The industries minister, Dilip Barua, on Thursday said that the government would bring dynamism to the country’s economy and businesses to bring in foreign and local investments.
   ‘The present government is working hard to bring back business confidence. We hope to see an increase in foreign direct investment from next year,’ he told reporters after inaugurating the three-day 4th Japan Trade Fair 2009 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
   The industries minister described the present government as an industry-friendly one and said priority is being given to the country’s industrialisation for the sake of the development of the nation.
   He hoped that the existing economic relationship between Bangladesh and Japan would be further strengthened by the fair.
   The president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Annisul Huq, said that foreign direct investment situation would improve if good governance and good leadership could be provided.
   He said that enough foreign investment had not come to the country in last few years due to confrontational politics, lack of infrastructure and inefficiency in providing services.
   The FBCCI president also said that Japanese investment and technologies are required for the economic development of the country.
   Toshihito Tamba, the chairman of Japan-Bangladesh joint committee for commerce and economic cooperation, said the bilateral relation between Japan and Bangladesh has been improving for past few years.
   ‘We hope that 4th Japan trade fair will create an opportunity for both the countries to build new business relationship through closer interaction among business people from Japan and Bangladesh’ he added.
   The Japanese ambassador, Tamotsu Shinotsuka, said that Bangladesh achieved high economic growth last year despite the global financial crisis.
   ‘Bangladesh‘s high potential for economic growth is recognised internationally and this recognition has significantly increased foreign direct investment’ he added.
   Bangladeshi agents of Japanese companies, government and semi-government organisations and Bangladeshi exporters are taking part in the three-day fair. Around 40 participants are showcasing their products including automobiles and spare parts, electronic capital machinery, IT equipment, leather products and shipping equipments.
   The fair will remain open for visitors from 10:00am to 8:00pm. There is an entry fee of Tk 20 to visit the fair that ends tomorrow.

The economy showed mixed trend until the end of July 2009 when some major indicators increased and some others declined.
   According to the latest Bangladesh Bank report on the country’s economic trend, private sector credit, remittance and reserve increased in July when revenue collection, export earnings and import payment declined.
   The inflation dropped significantly in the first month of the current 2009-10 financial year, indicating price stability at the commodity market.
   The central bank recorded the rate of annual inflation at 6.04 per cent in July, a huge decline from 10 per cent inflation in July 2008.
   A Bangladesh Bank official said the inflation came down to a comfortable level from the concerning double-digit point after the government’s effective measurers to arrest the price spiral of essential goods.
   Citing some central bank data, he said most of the essential goods became affordable this year compared to their last year’s high prices.
   He, however, admitted that prices of some commodities jumped unusually during Ramadan and were continuing upward trend afterward.
   ‘But the price rise of a few items do not bring any significant change in the inflation rate’, he added.
   Besides the positive trend in inflation, increasing credit to private sector indicated rise of business confidence. The credit to private sector increased by taka 27,374.2 crore or over 14 per cent in July.
   The report, however, mentioned that the credit to the public sector increased by over 19 per cent in the month. But the flow of credit to private sector was not hampered by the increase thanks to the substantial liquidity in the banking sector.
   Increasing remittance and reserve also comforted further the country’s macro-economic situation. Reserve rose by 22.55 per cent in July when remittance went up by 1.27 per cent despite the global recession fallout.
   The world financial turmoil, however, cut the July export earnings by 8.48 per cent when the import payments declined by 17.27 per cent.
   The revenue earning in July marked a huge decline by 52.41 per cent compared to the earnings in June. The National Board of Revenue collected taka 3729.76 crore in July, which was taka 7,836.72 crore in the previous month.
   But, a NBR official said that the revenue collection in the first month of a fiscal has always been much lower than the collection in the last month of a financial year.

Rupali Life Insurance Company Limited has informed that its board of directors has decided to sponsor a mutual fund of Tk 100 crore subject to approval of regulatory authorities.
   The proposed ‘Rupali Life Insurance First Mutual Fund’ will be a closed end fund, according to a post on the DSE’s website on Thursday.
   Sponsor Rupali Life Insurance Company will contribute Tk 20 crore to the fund and Tk 80 crore will be raised through pre-IPO private placement and IPO. Face value of each unit of the fund will be Tk 10.

NCC Bank has informed the Dhaka Stock Exchange that the board of directors of the bank has decided to form a subsidiary company ‘NCCB Capital Limited’ to conduct merchant banking operation.
   After obtaining approval from concerned authorities, National Credit and Commerce Bank Limited will establish the proposed subsidiary company, according to a post on the DSE’s website on Wednesday.

The total number of mobile phone users in impoverished Bangladesh has hit 50 million (5 crore), making it one of the fastest growing telecom markets in the region, officials said Thursday.
   The country’s telecoms regulator said mobile phone subscribers crossed 50.4 million at the end of September, meaning more than one in three people in one of the poorest countries in the world has a cell phone.
   Bangladesh issued its first mobile phone licence in 1993, but growth was slow in the first 10 years, with total subscribers reaching just 1.5 million in the early 2003.
   However, the Bangladesh economy has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by a better-than-expected flow of remittances, and the prices for phone use have fallen sharply due to competition.
   In 2003, the cost of a national call was around 7 taka (10 US cents) a minute, but is now around 1 taka per minute.
   Grameenphone, majority-owned by Norwegian firm Telenor, was a key driver in the growth with almost half, or 22 million, of the total subscribers with the company.
   ‘The first 50 million has taken 15 years to reach. I feel that in the right business environment, the next 50 million subscribers will happen much faster,’ Grameenphone’s chief executive officer Oddvar Hesjedal said.
   Bangladesh has six mobile phone operators, with five owned by top emerging market companies such as Axiata of Malaysia and Orascom of Egypt. State-owned Teletalk is the bottom-placed operator.
   Earlier this month, World Bank research showed that every 10 per cent increase in mobile phone connections brings about an increase of 0.6 per cent in economic growth.

Dhaka stocks finished week down in volatile trading with the DSE general index lost 11.54 points on Thursday, the last trading day of the week, after a record-breaking bull run on the previous day.
   The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange dropped to 3,284.50 points, 0.35 per cent down from the Wednesday’s closing at 3,296.03 points, the index’s all-time high.
   A DSE stockbroker said profit taking selling pressure pushed down the market.
   Turnover at the DSE also dropped to Tk 1,098.58 crore after hitting its highest ever mark with Tk 1,201.05 crore on Wednesday.
   It was the fifth time that the DSE turnover crossed Tk 1,000-crore mark and the fourth time in the week began Sunday.
   Of the total 249 issues traded on Thursday, 157 declined, 80 advanced, and two remained unchanged.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has urged the business community of Italy to invest in the potential sectors of Bangladesh.
   Leaders of the apex trade body made the call at a meeting with the leaders of the Confederation of Italian Industries in Italy on Wednesday, said a news release.
   A 42-member business delegation of the FBCCI visited Italy in a four-country trip in the west Europe.
   Marco Felisati, head of international affairs department of the Confederation of Italian Industries, presided over the meeting, while high officials of Bangladesh mission in Italy, business leaders of Italy and the Bangladeshi businessmen working in Italy were also present.
   Kamaluddin Ahmed, director of FBCCI and leader of the delegation, urged the business community of Italy to invest specially in the sector of information technology, RMG, pharmaceuticals, light engineering, leather, power and energy, and health.
   Marco Felisati expressed his interest to work jointly with the business community of Bangladesh.

Asian stocks pushed higher on Thursday, a day after US stocks soared to the highest level since October 2008, when global markets were in freefall following the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
   Investors cheered stronger-than-expected earnings from computer chip giant Intel and Wall Street bank JPMorgan Chase that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 10,000 points.
   It was the first time the index had been above the key level since October 7, 2008, when global markets were in turmoil following the collapse of Lehman Brothers three weeks
   earlier.
   ‘The bulls in the market appear to have the bit between their teeth and are ceaselessly charging forward,’ said Calyon economist Stuart Bennett.
   ‘Sometimes, however, optimism can blind the hopeful and it was noticeable that whilst the JPMorgan figures were good, the bank did warn that the significant gains in some areas may not be sustainable.’
   Optimism about the economic outlook in the Asia-Pacific region grew after Australia’s central bank chief signalled further interest rate rises were likely there to contain inflation as the economy recovers.
   Stocks rose 1.77 per cent in Tokyo and by 0.60 per cent in both Sydney and Seoul. Hong Kong ended 0.51 per cent higher while Shanghai closed up 0.31 per cent.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals has informed that the extra-ordinary general meeting of the company held on Thursday approved the issuance upto 4,10,00,000 fully convertible, 5 per cent dividend, preference shares of Tk 100 each amounting to Tk 410 crore.
   
   Agni Systems
   The company has informed that the 79th meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on October 22, 2009 at 3:00pm at head office of the company to approve the draft audited report along with financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2009 and dividend issue.
   
   Social Islami Bank
   Ahmed Akbar Soban, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 50,000 shares out of his total holdings of 3,04,052 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Shahjalal Islami Bank
   Khandoker Sakib Ahmed, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 20,000 shares (bonus shares) out of his total holdings of 4,66,782 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Delta Brac Housing Finance
   Delta Life Insurance Co Ltd, one of the corporate sponsors of the company, has reported its intention to sell 50,000 shares (bonus shares) out of its total holdings of 7,15,000 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Mutual Trust Bank
   East West Property Development (Pvt) Ltd, one of the corporate sponsors of the bank, has reported its intention to sell 50,000 shares out of its total holdings of 5,88,772 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   CMC Kamal
   Normal trading of the shares of the company will resume on 18.10.09 following the starting date of book-closure.
   Source: DSE

Asia may be leading the world’s recovery from recession but its growth prospects are still clouded by the fragile global economic situation, the Asian Development Bank’s top economist said.
   The bank has projected ‘very optimistic’ regional growth rates in 2010 but they could be dampened by a weak global recovery, especially in industrialised nations, and premature government strategies to exit from recession, chief economist Lee Jong-Wha said at a Wednesday forum in Washington.
   ‘The question is whether recovery will be sustained in 2010 and beyond,’ he said. ‘The outlook still remains uncertain, especially the downside risks which may come from a protracted global slowdown and which will delay the region’s full recovery.’
   The Manila-based ADB had recently forecast that developing Asian economies, led by China and India, will grow by an average 6.4 per cent in 2010 from about 3.9 per cent this year.
   ‘So, even though we are now leading the recovery, there is no room for complacency because global recovery seems to be in the near term very weak,’ said Lee, a Harvard-educated South Korean who is chief spokesperson for ADB on economic forecasts and trends.
   While Asia had proved to be more resilient than other regions in confronting the worst global downturn in decades, its fortunes remain tied to the key export markets of the industrial world, Lee said.
   ‘Asia’s increased export-orientation raises its vulnerability to external shocks. Although there have been lot of discussions about recovery, in reality the Asian countries have not decoupled from the industrial countries.
   ‘So Asia cannot be the sole driver of its own growth and we still rely on external demand,’ he added at the forum organized by the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
   Peterson economist Michael Mussa said he did not expect most of the world to be mired in recession or in extremely sluggish growth, including the United States where most data point to economic growth in the third quarter after nearly two years in recession.
   On Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave hope that the US was weathering the recession, trading above the key emotional threshold of 10,000 for the first time in a year with a strong rally led by better-than expected profits from top firms including Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase.
   The rally inspired gains in nearly all key Asian markets on Thursday.
   ‘The ‘V’ shaped recovery is alive and well in emerging Asia,’ said former International Monetary Fund chief economist Mussa, predicting a strong upturn in regional growth.
   Top growth driver China snapped back from close to zero growth at the end of 2008 to already about eight per cent growth in first quarter this year while at least half a dozen other economies in the region posted growth rates of between 10 and 20 per cent, Mussa noted.
   ‘My worry, of course, is that the initial bounce back from an extremely sharp downturn in world trade and industrial production will not continue at a 10 to 20 per cent rate quarter-on-quarter for the next three or four years,’ Mussa said.
   The ADB’s Lee warned governments against prematurely winding down their stimulus measures or tightening monetary policies as this could derail the fragile recovery.
   ‘Any hasty tightening of the monetary and fiscal polices will easily disrupt this ongoing recovery, especially in the situation of a weak recovery of the global economy,’ he said.
   ‘The timing of withdrawing monetary stimulus is very important for industrialized countries but also for Asian countries.’

Investor sentiment in Asia jumped in the third quarter to the most optimistic level in two years as the region’s economies revived, according to a survey released on Thursday.
   On a pan-Asian index ranking investor confidence in the economy from zero to 200, the score rose to 143 points for the July-September period, up eight per cent from the previous three months, Dutch bank ING, which carried out the survey, said in a statement.
   On a year-on-year basis the figure is 66 per cent up from the third quarter of 2008, the bank said, when the global economic crisis was kicking in.
   About two-thirds of those surveyed in 13 markets in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, expected their local economy and the US economy to improve in the next quarter.
   The poll found optimism particularly strong in export-orientated markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan.
   Global markets plummeted and the world economy went into recession after the collapse of US bank Lehman Brothers last September.
   ‘Many of the Asian markets continue to see an improvement in the local economies and the financial markets for 2009, and investors have been generally upbeat as a result,’ said Nicholas Toovey, regional head of equity at ING Investment Management Asia/Pacific.
   ‘Asian investors are now anticipating and are poised for recovery in the G7 economies, which we expect will happen in the first half of 2010,’ he said, referring to the Group of Seven industrialised nations.

Federal Reserve officials see a recovery underway from recession but say it will be ‘restrained’ by high unemployment and difficult credit, minutes from a policy meeting showed Wednesday.
   The minutes released from the September 22-23 Federal Open Market Committee showed ongoing worries about unemployment despite an apparent pickup in economic activity.
   A Fed staff projection used by policymakers showed some larger gains in employment than previously forecast, but unemployment holding as high as 9.25 per cent by the end of 2010 and then falling to about 8.0 per cent by the end of 2011.
   The minutes indicated that participants ‘agreed that the incoming data and information received from business contacts suggested that economic activity had picked up following its severe downturn.’
   Many Fed officials had revised up their projections for economic activity in the second half of 2009 and beyond, on the basis of data showing steadying housing and consumer spending as well as other factors.
   ‘Despite these positive factors, many participants noted that the economic recovery was likely to be quite restrained,’ the minutes showed.
   ‘Credit from banks remained difficult to obtain and costly for many borrowers; these conditions were expected to improve only gradually.
   ‘In light of recent experience, consumers were likely to be cautious in spending, and business contacts indicated that their firms would also be cautious in hiring and investing even as demand for their products picked up.’
   The report noted that some of the upturn in the economy ‘probably reflected government policy support,’ and that Fed officials ‘expressed considerable uncertainty about the likely strength of the upturn once those supports were withdrawn or their effects waned.’
   ‘Overall, the economy was projected to expand over the remainder of 2009 and during 2010, but at a pace that was unlikely to reduce the unemployment rate appreciably,’ the minutes stated.
   At that meeting, the Fed acknowledged a recovery was underway from prolonged recession but maintained its near-zero interest rate and trillion-plus dollar effort to support the fragile improvements.
   The panel voted unanimously at the meeting to maintain the federal funds rate of zero to 0.25 per cent in place since last December to help jolt the economy out of its worst recession in decades.
   The tone of the Fed ‘is getting far less cautious and far less negative, despite all the caveats,’ said Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street.
   ‘The key caveat here is that there is still some skepticism on the part of the FOMC. They are just not sure about the magnitude of the recovery. While that is always the case coming out of every recession, this recession was far deeper and it is easy to see how many policymakers are not sure.’
   The latest official data showed a 0.7 per cent pace of output decline in the second quarter, with the economy nearly emerging from the slump that led to a hefty 6.4 per cent tumble in the first quarter of 2009.
   The minutes offered few clues on when the Fed would start winding down its extraordinary efforts to keep credit flowing with special liquidity programs and record-low rates.
   ‘Most participants anticipated that slack in both labour and product markets would be substantial over the next few years, leading to subdued and potentially declining wage and price inflation,’ the minutes showed.
   ‘To keep inflation expectations well anchored, all agreed on the importance of the Federal Reserve continuing to communicate that it has the tools and willingness to begin withdrawing monetary policy accommodation at the appropriate time and pace to prevent any persistent increase in inflation.’
   The minutes showed Fed members ‘see some risk of substantial further disinflation, but that risk had eased somewhat further over the intermeeting period.’

Remittances back home from millions of Filipinos working abroad rose 2.8 per cent year-on-year in August, the central bank said on Thursday, bolstering expectations for economic growth.
   The total of $1.4 billion in August brought remittances for the first eight months of the year to $11.34 billion, a 3.7 per cent increase from the same period last year, the central bank said in a statement.
   ‘Remittances from Filipino workers overseas continued to underpin the resilience of the economy, remaining a stable source of foreign exchange for the country,’ the statement said.
   It credited the remittances to the steady deployment of workers abroad and the improved services and channels for sending the money home, particularly through local banks.
   This growth comes despite earlier forecasts by the government and international institutions that remittances from overseas workers would be flat or fall this year due to the global financial crisis.
   Central bank governor Amando Tetangco said in the statement that remittances would likely increase in the coming months amid signs that global crisis was coming to an end.
   New labour agreements that have been forged with countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia and Taiwan would also help, he said.
   The biggest sources of money from abroad were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, the statement said.
   The cash transfers from the roughly nine million Filipinos working abroad are equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the Philippines’ economic output and constitute.

Standard Chartered Bank re-launched ‘Priority Centre’ at its Dhanmondi branch in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   Head of consumer banking for Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal Sandeep Bose inaugurated the new centre, said a news release.
   Senior officials of the bank were present on the occasion.
   Standard Chartered Bank has four priority banking centres in Bangladesh, of which three are in Dhaka and one in Chittagong.

BRAC Bank recently donated Tk 25 lakh to Asiatic Society of Bangladesh with a view to aiding the latter’s project of publishing the Children’s Banglapedia and creating an Online Bibliography.
   Managing director and chief executive officer of the bank AEA Muhaimen handed over the donation cheque to Sirajul Islam, president of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, at a function at the Society’s office in Dhaka.
   Senior officials of the bank and the Society were present on the occasion.

Mutual Trust Bank recently organised a training programme for the newly-recruited officers of the bank.
   Thirty-one officers participated in the training course, said a news release.
   Acting managing director and chief executive officer of the bank Quamrul Islam Chowdhury inaugurated the course, while Sirajul Haque, principal of MTB Training Institute, was present on the occasion.