Dhaka Stock Exchange is yet to start trading operation on its over-the-counter market as no company is listed with the separate trading floor introduced for trading of shares of de-listed and unlisted companies.
   On October 4, DSE de-listed 51 low profile ‘Z’ category companies and asked the issuers to be listed on the OTC market.
   ‘The bourse has not received any listing application for OTC trading yet,’ a senior DSE official said on Monday. He, however, said a number of recently de-listed companies were collecting information from the bourse on the process of listing with and transaction on the OTC market.
   Following a directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission, DSE de-listed the 51 companies.
   The SEC, stock market regulatory body, had directed the bourse to de-list the ‘Z’ category companies trading of which was under suspension or had been halted and to facilitate transaction of the securities on the OTC market.
   The 51 companies are: ChicTex, Raspit Inc (BD), Raspit Data Management and Telecommunications, Petro Synthetic Products, Pharmaco International, German Bangla JV Food, United Commercial Bank, Al-Amin Chemical Ind, Ashraf Textile Mills, Bangladesh Chemical Ind, Bangladesh Dyeing and Finishing Industries, Bangladesh Zipper Industries, Excelsior Shoes, Gachihata Aquaculture Farms, GMG Industrial Corporation, Maq Enterprises, Maq Paper Industries, Metalex Corporation Ltd, Mita Textiles, Modern Cement, Padma Printers and Color, Quasem Textile Mills, Rahman Chemicals, Rangamati Food Products, Rose Heaven Ball Pen, Sajib Knitwear and Garments, Sonali Paper and Board Mills, Sreepur Textile Mills, Tamijuddin Textile Mills, Wata Chemicals, Wonderland Toys, Arbee Textiles, Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing Co, Bengal Fine Ceramics, Eagle Star Textile Mills, Lexco, Paper Processing and Packaging, Phoenix Leather Complex, Tulip Dairy and Food Products, Mona Food Industry, Bionic Seafood Exports, Amam Sea Food Industries, M Hossain Garments Washing and Dying, Dynamic Textile Industries, Saleh Carpet Mills, Bangladesh Electricity Meter Co, Perfume Chemical Industries, Bangladesh Luggage Industries, Dandy Dyeing, Meghna Shrimp Culture, and Bengal Biscuits.
   Earlier on September 6, the SEC directed the DSE to provide OTC facilities to the issuers of the securities already de-listed by the bourse, excluding those securities, which had been de-listed upon application of the issuers concerned.
   DSE de-listed total 36 companies in 14 years from 1994 to 2007. Of them, 33 companies will be eligible to apply for availing the bourse’s OTC facilities as per the SEC directive, DSE sources said.
   On September 6, the DSE introduced the OTC market.

The Asian Development Bank will provide the government a loan of $76 million to support expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises for creating employment opportunities in the rural areas.
   SME ventures headed by women will receive at least 15 per cent credit under a project which is being designed to create jobs and business opportunities outside major urban centers, according to an ADB news release.
   The project is expected to generate 1.46 million jobs in the SME sector and benefit more than 66,000 enterprises across the country, primarily in rural and non-urban areas outside Dhaka and Chittagong during 2009-2012.
   The loan funds will be made available through Bangladesh Bank to 30 participating financial institutions for supporting eligible enterprises.
   An agreement on the proposed loan was signed between the Manila-based multilateral lending agency and the Economic Relations Division at the latter’s office on Monday. The secretary of the division, M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, and the officer-in-charge of the ADB Dhaka mission, Nurul Huda, signed the agreement.
   Bangladesh government will contribute an amount of $19 million to the project, the participating financial institutions $19 million, and the small and medium enterprises themselves will chip in $12.7 million. The total cost of the project would be $126.7 million.
   A linked technical assistance grant of $500,000, funded by the Australia-ADB South Asia Development Partnership Facility, will be used to improve the financial skills and capacity of women entrepreneurs and participating financial institutions.
   ‘A vibrant SME sector is critical for investment, growth, employment creation and poverty reduction,’ Nurul Huda said at the signing ceremony.
   Currently, the country’s underdeveloped equity and long-term debt markets are constrained by limited availability of finance for lending to SME sector and limited credit information and weak infrastructure hamper growth of the sector.

The boom in global trade over the last two decades has not improved the quality of most jobs in poorer countries, the World Trade Organisation and United Nations labour agency said on Monday.
   Their joint report, whose conclusions may make a new global free trade pact even harder to swallow for some, found most workers in developing countries continue to face low incomes and limited job security, even in sectors tied to exports.
   While international trade grew to represent more than 60 per cent of global gross domestic product in 2007, from less than 30 per cent in the mid-1980s, the number of informal workers has stayed constant or even grown in poorer states.
   ‘Strong growth in the global economy has not, so far, led to a corresponding improvement in working conditions and living standards for many,’ the Geneva-based organisations said.
   Informal workers in areas like construction, agriculture and mining generally do not pay tax and lack access to benefits such as disability insurance or pensions. They remain as vulnerable now as before the trade boom, the report said.
   ‘Even in the formal economy, a growing proportion of workers is undeclared or works under precarious conditions,’ the WTO’s Pascal Lamy and ILO chief Juan Somavia said in the report.
   ‘These outcomes are likely to worsen as a result of the global financial crisis,’ they said.
   The WTO’s 153 member governments have worked for eight years to clinch a new ‘Doha Round’ trade accord, which would open up global markets to goods and services by slashing duties and other penalties charged at borders.
   That agreement, whose negotiations began in Qatar in 2001, would also reduce the subsidies countries pay to shield their farmers and factory workers from outside competition.
   But top economies including India, China, the European Union and the United States, have been reticent to do so, putting the agreement—which requires full consensus—out of reach.
   Monday’s report acknowledges the growth that followed previous WTO trade rounds and various bilateral and regional accords had principally benefited skilled workers, with little gains for physical labourers.
   The ILO and WTO concluded that further liberalisation of global trade has the potential to yield long-term labour market benefits and suggested that future trade reforms ‘can be implemented in an employment-friendly way.’

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association and the German Development Organisation jointly launched a quality development programme on Monday.
   Under the programme, GTZ backed consultants will help selected member factories of the BGMEA implement on floor productivity and quality development projects.
   In line with this programme, the BGMEA has established a permanent productivity improvement cell. The cell, charging very nominal service charges, will provide various technical supports to the BGMEA member factories improving their quality standards.
   ‘Due to global recession and intensifies competition in global markets the most priority task is now to sustain and enhance our share in global apparel markets,’ said BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy.
   Admitting that a major shortcoming in the RMG sector is poor productivity, Murshedy said,’ For decreasing operational cost and enhancing competitiveness, improving productivity has no alternative.’
   ‘Although the apparel products of Bangladesh are well known for maintaining a high quality level, there is still a scope of reducing wastage by improving the quality production management,’ he said.

Dhaka stocks dropped Monday after a record-breaking bull run.
   The general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 22.68 points, or 0.70 per cent, to close at 3236.98, while its blue chips index, DSE20, shed 16.82 points, or 0.74 per cent, to finish at 2,261.90.
   Market operators said profit taking selling pressure and the regulator’s call for restrain put a brake on the market’s upward trend.
   On Sunday, the Securities and Exchange Commission held an emergency meeting with the DSE authorities and discussed the current market situation, according to a media report.
   The SEC’s move came as the DSE’s general index hit an all-time high on October 6 and maintained the record-breaking run for the fourth day Sunday, the opening trading day of the week. Trading activities were also bullish as turnover hit the second highest figure at Tk 1,034 crore on Sunday.
   On Monday, losers outnumbered the gainers. Of the total 243 issues traded, 160 declined, 80 advanced, and three remained unchanged.
   Bextex topped the turnover leaders with a total transaction of Tk 67.17 crore.
   Beximco, Titas Gas, Jamuna Oil, Navana CNG, Makson Spinning, Aftab Automobiles, Keya Cosmetics, BDCOM Online, and Beximco Synthetics were the rest of the top 10 turnover leaders.

DOZ & Company Pvt Limited will set up an electrical and electronics light engineering industry in the Ishwardi Export Processing Zone.
   The 100 per cent locally owned company will invest $3.325 million in setting up its unit and will produce electrical and electronic items. The company will also create employment opportunity for 522 workers, a news release said.
   An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the company at BEPZA Complex in Dhaka on Sunday.
   BEPZA member (investment promotion) Md Moyjuddin Ahmed and DOZ & Company director Md SK Rakib Hossain signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.
   BEPZA executive chairman Brigadier General Jamil Ahmed Khan was present.

Oil prices rose on Monday, boosted by a forecast of higher demand amid growing hopes of economic recovery, traders said.
   New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, climbed $1.02 to $72.79 a barrel.
   Brent North Sea crude for November delivery gained $1.07 to $71.07.
   ‘Prices are buoyed by improving demand prospects and sentiment, but for any sustained (price) move higher, we would need inventories to continue to taper off as underlying demand improve,’ said Barclays Capital analyst Amrita Sen.
   Prices were supported by an International Energy Agency report on Friday that forecast a rise in demand at the end of this year and into 2010 as the global economy recovers from a slump.
   ‘The IEA sharply revised its oil demand forecast for 2010 upwards, so that has added to the buoyant mood,’ said Victor Shum, an analyst for energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
   The agency revised upwards its estimate for global oil demand this year by 2,00,000 barrels a day and for next year by 3,50,000 barrels a day.
   Despite its upbeat forecast on demand, the IEA report also cautioned that prices were unlikely to rise dramatically.
   Demand for oil has plunged in the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression, with crude prices falling from historic highs of more than $147 dollars in July 2008 to about $32 dollars in December. They have since won back ground on economic recovery hopes.
   ‘While price action seems settled in the $65-75 range, any move above $75 will be contingent on a more sustained improvement in global oil demand and its associated impact on eroding the inventory overhang,’ said Sen.

The US dollar was higher in Asian trade Monday against the yen and euro after comments from the Federal Reserve alleviated selling pressure, but the gains could be short-lived, analysts said.
   The dollar was at 90.24 yen from 89.77 in late US trade Friday. Markets in Tokyo are closed for a public holiday and will reopen Tuesday.
   The euro changed hands at 1.4695 dollars, down from 1.4727 Friday in late US trade but it rose to 132.60 yen from 131.45.
   The dollar found some support after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments last week that US interest rates could be on the rise.
   Against the other Asian units, the dollar was also firmer including against the Singapore unit where it traded at 1.4014 Singapore dollars from 1.3926 late Friday.
   For the other Asian units, the US dollar firmed to 1,169.95 South Korean won from 1,164.38 on Friday, to 32.26 Taiwan dollars from 32.22, to 9,478 Indonesian rupiah from 9,440, to 46.55 Philippine pesos from 46.48 and to 33.36 Thai baht from 33.33.
   Despite the dollar’s recent rise, dealers do not expect the greenback to climb much higher as equities continue to reflect a good start to the earnings season, analysts from Societe Generale said in a report.

The board of directors of Keya Detergent has recommended 10 per cent cash dividend for the year
   2008- 2009. Date of AGM: 25.12.09. Time: 11:45 AM, Venue: Premises of Keya Knit Composite Ltd, Jarun, Konabari, Gazipur. Record Date: 02.11.09. There will be no price limit on the trading of the shares of the company today following its corporate declaration.
   The board of directors of Keya Cosmetics has recommended 15 per cent cash dividend for the year 2008- 2009. Date of AGM: 25.12.09. Time: 10:00 AM, Venue: Premises of Keya Knit Composite Ltd, Jarun, Konabari, Gazipur. Record Date: 02.11.09. There will be no price limit on the trading of the shares of the company today following its corporate declaration.
   
   Premier Leasing
   Md Anwarul Haque, one of the sponsors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 40,000 shares out of his total holdings of 70,788 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   Asia Pacific Insurance
   The company has informed that it has credited the stock dividend for the year 2008 to the respective shareholders’ BO accounts.
   
   Fu Wang Food
   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 with cum benefit from 13.10.09 to 14.10.09. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on 15.10.09 as book closure will start from 18.10.09.
   
   Sandhani Life Insurance
   Rowshan Ara, one of the sponsors of the company, has reported her intention to transfer 500 shares out of her total holdings of 10,500 shares of the company to her husband Md Faruque Ahmed by way of gift outside the trading system of the exchange.
   Source: DSE

Singapore’s economy grew 0.8 per cent in the three months to September from a year ago, official estimates showed on Monday, boosting recovery hopes in other Asian economies hit by the global slowdown.
   It was the trade-dependent economy’s first year-on-year expansion in five quarters and was based on July and August numbers. The estimate is expected to be revised when the full September numbers are available next month.
    ‘It’s a good sign for the rest of Asia,’ said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist with financial services firm SJS Markets Hong Kong. ‘The recovery in the global economy has had a meaningful impact on regional growth.’
   Singapore was the first Asian economy to go into recession as a result of the financial crisis that began in the US housing sector — but also among the earliest beneficiaries of improved demand in industrial countries this year.
    ‘A clear but modest recovery is under way globally, at least for the next three or four quarters,’ the ministry of trade and industry said in a statement.
   While gross domestic product will fall in 2009, the government amended its full-year forecast to a contraction of 2.0 to 2.5 per cent, well below the previous estimate of negative 4.0 to 6.0 per cent growth.
   ‘One-off factors such as restocking activities and fiscal stimulus measures will continue to support growth in the near term,’ the ministry said.
   On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, GDP surged 14.9 per cent following a 22 per cent expansion in the second quarter to June, the ministry said.
   It was the second successive quarter-on-quarter growth period.
   Growth in the third quarter was driven by expansion in the biomedical and electronics manufacturing industries, which are the key pillars of Singapore’s industrial sector.
   Manufacturing, which accounts for almost a quarter of Singapore’s GDP, grew 8.3 per cent in third quarter from a year ago and expanded 34.9 per cent on a quarterly basis.
   The services industry shrank 2.4 per cent on the year but expanded 9.5 per cent on a quarterly basis. The construction sector surged 12.4 per cent year-on-year but fell 0.6 per cent from the previous three months, the ministry said.
    ‘Growth was driven by the continued expansion of biomedical and electronics manufacturing output, and improvements in the trade-related and tourism sectors of the economy on the back of a gradual stabilisation in global economic conditions,’ it said.
   The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, said in a separate statement on Monday it was maintaining the policy of ‘zero per cent appreciation’ for the Singapore dollar in light of the modest recovery.
   The MAS carries out its monetary policy through the Singapore dollar, which is weighted against a basket of currencies of major trading partners within an undisclosed trading band known as the nominal effective exchange rate.
    ‘MAS will therefore maintain the current policy stance of a zero per cent appreciation of the NEER policy path,’ it said.
   Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with CIMB-GK Research, said Singapore was ‘firmly out of recession’ with GDP expanding in the third quarter.
   He has narrowed his 2009 growth forecast for the city-state to a contraction of 2.0 per cent from minus 3.0 per cent previously.
   The third-quarter data boosted local share prices, with the benchmark Straits Times Index closing up 1.05 per cent at to 2,680.47.
   Singapore’s economy sank into recession in the second quarter of 2008 as the global financial crisis unfolded, hurting demand for exports to its major markets including the United States, Japan and the European Union.
   Its worst previous recession since gaining independence in 1965 was in 2001 when GDP contracted 2.4 per cent.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced on Monday a massive 16-billion-pound sale of state assets including the Channel Tunnel rail link, to cut soaring debt caused by economic crisis.
   Brown, facing a potential election wipeout next year at the hands of the main opposition Conservatives, wants to halve Britain’s deficit in four years after it ballooned amid a deep recession.
   The planned disposals, which also include the 33-per cent stake in European uranium consortium URENCO, the Student Loan Company and the Tote bookmakers, would raise the equivalent of 25.4 billion dollars or 17.2 billion euros.
   ‘We plan a sale of assets to deal with our debt issues and ... 16 billion (pounds) of assets will be sold within the next two years,’ Brown told economists gathered in central London on Monday.
   ‘We have listed a number of assets that we are determined over the next period of time to put into the market place.
   ‘That includes the student loan book, the Channel Tunnel rail link, that includes URENCO—subject to security issues being addressed—and that also includes the Tote, other facilities, and (a) property portfolio.’
   Britain’s public finances have increased under the weight of an expensive bailout of the troubled banking sector.
   The public deficit is widely forecast to strike 175 billion pounds this year as the nation’s finances also buckle amid a fierce recession, which has slashed taxation revenues.
   The Conservatives, who are well ahead in the opinion polls with a general election due by June, set out their plans last week for tackling Britain’s debt problem.
   Brown is bidding to reclaim the initiative for his governing Labour Party.
   His speech included a series of attacks on Conservative policies, a taste of the electioneering flavour which British politics is likely to adopt in the coming months.
   ‘Our deficit reduction plan is deepening, it is far-ranging, it takes account of the issues,’ Brown added on Monday.
   ‘The difference between it, and those of other parties... is that deficit reduction can happen in a way that does not lead to a deterioration in front-line public services, and make sure that we have the investment that is necessary for the long-term growth of the economy,’ he said.
   Conservative leader David Cameron, reacting to Brown’s announcement, said that selling government assets was a good idea.
   ‘Obviously we do need to do this but we must make sure, as every family knows, if you sell something it can help in the short term but it does not help you live within your spending in the long-term.
   ‘We have still got to get to grips with public spending, get to grips with the deficit. We must make sure we get good value for money.’
   In a twin-pronged attack on Britain’s recession, the Bank of England has slashed British interest rates to a record low of 0.5 per cent and launched a radical quantitative easing (QE) programme to boost lending.
   The British central bank will keep its key lending rate at 0.50 per cent until at least 2011 as the economy recovers, an independent economics consultancy forecast on Monday.

India’s industrial output grew at its fastest pace in 22 months in August as factories cranked out more big-ticket household goods and cars as stimulus spending drove demand, but economists said the Reserve Bank was unlikely to lift interest rates at its review later this month.
   Industrial output rose 10.4 per cent in August from a year earlier, beating the median forecast in a Reuters poll, and July’s annual growth was revised up to 7.2 per cent from 6.8 per cent, data showed on Monday.
   Economists said while the data reinforced expectations for rising inflation, the Reserve Bank was unlikely to raise interest rates at an October 27 policy review as it would want more evidence of a sustained economic upturn.
   ‘I think it gives leverage to RBI to completely concentrate on inflation,’ said NR Bhanumurthy, professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in New Delhi, who expects tightening in monetary policy by March.
   ‘RBI would like to wait for the IIP (index of industrial production) and inflation numbers for the next month,’ he said.
   For a graphic on industrial output, click here
   Consumer durable goods output surged by an annual 22.3 per cent as stimulus measures helped fuel demand, although Ramya Suryanarayan, an economist at DBS in Singapore, said the growth was driven by pent-up demand and pre-holiday season spending that was unlikely to be sustained.
   ‘Inflation is rising, production is rising fast, so logically the data does suggest that it makes sense to move, but the central bank will probably wait it out at this meeting,’ said Suryanarayan, who expects the first rate hike by January at the earliest.
   Manufacturing production in Asia’s third-largest economy rose 10.2 per cent in August from a year earlier, while mining output was up 12.9 per cent and power generation rose 10.6 per cent.
   India’s industrial output growth, which expanded for the eighth consecutive month, was the fastest since October 2007 but still lagged China’s 12.3 per cent growth in August, the quickest pace there in 12 months.
   The September purchasing managers’ index showed the pace of manufacturing activity picked up as domestic demand and factory orders rose.
   For a graphic on industrial output and PMI, click here
   Faster output at factories, mines and utilities has helped offset a decline in farm output after the worst dry spell in nearly four decades and floods in different parts of the country hurt crops and pushed up food prices.
   And despite looming inflation that some economists say could reach 8 per cent by the end of March, India is fearful of raising rates before growth is more firmly entrenched.
   Economists think the first policy shift could be an increase in the cash reserve ratio for banks in the December quarter.
   On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the economy could still grow between 6.3 and 6.5 per cent in 2009/10 (April-March), compared with 6.7 per cent last year and 9 per cent or more in each of the previous three years.
   He also said the country still had to wait before unwinding stimulus efforts as the economy was not operating at full capacity, and said the inflationary impact of India’s stimulus measures was likely to be minimal.
   Early last week, Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said India needs to tighten its monetary stance, but warned of the risks of mistiming such a move.
   Analysts say festivals and lump-sum payouts of a backdated wage increase for government staff would keep consumer demand and output growth robust in the December quarter.
   The RBI cut its main lending rate by 425 basis points between October and April as the global downturn hit the economy harder than expected. It also slashed banks’ reserve requirements and pumped liquidity into markets.

Philips Electronics reported better than expected third-quarter results on Monday, boosting its share price as the benefits of its cost-cutting program took effect, but the company said it had still not seen a recovery in most of its markets.
   The world’s biggest lighting maker, in the top three for hospital equipment and Europe’s biggest consumer electronics producer, said sales fell a comparable 11 per cent on a year ago to 5.6 billion euros.
   But earnings before interest, tax and amortizationjumped to 344 million euros ($507 million) from 57 million euros in the same quarter last year, beating the average forecast of 109 million euros given in a Reuters poll of analysts as the effects of cost cutting kicked in.
   The drop in sales was also not as bad as expected, analysts said, although an outright recovery was not in evidence.
   ‘We remain cautious about the short-term outlook in the absence of structural recovery in the majority of our end-markets,’ Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon told reporters.
   The remarks echo comments made by competitors General Electric and Siemens that underlying recovery had not yet begun.
   Philips said last month it saw some early signs of consumer confidence stabilizing but Sivignon said visibility in its consumer markets was still very difficult.
   ‘The proof in the pudding will be the selling season,’ Sivignon said. This is the moment that we can actually see if consumers are there,’ adding that the moment of truth would be Thanksgiving and Christmas.
   Hopes for a return of the consumer to the market are high but the jury is still out, experts say.
   Philips shares were up 6.1 per cent at 18.06 euros by 0931 GMT when the Amsterdam blue chip index was up 1.6 per cent.

The first board meeting of the newly formed board of directors of BASIC Bank was held recently at the bank’s head office in Dhaka.
   Chairman of the bank Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu presided over the meeting, a news release said.
   Other members of the board of directors Jahangir Akhand Salim, founder president of Chandpur the Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Ashraf Mohammad Iqbal, BSCIC chairman, Bijoy Bhattacharjee, joint secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Shakhawat Hossain, former commissioner of customs and managing director of the bank AKM Sajedur Rahman were present in the meeting.