Bank president Robert Zoellick said the spectre of inflation, and doubts over when massive government stimulus packages can be safely unwound, were other real threats.
   ‘The reason I am flagging this issue is that we are in the stage of recovery where confidence is very important,’ he said at a business forum ahead of the weekend summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.
   ‘If you have asset bubbles that are not properly dealt with, you could again undermine confidence in 2010, which is the year I am more concerned about.’
   Property and share prices have begun to froth again in Asia, but central banks have generally kept their interest rates low in line with the US Federal Reserve’s ultra-lax monetary policy.
   Although the US economy has returned to growth, unemployment nationally has breached 10 per cent and analysts say it is set to rise further.
   Once the saviour of the world economy, the US consumer cannot now be relied on and it is time for Asian exporters to remodel their economies to foster domestic demand, both Zoellick and Strauss-Kahn said.
   Vowing to maintain China’s stimulus programmes, Hu told the business forum: ‘The profound impact of the financial crisis is still evident and the world economic upturn is not yet firmly established.
   ‘The international financial crisis has given rise to trade and investment protectionism of various forms,’ he added, delivering a warning against new trade barriers that was echoed by several other APEC leaders.
   Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was to arrive in Singapore on Saturday, urged APEC nations to limit state bailouts or risk creating ‘hothouse conditions for unprofitable businesses’ that would only harm growth overall.
   The APEC leaders are expected to call for government spending packages to remain in place until private-sector demand is strong enough to take over as the motor of growth, according to a draft communique seen by AFP.
   Much of the Obama administration’s 787-billion-dollar package is still to feed into the world’s largest economy, but Strauss-Kahn said the United States was unlikely to hit the rails once the spending runs out next year.

British Airways and Iberia of Spain reached preliminary agreement late Thursday on a seven-billion-dollar merger to create one of Europe’s biggest airlines, ending months of negotiations.
   The new airline would have 419 aircraft and fly to 205 destinations, after a merger aimed at better competing in the industry hit hard by the global recession, the pair said in a joint statement.
   ‘The merger will create a strong European airline well able to compete in the 21st century,’ BA chief executive Willie Walsh said.
   ‘Both airlines will retain their brands and heritage while achieving significant synergies as a combined force,’ he said.
   Both loss-making airlines held separate board meeting talks throughout Thursday on a merger that would create a European aviation giant to rival Air France-KLM and Lufthansa.
   The deal would create Europe’s second biggest airline by stock market capitalisation, and third biggest by income, with around 60 million passengers per year, analysts have said.
   British Airways will hold 55 per cent of the new company, while Iberia will hold 45 per cent, the statement said.
   The merger would save 400 million euros (358 million pounds) a year, the statement said, prompting British newspapers on Friday to warn of further job losses at the two airlines.
   The Times said cuts were likely at existing head offices in London and Madrid, in maintenance facilities and the merged sales forces.
   A BA spokeswoman could not rule out job cuts, but said it was likely that most savings would be made through sharing services like IT.
   Walsh will be chief executive, and Iberia chairman Antonio Vazquez will be chairman of the new company to be based in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the statement said.
   Analysts said passengers were unlikely to notice much difference initially, with the merger to be finalised by the end of 2010.
   Vazquez hailed the agreement, saying they were ‘laying the foundations of what will be one of the most important airlines in the world, a real global airline.’

Europe’s deepest recession since World War II should officially come to an end on Friday when the European Union publishes figures universally expected to show a collective return to growth.
   Data focused on the 16 countries that use the euro currency—led by France and Germany, which themselves posted stable or accelerating national growth—is tipped by analysts to show July-September expansion of at least 0.5 per cent.
   Ahead of the release of the wider bloc figures, Germany’s Desatis statistics office said Friday that business activity in Europe’s biggest and most powerful economy had expanded by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter.

Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited has recently won 'Asian Livestock Industry Award 2009 [Emerging Integrator]' in recognition for the 'outstanding contribution' made to the livestock industry in Bangladesh.
   The Asian Agribusiness Media Private Limited presents this award once in two years to the leading integrated Asian companies, said a press release.
   The Award was presented by YB Datuk Seri Noh Bin Hj Omar, minister of agriculture and agro-based industry, Malaysia at the opening ceremony of Livestock Asia Expo and Forum 2009, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Eastern Bank Limited has recently joined OMNIBUS, a platform of shared automated teller machine and point of sales networks led by BRAC Bank.
   From now on, customers of EBL can use shared network of over 300 ATMs of OMNIBUS across Bangladesh.
   OMNIBUS is a facility that combines the ATM and POS networks of member institutions through a combined network of over 300 ATM5, 1,200 POS terminals and overall ATM card base of 1 Million.
   Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director and chief executive officer of EBL and AEA Muhaimen, managing director and chief executive officer of BRAC Bank signed an agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

The second SME service centre of National Bank Limited has recently been inaugurated at Kanaipurbazar, Faridpur.
   M Abdur Rahman Sarker, managing director of the Bank, inaugurated the SME Centre. A discussion meeting was also held on the occasion.

Kuwait Airways has recently launched flight operations from the port city of Chittagong to Kuwat.
   The inaugural flight landed on October 30, 2009 with 230 passengers at Chittagong Shah Amanat Airport from Kuwait and departed with 227 passengers.
   To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held at Hotel Peninsula. Abdullah Almawash, the ambassador of Kuwait, was present as chief guest at the function that was attended, among others, by Mosharraf Hossain, the chairman of the standing committee on ministry civil aviation and tourism, ambassador of Libya, Ahmed AH Aliman and ambassador of Palestine, Shaher Mohammed.