The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

About 80 percent people live in the rural areas of Bangladesh but they get less than 10 percent of bank loans. Banks and other financial institutions show little interest to the agri-people. Banks are reluctant to give loans to any individual or group of individuals or institutions without obtaining securities of sufficient amount.

During the time of late President Ziaur Rahman,. the government instructed the nationalised commercial banks (NCBs) to disburse loans, even to the marginal and the landless farmers, on deposit of parcha, DCR and rent receipt and the third party guarantee. The scheme became highly useful. Later different commercial banks introduced banana and fishery loan.

The economy of Bangladesh is still agriculture based. Sixty-two percents of the workforce are involved in agriculture. Its contribution to GDP is still 20 percent but the flow of loan in the rural areas is around 9 percent. Even the deposits the banks collect from rural people are not fully used for them. One of the causes of their apathy may b that the rate of interest in the agricultural loan is 8 percent.

Banks and financial institutions claim that agricultural loan is more risky. The private commercial banks (PCBs) appear lethargy in sanctioning loans to the rural people. Although they control 60 percent of the total deposits, they have so far disbursed taka 967 crore as agricultural loan out of taka14,670 crore. And their portion in agri-based industrial loan, is taka 3900 crore out of taka 10,577 crore.

In Bangladesh, the number of the landless farmers has been increasing day by day. The marginal peasants take loan from the moneylenders at high rate of interest. Failing to repay the loan due to drought or excessive rains or floods or other natural calamities, they lose the lands to the moneylenders and thus become landless. Nowadays it has been very hard for the peasants to buy new land after meeting all kinds of expenditures relating to cultivation and paying back the loan.

That does not mean that the government should sit idle after instructing banks to sanction loans and to allocate subsidy in agriculture. If the subsidy is not properly distributed or if the fake farmers in collusion with the unscrupulous men in the administration and the DAO grab it, not only the production will be hit, the number of the landless farmers will continue to increase.

An annual get-together of Centre Leaders & Deputy Centre Leaders of Rural Development Scheme (RDS) of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organised by Joypurhat Branch was held recently at branch premises. Mir Quasem Ali, For Vice Chairman, Board of Directors of IBBL was present in the function as the chief guest, and Abdul Kader, Executive Vice President & Head of Bogra Zone, was present as special guest. Md. Ruhul Amin, Assistant Vice President and Manager of the branch presided over the function.

An annual get-together of Centre Leaders & Deputy Centre Leaders organised by Pabna Branch was held recently at Banamali Institute of Pabna. Sunil Kumar Pal, District Judge of Pabna was present in the function as the chief guest and Ayenul Kader, Executive Vice President and Head of Bogra Zone, was present as the special guest. Presided over by Md. Yamin Ali Mollah, Vice President and Manager of the branch the function was attended among others by Md. Benaul Islam, RDS Officer of Bogra Zone Abdus Samad, RDS Project Officer of Pabna Branch.

Another annual get-together of Centre Leaders & Deputy Centre Leaders of Rural Development Sceme (RDS) organised by Chapai Nawabganj Branch was held recently at branch premises. Abdul Kader, Executive Vice President & Head of Bogra Zone, was present in the function as the Chief Guest. Presided over by Mir Rahmat Ullah, Assistant Vice President and Manager, of the branch the function was attended among others by Benaul Islam, RDS Officer and Md. Ferdous Alam, Project officer.

Holcim, the leading cement manufacturer of the country recently signed an agreement with China Major Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd for supplying cement exclusively to construct Third Karnafuly Bridge. Niaz Uddin Mahmood, General Manager- Customer Care of Holcim (Bangladesh) Ltd and Pan Ninghus, Procurement Manager of China Major Bridge Engineering Co. Ltd the signed agreement from their respective sides.

Third Karnafuly Bridge, which is being built over River Karnafuly, will have a length of 950 meter and width of 24 meter.

This bridge will ease further the movement of growing traffic situation of port city. With the completion of construction of this bridge, the long cherished dream of people of Chittagong city and adjoining areas will be fulfilled.

Holcim, having presence over seventy countries in the world, has a long tradition of supplying of quality cement for the construction of many longest bridges, tallest buildings and large infrastructure projects throughout the world. In Bangladesh, Holcim has supplied cement to construct Bhairav Bridge, Lalon Shah Bridge (Pakshi Bridge), recently completed Khan Jahan Ali Bridge (Rupsha bridge), Kanchan Bridge. Mukterpur Bridge and many more.

The signing ceremony was also attended by Jashim Uddin Khandaker, DGM-Customer Care, Monjur Hossain Territory Manager of Holcim (Bangladesh) Ltd and other high officials of both concerns.

PTI, Houston

Consumers around the world should brace for a 50 percent jump in oil prices in the near future as global oil supply will increasingly have trouble keeping pace with demand, forecasts a new energy report from CIBC World Markets.

The report predicts that surging demand in developing economies combined with accelerated depletion of existing supply and widespread delays in getting new oil fields up and running will see the global supply of oil fall as much as eight million barrels a day below International Energy Agency estimates by 2012.

"Those projections ignore two fundamental forces that have, in recent years, brought global production to a virtual standstill," says Jeff Rubin, Chief Strategist and Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets.

"The first is depletion. You have to run faster to stand still. Depletion from existing fields has accelerated to over four per cent, a rate that currently cuts nearly four million barrels per day out of each year's production.

"The second fundamental force blowing up supply forecasts is the huge project delays and massive cost overruns associated with many of the world's largest new oil mega-projects.

From Kazakhstan to Nigeria's Delta region, protracted delays in some of the world's largest energy mega-projects will have huge impacts on actual supply growth over the next five years."

As part of its research, CIBC World Markets reviewed nearly 200 new oil projects slated to start oil production over the next five years and found that scheduled production timelines are far too optimistic, with project delays the norm, not the exception, among the group.

It found that heavy reliance on increasingly high cost and technically challenging fields like the Kashagan project in Kazakhstan, Russia's Sakhalin II and Canadian and Venezuelan oil sands have left world supply growth vulnerable to a seemingly never-ending series of project delays.

Mr. Rubin notes that delays in the latter two countries will shave over 700,000 barrels a day from earlier 2012 production forecasts. In some nations, soaring development costs have resulted in complex and often tense re-negotiations of royalty agreements with host countries.

Some have even led to either a temporary or indefinite suspension of operating licenses.

"Of course, stagnant conventional world oil production underlies the recent problems associated with harvesting unconventional supply. Virtually all of the increases in global oil production have occurred from deepwater fields or oil sands, with conventional production seemingly stuck at 2005 levels of 67 million barrels per day."

These project delays are also happening at a time of accelerated global depletion in existing fields. The rate has climbed to over four per cent, which cuts nearly four million barrels per day out of each year's production.

The recent increases are in part, related to the growing importance of offshore, and, in particular, deepwater fields, which have depletion rates twice that of conventional fields.

"Cliff-like depletion rates have already been in evidence in the North Sea and now the huge Cantarell field in Mexico," adds Mr. Rubin.

"Since 2000, offshore fields have been the single-largest source of new supply growth. As their weight in total production increases, future depletion rates will continue to rise. Even holding the current depletion rate constant over the next five years, we must produce nearly 20 million barrels per day of new oil just to offset what will be lost through depletion during this period."

Mr. Rubin notes that these major project delays and increasingly rapid depletion will result in a supply increase of only about three million barrels a day by 2012 - far below the 10 million barrels projected by the International Energy Agency.

With oil demand soaring in places like China, India, Russia and in the world's largest oil-producing countries themselves, a widening demand-supply gap will push crude oil prices to as high as USD 150 a barrel by 2012.

"Soaring rates of car ownership in countries like Russia and China have boosted fuel demand in both countries," says Mr. Rubin.

"For example, gasoline, a key driver of rising oil use, is growing at over six per cent in both countries. But an even more important factor has been massive price subsidization in OPEC countries which has spurred extraordinary near-double-digit growth in oil demand.

"Not only is there virtually no price elasticity between OPEC's own oil consumption and world oil prices but paradoxically, domestic consumption of oil in those countries may actually increase with rising world oil prices because higher crude prices boost incomes, which in turn, further boosts demand for massively subsidized domestic gasoline."

The result of this unchecked soaring demand in most oil- producing nations means they will not be able to add any additional exports to meet the surging demand in developing countries.

The 1st conference 2008 of Regional and Corporate Branch Managers of Pubali Bank limited was held at bank's head office on 10 January 2008. Hafiz Ahmed Majumder, Chairman, Board of Directors of Pubali Bank limited was present as the chief guest while Managing Director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury presided over the meeting.

Directors Monzurur Rahman, Ahmed Shafi Chowdhury & Alternative Director Kabiruzzaman Yakub spoke as special guests.

The chairman of the bank emphasized on the expansion of foreign remittance business through better customer & modern banking service. He also advised all to work hard, look for new business avenues and for diversification and to take concerted efforts for achieving the target fixed for the year 2008.

Other Directors underscored the need for increased utilization of the modern Information Technology for qualitative improvement in the overall customer service of PBL as the bank has to operate in a highly competitive banking sector.

Managing Director Helal Ahmed Chowdhury lauded the bank’s performance of the year 2007 which he attributed to the professional approach and due diligence practiced by all. He stressed on selection of potential borrower and try to expand bank business. He urged upon all the executives to keep close vigilance so that newly disbursed loans may not become overdue or classified. Intensive supervision and close monitoring of the loan should be made.

At the meeting, business performance of PBL for the year of 2007 was evaluated and necessary strategies and plans were framed to achieve the target fixed for the year 2008. It was further informed that Pubali Bank Ltd. earned a satisfactory operating profit during the year of 2007 registering a growth of 52 percent over the corresponding year of 2006.

General Managers and other Senior Executives of Head Office were present at the conference. A.H.M. Badrul Alam, GM of General Services and Development Division delivered welcome speech.

Amin Jewellers Ltd, the guinea gold ornament manufacturing jewellers and general order suppliers, which started its journey in the country 40 years ago with ornaments of artistic design and aesthetic beauty. expanded its large orientation at New Market in the city on Friday.

Kazi Sirajul Islam, former MP and Managing Director of Amin Jewellers Ltd, inaugurated the new outlet of Amin Jewellers. Kazi Amillul Islam, Director of the jewellery organisation, among others, were present on the occasion.

Amin Jewellers sells its ornaments with the commitment of giving better quality and service to the clients. Expert designers' design of 22-carat and 21carat gold in KDM system is found in the jewellery shop for the clients' choices. Local and foreign designs including Mumbai, Jaipur alld Kashmir of India, Dubai of the UAE, Singapore and Pakistan are used for designs of Amin Jewellers. Various types of ornaments from light to heavy like copper, antics and radium are also used in the design. Beside this showroom at New Market, three more showrooms of Amin Jewellers at 73, 77 Baitul Mukarram (ground floor), DCC Market at Gulshan-Sobhanbagh Prince Plaza (second floor) are also exist in the capital.