The country will soon get the first ever digital pre-paid cash card as the Bangladesh Bank has decided to allow the commercial banks to issue such a modern facility in line with the vision for digitalising Bangladesh by 2021.
   The central bank on Tuesday initiated the cash digitalisation process with the approval of a private bank’s proposal to introduce pre-paid cash card in the country.
   The Trust Bank Limited, one of the leading financial institutions in the private sector, has got the permission from the central bank to introduce the pre-paid digital cash card.
   People in developed countries can get the pre-paid cash card even from the post shops for all sorts of cash transactions.
   In Bangladesh, initially the Trust Bank will issue the cash card and the other banks will get the similar permission later, a BB official told BSS here today.
   The Trust Bank Limited in July this year formally sought the approval of BB for the cash card, which the bank will introduce in association with two other private companies-Digital Technologies Limited and Information Technology Consultant Limited.
   Digital Technologies Limited will provide Trust Bank with the platform for mobile payment while Information Technology Consultant Limited furnish inter- bank switching and connectivity provider.
   The central bank in a letter on Tuesday told the Trust Bank to introduce the cash card within six months from the date of approval.
   The official said the pre-paid cash card could be used for withdrawal of cash from automated teller machine, bill payment, transactions at point of sale (POS) and for inter-bank and intra-bank account transfer.
   The Trust Bank will set its rules and regulations for issuing the card to the interested people. The rules and regulations, however, will be easier than issuing debit and credit cards.
   The pre-paid cash card will allow people to do their daily financial transactions without risking on carrying cash.

The government has decided not to allow any more trading companies to import eggs from India as local poultry industries have promised not to increase egg prices, commerce ministry officials said.
   The government earlier allowed the GM International Trading to import 20 lakh pieces of egg from India. Three more companies — Shapla Trading Corporation, Rajahani International Limited and Feaz Trading — have been given permission to import eggs.
   ‘We have decided to sell four pieces of eggs for Tk 24 on the wholesale market and the eggs will be retailed for prices not more than Tk 26,’ the Bangladesh Poultry Industries’ Association president, Syed Abu Siddique, on Thursday said after a meeting with the commerce minister, Faruk Khan, on Wednesday. Four pieces of egg now sell for Tk 30.
   The association president also said the minister assured the poultry farm owners that the ministry would not allow any more companies to import eggs.
   Officials attending the meeting said the minister had warned the poultry owners that if poultry industries did not reduce the price of day-old chicks, the government might allow import of day-old chicks.
   Several other trading companies have shown interest in importing eggs from neighbouring countries after the four were allowed to do so. Import of egg had been banned for 16 years till August 16 when the government issued the circular withdrawing the ban on egg import.

Bangladesh’s ship breaking industry, operating along the Chittagong coastline, and under fire for environmentally unsound practices including destruction of forests and coastal pollution, remains the only local source of raw materials for the country’s iron and metal industry, industrialists said Thursday.
   The breaking yards supplied over 1.5 million metric tonnes of scrap metal last year to steel re-rolling mills and export-oriented light engineering industries mainly producing spare parts and bicycles, saving the country from expensive imports, they said.
   The points were made in the inaugural session of a recently launched project by the Global Enterprise Network of Iron and Metal Industries, backed by the European Commission, in collaboration with the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the DCCI auditorium.
   The country’s ship building industry with over 200 operators, dominated by some 10 major enterprises, is also emerging with total turnover from the sector standing at $500 million last year, said participants.
   Ananda Shipyard & Slipways Ltd, the leading ship builder, earned $378 million alone last year by supplying vessels to Denmark and more export orders are underway.
   But, the ship building sector has many unexplored avenues, as only 10 per cent of the manufacturing of a ship is done with materials produced in Bangladesh, whereas the rest have to be imported.
   The GENII project will develop an internet-based portal to strengthen networks among metal industry companies of Bangladesh, China, Denmark and Sweden, said participants.

Dhaka stocks finished the week up with its key index gained 10.97 points on Thursday, the last trading day of the week.
   The general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange was closed at 2,985.46 points, 0.37 per cent up from the Wednesday’s closing.
   Market operators said the market remained positive for the last three trading days after a four-day bear run. The market opened the day with a quick-fire rise, but lost some ground after the initial hour, they said.
   Of the total 238 issues traded on Thursday, 117 advanced, 116 declined, and five remained unchanged.
   Beximco Pharmaceuti-cals topped the turnover leaders with a total transaction of Tk 58.96 crore.
   Beximco, Summit Alliance Port, Bay Leasing, Premier Bank, LankaBangla Finance, Bextex, Summit Power, ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund, and Aims 1st Mutual Fund were the rest of the top 10 turnover leaders on the day.
   Navana CNG Limited has reported the bourses that total 80,56,800 shares were sold up to Wednesday, DSE official sources said.
   The company, main line of business of which is compressed natural gas conversion and CNG re-fuelling, made its debut at bourses on Sunday to offload 1,81,50,000 ordinary shares of Tk 10 each through the direct listing method, an alternative way of enlisting to the market.
   On Sunday, share price of the company was Tk 193.90 at close at the DSE and on Thursday it was Tk 209.10.
   A DSE stockbroker said the company got good response from the investors as nearly half of the company’s shares were already offloaded.
   Share offloading of Navana CNG was remained halted for around one and a half hour on Sunday because of sale orders from brokers other than undesignated selling brokers. And as per initial trading regulations, there was no trading of the company’s shares on Monday.

The worst dry spell in nearly four decades pushed up food prices in India by an annual 14.5 per cent in the week to August 22, adding to worries that wholesale price inflation is poised to accelerate in coming months.
   The widely watched wholesale price index fell by a smaller-than-expected 0.21 per cent in the 12 months to August 22, its 12th successive fall, although the number is distorted by the base effect of last year’s high energy prices.
   Analysts expect the overall price index to come out of the negative zone sooner than earlier thought, pushing inflation above the comfort zone of policymakers and prompting monetary tightening at the start of next year.
   ‘Maybe in another one or two weeks, WPI will be out of the negative zone. I think, WPI will definitely cross 6 per cent by March end,’ said DK Joshi, principal economist at domestic rating agency Crisil.
   A government panel said this week that wholesale price inflation could rise beyond a 4 to 5 per cent comfort level by the end of the fiscal year in March.

Denmark expressed its desire to go for a joint investment in Bangladesh’s ship building industry.
   Besides, the country showed interest to take skilled sailors from Bangladesh.
   Denmark Ambassador to Bangladesh Einar H Jensen made the remarks during a meeting with Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan at the ministry. Matters of bilateral interest also came up for discussion during the meeting.
   The minister welcomed the offer of joint initiative and assured of all out cooperation from government in this regard.

The country’s foreign exchange reserve rose to $9.15 billion on Thursday with increased remittance from migrant workers.
   The flow of remittance into the country has also recorded a growth of above 30 per cent in August compared to that of the last fiscal year on the eve of Eid despite the pessimistic projection by several global lending agencies because of the ongoing global recession.
   Remittance figures stood at $930.79 million in August, raising the foreign currency reserve to $9.15 billion on Thursday. In August last year it was only $720.19 million, which shows that remittance has increased by $210.59 million last month compared to August in the last fiscal year.
   ‘Most of the expatriates usually send money from on the eve of the Eid-ul Fitr, which leads to increase in the inflow of remittance,’ said a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank on Thursday.
   The official also said the remittance into the country would exceed $11 billion in the current fiscal year.
   Remittance was $9,681.78 million in the 2008-09 fiscal year and $7,914.78 million in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
   According to the Bangladesh Bank’s statistics, the four state-owned banks — Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Rupali — have brought remittance of $250.03 million into the country last month. Sonali brought $100.82 million, Janata $60.89 million, Agrani $60.41 million and Rupali $0.90 million.
   Besides, the 29 private commercial banks have brought remittance of $660.06 million in August. The Islami Bank has still kept securing the top position with $240.94 million while Uttara and National Bank secured second and third position respectively.

Recession-hit Singapore Airlines said Thursday it had agreed with Airbus to defer the delivery of eight A380 superjumbo jetliners by six to 12 months.
   The airline, which posted its first quarterly loss in six years during the June quarter, already has nine A380s in operation with two more due for delivery in the current financial year.
   ‘The revised schedule will see the 12th aircraft delivered in October 2010 rather than April 2010, while the 19th aircraft will be delivered in January 2012 rather than January 2011,’ the airline said in a statement.
   SIA said in July it lost 307.1 million Singapore dollars (213.26 million US) in the April to June period, its first quarterly loss since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003.
   The airline earned a net profit of 358.6 million dollars in the same quarter last year. Revenue declined 30 per cent to 2.87 billion dollars and the airline warned it expected to report a full-year loss if the downturn continues.
    ‘I’m surprised they haven’t done it sooner,’ said Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard and Poor’s Equity Research.
   ‘I’ve always had reservations about the operational viability of this aircraft ever since the programme was announced and during the launch,’ he said.

Gulf Agency Company Dubai, UAE, a Swiss-based company, has expressed keen interest in expanding its business in Bangladesh considering its immense potential especially in IT and shipbuilding sectors.
   The interest has been showed when the visiting high-profile GAC delegation met the members of Uni-Global Business Ltd, one of the leading shipping companies of the country, at its office in Dhaka Wednesday night.
   Group IT director, (regional director of the Indian Sub-continent) Lars Bergstrom and general manager (global hub services), GAC Ltd Captain Tom Bjorklund are the delegation members.
   Speaking at a discussion in Dhaka in connection with launching of a maiden office of Uni-Global Business Ltd, Lars Bergstrom said Bangladesh could be set a unique example in South Asia where shipping companies are maintaining excellent relations with business partners across the world.
   While giving an overview of the multi-national GAC Ltd, Bergstrom said the company has so far expanded its business activities covering the world’s 55 countries.
   The existing business relations between the two counties are being increased gradually and it will be more strengthened in the coming days, said Captain Tom.
   Terming the Bangladesh’s booming shipbuilding a promising industry, he said the GAC Ltd has chosen the country to be a business partner by dint of its enormous potentials.
   Managing director of Uni-Global Ltd AKM Shahidul Islam said the company has been working with GAC Ltd as a partner agency for the last 18 years in dealing with shipping and chartering.
   Apart from dealing with shipping, Islam said, the company is associated as agents with the transportation of UN/army contingents/cargo to and from different destinations where Bangladesh army contingents are posted for UN peacekeeping missions.
   Director of the company Mahmudul Islam said they expected that a memorandum of understanding would be signed with the CAG Ltd shortly.
   Upon completion of the MoU, he said, they will go ahead with shipping business in large gamut leading to scaling up shipping activities of the seaports of Bangladesh.

Md Ahsan Kabir Khan has been promoted to the position of deputy managing director of Prime Finance and Investment Limited. Prior to his appointment as DMD he was the executive vice-president of the company, a news release said.
   He worked major areas including lease operations, lease marketing, special asset and credit risk etc.
   Khan, who joined Primed Finance in 1998 as a senior principal officer, completed his post-graduation in management from Dhaka University. Later he completed CA course from Howlader Yunus & Co and also obtained executive MBA from Asian University.

Oil was up in Asian trade Thursday but stayed below $69 amid worries about the pace of the global economic recovery, analysts said.
   New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery was 62 cents higher at $68.67 a barrel.
   Brent North Sea crude for October delivery added 28 cents to $67.94 a barrel.
   Data released Wednesday by the US Department of Energy showed crude stocks fell by 4,00,000 barrels in the week to August 28 which was largely in line with market expectations.
   The DoE's weekly report said gasoline stockpiles fell by three million barrels, far steeper than expected but investor sentiment remained muted.
   'The supply-demand picture is not that bullish at all,' said Clarence Chu, a Singapore-based trader with Hudson Capital Energy.
   Jason Schenker of Prestige Economics said supply and demand dynamics were 'slightly more bearish right now' with the end of the US summer driving season.
   'The gasoline numbers were very strong, but that was last month,' he said. 'But now the summer driving season is over.'
   The United States is the world's largest energy user and is seen as key to any recovery in oil demand.

Global Insurance Ltd has informed that it has credited the stock dividend for the year 2008 to the respective shareholders' BO accounts.
   
   BEMCO
   The SEC has issued show-cause cum hearing notice to the company, its directors, managing director and company secretary in connection with non-disseminating the price sensitive information regarding auction notice.
   
   Bangladesh Finance and Investment Co Ltd
   The company has informed that the Board of Directors of the company has decided in principle to purchase a land along with building at 64 Motijheel C/A, Dhaka in the name of the company.
   
   Bd Welding Electrodes
   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 06.09.09 to 07.09.09. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on 08.09.09 as book closure will start from 09.09.09.
   
   NCC Bank
   Mohammad Ali, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has further reported that he has completed his sale of 17,350 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through Stock Exchange as announced earlier.
   
   Metro Spinning
   Maksons Spinning Mills Limited (where 06 (six) Sponsors/Directors of Maksons Spinning Mills Limited are also the sponsors /directors of Metro Spinning Limited), has reported its intention to sell 1,00,000 shares out of its total holdings of 1,00,050 shares of the company at prevailing market price through Stock Exchange within next 30 working days.
   
   Social Islami Bank Limited
   Mohammad Ibrahim Miyan, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 5,000 shares out of his total holdings of 24,240 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through Stock Exchange within next 30 working days.
   Source: DSE

Trade ministers assembled in New Delhi Thursday for a WTO meeting aimed at bridging differences between developed and developing nations and putting global trade talks back on track.
   The two days of informal ministerial level talks are billed as key to laying the groundwork for further progress at a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 wealthy and emerging nations in Pittsburgh in late September.
   ‘We are in the end game of Doha negotiations,’ Australia’s Trade Minister Simon Crean declared on the eve of the talks to be attended by key World Trade Organisation players including the European Union, the United States and China.
   India’s differences with the United States over subsidy protection for poor farmers contributed to the collapse in July 2008 of the WTO’s long-running Doha Development Round, which was aimed at lifting millions of people out of poverty and boosting the global economy.
   Now India has grabbed the initiative to ‘re-energise’ the stalled negotiations and take the opportunity to shed its reputation as a ‘spoiler’ of the round.
   Top industrial nations and five emerging economies, including India and China, agreed in July to conclude a deal by the end of 2010.
   India’s new Trade Minister Anand Sharma, regarded by observers as more conciliatory than his predecessor Kamal Nath, says New Delhi is keen for a successful conclusion of the negotiations that began in 2001.
   But, like his predecessor, Sharma has also insisted there can be no compromise on the round’s development thrust and said New Delhi wants to ‘ensure historic distortions are corrected’ to improve the lives of the poor.
   Farmers and leftist groups said they would stage a protest at the meeting, which will focus on ways to close gaps on liberalising trade in agricultural and manufactured goods.
   Doha ‘demands so much from us while giving nothing in return,’ said Yudhvir Singh, spokesman for the Indian Committee of Farmers Movements representing 13 states.
   Indian officials have played down chances of any breakthrough, saying talks would focus on crafting a game plan for negotiators to reach a deal.
    ‘This is not going to be a negotiating forum,’ Comm-erce Secretary Rahul Khullar, the top civil servant in India’s trade ministry said prior to the talks. ‘This is going to be about the process of negotiation — how we do a deal.’
   In order for a final deal to be reached, all 153 WTO members must agree to a pact that would radically reduce subsidies given to North American and European farmers while lowering other trade barriers.
   Deadlock between the major trading blocs has dashed repeated attempts to reach agreement but with new governments in Washington and host nation India, there is renewed hope for success.
   The talks should provide ‘the clarity needed to understand the opportunities for meaningful market access’ and pave the way for a successful Doha conclusion, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said before leaving for New Delhi.
   US President Barack Obama has said he wants a Doha deal, but analysts say he faces pressure from domestic industry groups which want protection.

The global recession is coming to an end faster than thought just a few months ago and may already be over, according to forecasts published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Thursday.
   The recovery may even prove a little stronger than previously predicted, OECD chief economist Jorgen Elmeskov told Reuters in an interview where he elaborated on the forecasts for several key economies.
   ‘Compared with expectations a few months ago, we now have a recovery which ... may be coming a little earlier and it may be slightly stronger because financial conditions have improved more rapidly than we assumed a few months ago,’ Elmeskov said.
   The OECD forecasts show a third-quarter return to expansion of economic output, as measured by gross domestic product, in the United States and the 16-country euro zone, led by its two largest economies, Germany and France.
   The forecasts showed an annualised expansion of 1.6 per cent in the United States in the third quarter, 0.3 per cent in the euro zone and 1.1 per cent in Japan, and were generally more optimistic than the last update in June.
   The pickup that started with a ‘quite dramatic turnaround’ in China and other Asian emerging market economies in the second quarter remained heavily dependent on government stimulus and ultra-low interest rates across the world, Elmeskov said.
   The OECD’s 30 member countries do not include rising powers such as China but do include the long-industrialised ones where the trouble began in 2007 as the credit and housing boom in the United States turned to bust, triggering a crisis in banking and financial markets that infected the real economy.
   While it predicted continued third-quarter contractions in Britain and Italy, and a rise followed by a fourth-quarter dip for Japan, the OECD said the broad picture for the G7 group of industrialised powers was better.
   The forecasts, including information up to Sept 2, show the euro area turning positive in both of the last two quarters of 2009 after five straight quarters of contraction.
   In June, it predicted quarter-on-quarter shrinkage of 1.1 and 0.5 per cent respectively in the third and fourth quarters on an annualised basis. It now expects 2 per cent growth in the fourth quarter. The previous forecasts for the United States had been zero and 0.5 per cent—now upped to 1.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.
   The OECD is still predicting GDP contractions for 2009 as a whole across the G7 group, primarily because of a particularly bad first half, despite the improvement now in the pipeline.
   But it sees annualised GDP rises of 1.2 and 1.4 per cent in the third and fourth quarters for the G7 as a whole, also signaling an exit from recession at that level.
   ‘In some countries including the United States it also looks as if the bottom of the housing market might have been hit a little earlier than assumed,’ Elmeskov said, noting a rise in house sales and a drop in the ‘overhang’ of unsold homes.
   The OECD forecasts came on the eve of a meeting of finance ministers from the G20 group, which spans the big up-and-coming economies such as China and India in addition to the G7 members.
   The report said that while authorities needed to map out a strategy for withdrawal of fiscal and monetary stimulus once recovery was surer, now was no time to take the economy off life support, either in terms of government spending or shifts to higher official interest rates.
   ‘Substantial slack combined with the prospect for a weak recovery implies that strong policy stimulus will continue to be needed in the near term,’ it said.
   ‘Regarding monetary policy, taking the first steps toward normalisation of policy interest rates from their current exceptionally low levels should in most cases wait until well into 2010 and in some cases even beyond,’ the OECD said.
   Back in June, the OECD said interest rates should stay on hold in all major economies through all of 2010.
   Elmeskov acknowledged that this recommendation was no longer quite so categorical but said the bottom line was that rates needed to stay very low in the euro zone, United States and beyond for the large part of next year.
   As for fiscal stimulus, governments needed to roll out all of the measures they had already announced after foot-dragging by some, said Elmeskov. That, one OECD official said, referred mainly to Germany and the United States.
   Elmeskov said the OECD, which is due to issue a fuller set of forecast updates in November, also said that the 16 per cent drop in global trade volume it predicted for this year in June would probably turn out to be less steep, due in part to rising import demand from Asia for goods from OECD countries.
   ‘Our estimates suggest that in the second quarter China may have grown at 14 per cent annualised rate,’ Elmeskov said. ‘Similarly, the growth rates of other non-OECD East Asia and Southeast Asian countries may on average have been around 10 per cent on an annualised rate.’
   He said governments and central banks’ drastic fiscal and monetary steps to stimulate the economy, their response to the worst crisis since the Great Depression now looked increasingly like a ‘success story.’

The leaders of France, Britain and Germany called in a joint letter on Thursday for the G20 to adopt ‘binding rules’ and ‘sanctions’ to boost transparency and rein in finance sector bonuses.
   President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh to agree a host of new measures, including tying bonuses to financial performance.
   ‘The G20 should transform the above principles into binding rules for financial institutions with sizable complex and risky business activities and ensure that there are sanctions at national level for banks that do not play by these rules,’ reads the letter.

China has agreed to buy $50 billion of the International Monetary Fund’s first bond issue in a move that will help to strengthen the body’s lending ability and diversify Beijing’s foreign holdings.
   The agreement announced Wednesday by the Washington-based IMF comes as the body tries to raise money to finance lending, especially to developing countries, to help economies weather the global downturn.
   ‘The agreement offers China a safe investment instrument,’ said an IMF statement. ‘It will also boost the Fund’s capacity to help its membership — particularly the developing and emerging market countries — the global financial crisis, and facilitate an early recovery of the global economy.’

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has launched a special promotional loan for the customers to meet Eid expenses under the brand name ‘Eid Loan’ for the third consecutive year.
   The product Eid Loan enables the customers to obtain loans especially for Eid expenses at a reduced interest rate, a news release said.
   Narayanganj Branch of CBC head Assadullah distributed letters of offer of Eid Loan to customers in a ceremony held recently.

United Commercial Bank held a daylong orientation programme for its newly-recruited management trainees and officers in Dhaka on Tuesday.
   Director and chairman of audit committee of UCB MA Sabur attended at the programme as chief guest, a news release said.
   UCB managing director M Shahjahan Bhuiyan, DMD Shafiqul Afam, senior executive vice-president and company secretary Mirza Mahmud Rafiqur Rahman and head of training institute Md Maruf-ul-Islam were present in the orientation programme.