The New Nation - Internet Edition

64 selected for CIP status

Business Report

The government has selected 64 leading businessmen and chamber leaders to award them with the status of commercially important persons (CIPs) for 2007 on exports and trade, sources at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said.

The persons will receive the CIP status on the basis of export performance and annual business turnover.

A high official at MBR said they had given approval to 64 CIPs at a cabinet division meeting on Tuesday.

After getting approval of the Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Commerce and National Board of Revenue, the Cabinet Division at its meeting finalised the list of CIPs.

The selection authority of the government has taken clearance from the income tax, duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) departments of the NBR before the selection of the CIPs.

"The Ministry of Commerce with the help of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has prepared the list of those important persons on the basis of their export performance and contribution to the in economy," a commerce ministry source said.

The export sectors are knit and woven garments, frozen foods and shrimps, leather goods, raw jute and jute goods, agro-processing products, specialised and home textile, plastic goods and melamine.

On CIP trade, the selection authorities have decided that chiefs of the chamber bodies will receive the status by dint of their positions.

Selection procedure of the major chamber leaders covers all the criteria that are required for selecting CIPs, sources said.

Trade CIPs for 2007 are Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Mir Nasir Hossain and Directors Aftab-ul-Islam, Abul Kashem Ahmed, Md Abdul Wahed, Jahangir Akhand Selim, Md Samsul Alam, Kamran Tanvirur Rahman, Abdur Razzak, Khurshid Ali Mollah, Akhtaruzzaman Monju, Md Giasuddin Chowdhury and MA Awal.

From miscellaneous category, three persons have been selected. They are Mirza Salman Ispahani, Md Jasim Uddin and Saiful Islam.

On export-sector, raw jute exporters Sarif Md Fazlur Rahman and Selim Reza have been selected for the CIP. From Jute goods exporters the selected persons are Md Humayun Kabir, Md Abdur Rahim, Kazi Rezaul Hasan, while Md Saiful Islam and Firoza Begum have been selected from leather goods exporters.

Ten CIPs have been selected from frozen foods exporting sector. They are Iqbal Ahmed, Md Touhidur Rahman, Syed Abu Afsar, Md Rezaul Huq, Kazi Shahed Ahmed, Mia Md Abdus Salam, Yesmin Khan, Shahana Sultana.

Anisur Rahman Sinha, Md Azizul Islam, M Anwarul Azim, Asif Ibrahim and Saiful Islam have been selected from readymade garment (woven) sector in individual category. Enamul Huq Khan has been named from woven in group category.

From agro-based products sector, Gobinda Chandra Saha, Md Sal1ab Uddin, Gokul Chandra Shaha and agroprocessing products exporter Md Suja Uddin have been selected.

Dehydrated Salt and other fish exporter Prakash Ranjan Das Gupta will also get the status followed by Md Nurul Islam and Firoz Ali Fakhri from specialised textile sector.

From Knitwear sector 10 persons have been selected for CIP status followed by one from ceramic tableware and one each from plastic goods and melamine exporters

Radisson Water Garden Hotel wins int'l awards

Business Report

Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka continues to garner awards and praise worldwide by winning three prestigious international awards this year.

The honours were presented at the Carlson's Global Business Summit and 70th Anniversary Celebration, held at Las Vegas in the USA. The awards include the prestigious President's Award and Aspire Award.

The President's Award is an annual award that recognises the hotel's exceptional commitment to guest service and high product quality. The award represents the best of the best and recognises the hotels that have demonstrated their exceptional commitment to guest service and product quality, characteristics that distinguish Radisson in the global marketplace. The winners of the President's Award were chosen based on their alignment and contribution toward the brand's guest-focused mission. The vision states that Radisson is to be a global hotel company distinguished by: great hotels in strategically important location; a recognized and trusted brand, building valuable relationships with the guests it serves and achieving superior returns for owners and investors. In the 2008 Carlson Global Summit, 7 hotels won the President's Award among 5 I hotels in Asia Pacific region.

The Aspire Award is based on the biggest improvement in revenue generated per available room (RevPAR), guest service and quality assurance scores. In the 2008 Carlson Global Summit, only 7 hotels won the Aspire Award in the Asia Pacific region.

2007 had been a remarkable year for the hotel both in terms of business performance and standard of service offerings. In its 2nd year of operation, the hotel was running at full pace. The hotel experienced very high occupancy and average rate in all the areas of its operation. In 2007 Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka maintained its position as number one in the RevPar Index Ranking among the competitive set (RevPar ranking is an index used globally to measure business performance within the industry).

First Security Bank Ltd signs deal with CRAB

An agreement of credit rating has been signed between First Security Bank Ltd and Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Ltd in the board room of the Head Office of First Security Bank Ltd on March 13 last.

AAM Zakaria Managing Director of First Security Bank Ltd and Dr Masihur Rahman Managing Director of Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Ltd signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. High officials of both the organisations were also present at the signing ceremony.

Sony-Rangs showroom at Farmgate opened

Rangs Electronics Limited, widely known as 'SonyRangs' formally opened a new showroom at Farmgate (30 New Airport Road) in Dhaka 19 March 2008. Deputy Managing Director of Rangs Electronics Limited J. Ekram Hussain inaugurated the sales and service center.

Finance Director Raqibul Islam FCA, Accounts & Finance Controller T. K. Roy, General Manager (Service) S. Iqbal Khan, Sr. Administration Manager Gp Capt (Rtd) HM Shibley Farooq, Sr. Sales Manager Wahidur Rahman, Marketing and Distribution Manager Tanvir Hossain, Marketing Deputy Manager Zane Alam and other high officials of different departments were present on the occasion.

Rangs Electronics Ltd has a network of 74 Sales and Service centers and more than 200 authorised dealers throughout the country.

Bangladeshi co to invest $2.56m in Chittagong EPZ

M/s Sea Blue Accessories Industries Limited, a Bangladeshi company is going to set up a packaging and accessories industry in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone.

This 100 per cent locally owned company will invest US$2.56 million and will produce items like carton, poly bag, label, gum tape and hanger. The company will create employment opportunity for 84 Bangladeshis and foreign nationals.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the M/s. Sea Blue Accessories Industries Limited in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka on March 19 last. General Manager (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Managing Director of M/s. Sea Blue Accessories Industries Limited signed the lease agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

The Executive Chairman of BEPZA and other officials were present on this occasion.

AKTEL cautions subscribers from fraudulent phone calls

Aktel has cautioned their valued customers of the current fraudulent phone calls made by unscrupulous personnel.

The company said: It has been observed recently that certain quarters have been involved in misleading and deceiving Aktel's valued customers by offering special rewards, bonus talk time and other lucrative prizes, etc through phone calls and SMS. This group is pretending to be AKTEL staff.

These irresponsible personnel would call Aktel subscribers and will request for their PIN number, credit card information, bank account number and even to deposit certain amount of money in the bank.

Little do they know that by conducting this unauthorised act they are fraudulently making monetary gains, which is punishable under the provision of the Telecommunication Act 2001.

All AKTEL subscribers and our valued patrons are kindly requested to be aware of this false phone calls and SMS and not to fall into this deceitful trap. AKTEL urges all their valued customers to refrain from giving any confidential information to unknown callers.

For more information on Aktel, please visit our nearest AKTEL Customer Care Centre or call 123 AKTEL help lines.

Siemens Water Filter designed to supply water at community level

Siemens Water Filter has the largest portfolio of technologies and solutions for drinking water systems. This includes a micro-filtration membrane technology that can filter surface and well water into pure and safe drinking water in a very affordable and simple method. It is essentially a water filter unit, but not at all the same as any conventional water filter.

It uses advanced Membrane Technology from Siemens that makes sure that not only solid particles but also bacteria and viruses are removed without the need for chemical treatment.

The Membrane Filtration unit is intended for affordable small-scale community water supply in remote locations or disaster relief applications.

One filter can provide up to 1200 litres of clean and fresh water per hour. Each membrane unit can satisfy the total requirement of pure potable water for drinking, cooking, washing and personal hygiene of more than 1,000 people.

There are almost no operating costs. Periodic cleaning procedures are necessary; these are simple and only require small amounts of readily available chlorine-based cleaning solutions.

The initial investment for a complete working solution including necessary accessories and installation is about Tk 5 lakh. It takes less than a day to install the full unit.

The achieved water qualities exceed all international quality recommendations or standards for drinking water. Compared to most conventional technologies, Siemens membranes offer significant performance and cost advantages, thereby providing safe and pure water at an affordable price.

Saifuddin Naser gets Asian Banker Award

Saifuddin M Naser, currently Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BRAC Afghanistan Bank, wins prestigious international award styled 'The Asian Banker Promising Young Banker Award for Bangladesh' for his contribution to BRAC Bank Limited in Bangladesh as the Head of Retail Banking.

Prior to joining BRAC Afghanistan Bank, Naser was Head of Retail Banking in BRAC Bank Limited in Bangladesh and under his dynamic leadership, BRAC Bank's Retail Banking business in Bangladesh saw its portfolio grow from $23 million in 2003 to $357 million in 2007. His vision of creating a banking network that can effectively bring financial services to such a large segment of country's population. His achievements made the Advisory Council of The Asian Banker Achievement Awards program choose Saifuddin M Naser as the Young Banker of the Year for Bangladesh.

The winners of the Asian Banker Achievement Awards 2008 were announced in a grand ceremony at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. Besides recognizing senior bankers' contributions to setting the tone for the financial services industry in 2007, The Asian Banker has created a new awards series that identifies the most promising young talent in the financial services industry with awards for the best bankers under the age of 40.

Saeed Ahmed gets order of Golden Rose in USA

Saeed Ahmed, Director of Sales & Marketing of Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka has been awarded Order of the Golden Rose, Carlson's highest honour bestowed to Carlson employees globally. Order of the Golden Rose award is one of Carlson's top employee recognition honours given to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and performance with Carlson, a world leader in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. The order of the Golden Rose recognises employees who, by translating the Carlson strategy into meaningful and measurable actions, contributed in extraordinary ways to the company's success.

In 2008, Saeed is the only recipient of this prestigious Order of the Golden Rose award from Asia Pacific region of Carlson's global portfolio of companies. The award was presented at Las Vegas, USA in the Carlson's Global Business Summit and 70th Anniversary Celebration. This prestigious award has been given on the basis of his year on year remarkable revenue growth among all the Carlson companies globally under Carlson portfolio and his commitment to establish Radisson brand in Bangladesh market. This award was presented to Saeed among different companies of Carlson - Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Carlson Wagon lit Travel, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, Carlson Leisure Worldwide, Carlson Marketing Group and Carlson Cruises Worldwide.

Saeed has been working in Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka for last four years and has been a key member of the hotel team and Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia Pacific's regional sales team. Saeed's career spans over 17 years, including ten years in hospitality industry in senior level management positions.

An MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Saeed has a strong sales & marketing background and has worked in different international and local corporations before joining the Radisson Water Garden Hotel Dhaka.

Lutfar President, Ratan Gen Secy of BAPIA

Mir Md Lutfar Rahman and Md Abu Sufian Ratan have been elected President and General Secretary respectively of Bangladesh Agricultural Parts Importers Association.

An introduction meeting of the newly elected committee was held at Hotel Victoria in the city on March 11 last. It was presided over by Mir Md Lutfar Rahman.

The elected representatives of the 11-member committee are: Md Lutfar Rahman, President, Nazrul Islam Selim, First Vice President, Md Shamsul Huq, Vice President, Md Abu Sufian Ratan, General Secretary, Promod Bandhu Saha, Joint General Secretary, Moazzem Hossain Jahangir, Treasurer, Abdus Salam, Organising Secretary, Shimul Kanti Dutta, Publicity and Office Secretary, AKM Masud Jahangir, Executive Member, Syed Nazim Sarwar Zaman, Executive Member and Dilip Chowdhury, Executive Member.

IBBL Chairman seeks doa

Prof Abu Nasser Muhamad Abduz Zaher, Chairman Board of Directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited is now undergoint treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. He has sought doa from the people of the country for his quick recovery.

Dr Iffat Jahan achieves Begum Rokeya Award

Dr Iffat Jahan, Chairperson of Policy & Claims Sub-Committee of Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company Ltd has achieved Begum Rokeya Award, 2008 for her special contribution to insurance sector. Barrister Nazia Kobir on behalf of Dr. Iffat Jahan received the award from former adviser of caretaker government Advocate Sultana Kamal at a programme at National Press Club organised by the fortnightly North Bengal Express recently.