The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reliance Power, India offers 260 m shares

AFP, Mumbai

India's biggest share offer by Reliance Power was oversubscribed 73 times as investors scrambled to apply for a slice of the nearly three-billion-dollar flotation, final figures showed on Saturday.

The initial public offering (IPO) made financial history in Indian capital markets, including the largest-ever number of applications, bankers said.

Investors submitted bids worth 7.52 trillion rupees (191 billion dollars), more than triple the previous record of 2.04 trillion rupees (51.96 billion dollars) bid for an offering of Mundra Port, India's largest private sector port last November, bankers to the issue said.

Reliance Power, owned by Indian tycoon Anil Ambani, offered 260 million shares, or 10.1 percent of its capital, amid forecasts the energy demands of India's fast-growing economy could create a booming business.

The IPO received 4.7 million applications, beating the previous record of 1.95 million from an offering by Reliance Petroleum in 2006, promoted by Anil's elder brother Mukesh.

The Reliance Power IPO was oversubscribed 73.04 times at 1730 GMT Friday at the end of the four-day subscription period, according to data on the National Stock Exchange web site.

"The massive demand clearly indicates faith people have in the Ambani name," a capital markets chief at a Mumbai-based brokerage said. The Ambani siblings are among India's richest businessmen and sons of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, the rags-to-riches founder of a corporate empire. The IPO was fully subscribed just 60 seconds after it opened Tuesday.

The company aims to raise between 105 billion and 115 billion rupees (2.6 billion to 2.9 billion dollars). The shares were priced at 405 rupees to 450 rupees with retail investors to be given a discount of 20 rupees a share. Reliance Energy emerged from a split two years ago in the energy-to- telecoms Reliance behemoth sparked by a family feud.

Anil Ambani took control of the telecommunications, power and finance activities while Mukesh Ambani retained the petrochemical and oil businesses.

SIBL business conference-2008

The Annual Business Conference 2008 of Social Investment Bank Limited (SIBL) was held on Janurary 17, at Hotel Purbani International in Dhaka. SIBL Chairman Abdul Awal Patwary was the chief guest and SIBL Vice-Chairman Alhaj Nasiruddin, Directors Humayun Kabir Khan, Dr Maj (retd) Md Rezaul Haque and Alhaj Sultan Mahmud Chowdhury were present as special guests. Managing Director of the bank K M Ashaduzzaman presided over the conference and Abu Sadek Md Sohel, Deputy Managing Director gave vote of thanks.

Chairman Abdul Awal Patwary appreciated the branch managers for their individual achievement and successes. He said the bank made tremendous success in the year 2007. He advised the branch managers to work hard for the overall development of business and to achieve the targets set forth for year 2008, so that this bank can become one of the best private banks of the country.

The chairman expressed the optimism for the best performance of the bank. The managing director in his speech expressed his satisfaction that the Chairman and the directors gave their valuable time by attending the business conference, which would inspire the managers and the executives of the bank. The managing director advised the branch managers to work with total commitment to achieve the business targets for the year-2008. He also stressed the need for participation of all officers and employees of the Bank in all activities so that target fixed for the year-2008 is achieved.

He advised the Branch Managers to increase their efforts to mobilise more deposits and earn more profit.

Managers of 24 branches and senior executives of the bank were also present in the conference.

Denmark-Bangladesh jointly invest US$ 6 m in Chittagong EPZ

A joint venture company of Bangladesh-Denmark in the name & style M/s. A & B Outerwear Limited is going to set up a garments manufacturing industry in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone.

The 100 pc foreign owned company will invest US$ 6 million and will produce 2,500,000 pcs of apparel iems.

The company will create employment opportunity for 1002 Bangladeshi including two foreign nationals.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export P.rocessing Zones Authority and the M/s. A & B Outerwear limited in -BEPZA Complex, Dhaka Jan 17. Prasanta Shushan Barua, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Major; (Retd) Imroze Ahmed, Managing Director of M/s. A & B Outerwear limited signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Among others Brig. General Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf, Executive Chairman, Member (Engineering) Md. Farhad Uddin, Member (Finance) AKM Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary Mir. BM Kamal, General Manager (Investment Promotion) AZM. Azizur Rahman and other officers of BEPZA were present at the signing ceremony.

EBL, FBCCI hold seminar on SME banking

A Seminar on 'Present & Future prospect of SME Banking In Bangladesh,’ jointly organised by Eastern Bank Ltd. and Federation of Bangladesh chambers of commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and in Co-operation with IFC-SEDF was held in the Ball Room of Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on Tuesday last. The key-note paper was presented by Dr. Momtaz Uddin Ahmed, Professor, Department of Economics, Dhaka University.

Abdul-Muyeed Chowdhury, Chairperson, Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation was present as the chief guest.

Managing irectors and high officials from different banks, representatives from Bangladesh Bank and FBCCI attended the seminar.

Among others, Syed Manzur Elahi, Administrator FBCCI; Dr. Iftekhar Gani Chowdhury, Dean, School of Business BRAC University; Dr.Toufic A. Chowdhury, Director BIBM; Roger Handburg, Programme Manager, IFC-SEDF; A.Q.I. Chowdhury, Chairman,EBL.; Ali Reza lftekhar, Managing Director and CEO, EBL, and Muklesur Rahman, Head of SME Banking were also present on the occasion.