The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dhaka Bank okays 25pc stock dividend

BUSINESS REPORT

Dhaka Bank Limited (DBL) has approved 25 per cent stock dividend for its shareholders for the year 2007.

This was approved at the 13th annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city on Monday.

DBL Chairman Khondoker Monir Uddin presided over the meeting.

The bank earned an operating profit of Tk 2.01 billion in 2007 as against Tk 1.183 billion in 2006 registering an increase of 70 per cent.

To strengthen the capital base of the bank, the capital adequacy ratio was substantially increased to 10.36 per cent in the year 2007 from 9.43 per cent in 2006.

DBL Vice-chairman Altaf Hossain Sarker, directors Abdul Hai Sarker, ATM Hayatuzzaman Khan, Mohammad Hanif, Md Amirullah, Tahidul Hossain Chowdhury, MNH Bulu, Khandaker Mohammad Shahjahan and Hosna Ara Shahid, Managing Director Shahed Noman and Acting Company Secretary JQM Habibullah were present on the occasion.

Disbursement of inward remittances: StanChart signs deal with Bangladesh Post Office

BUSINESS REPORT

Standard Chartered Bank has recently signed an agreement with Bangladesh Post Office to facilitate disbursement of inward remittances received from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad through eMO using wide network of Bangladesh Post Office.

Mirza Aminur Rahman, Director and Head of Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered Bank and A.K.M. Rafiqul Islam, Director [Mails] of Bangladesh Post Office signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Mobasherur Rahman, Director General and other senior officials of Bangladesh Post Office, Junaid Masroor, Director of Origination & Client Coverage, and Zulfiker Ahmed Khan, Director of Transaction Banking of Standard Chartered Bank were also present in the signing ceremony.

BASIC Bank opens three ATM booths in city

BUSINESS REPORT

BASIC Bank Limited has opened three ATM booths in the city.

Chairman of the board of directors of the bank and Secretary of the Ministry of Industries Md Nurul Amin formally inaugurated the booths at Basundhara City Shopping Complex, Gulshan and Uttara on Sunday, says a press release.

Among others, Director Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman and Managing Director AH Ekbal Hossain were present on the occasion.

The management of the bank has decided to open more booths in and outside Dhaka city soon.

The clients of the bank will be able to use 86 more Q-cash ATMs installed all over the country under a sharing agreement executed between IT Consultant Limited and BASIC Bank Limited.

HSBC celebrates Bengali New Year

HSBC Bangladesh held a variety of programmes to commemorate the start of the Bengali New Year 1415.

HSBC staff celebrated the day by greeting customers wearing traditional attire. The staff distributed sweets to customers who came to the branches and customer service centres (CSC) which were decorated in the style of the Bengali New Year. In addition, earthen banks were placed at all the branches where staff donated money for one or the Bank's charities.

As in previous years, HSBC did not send Bengali New Year greeting cards, in accordance with the Group's commitment to the environment. The amount that would otherwise have been spent on cards will instead be used to provide lunch for 150 underprivileged children of Aparajeyo Bangladesh.

HSBC has also launched a campaign celebrating Pohela Boishakh under which qualifying customers that answer two questions about Bengali New Year will be eligible for gift vouchers from a number of select shops. Further details are available at all HSBC branches.

2nd Off-shore Banking Unit of Prime Bank opened

2nd Off-shore Banking Unit of Prime Bank Limited was officially inaugurated at CEPZ Chittagong on April 20 last.

Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) Brigadier General Ashraf Abdullah Yusuf inaugurated it as the chief guest.

Vice Chairperson of Board of Directors of Prime Bank Limited Hasina Khan was special guest while the programme was chaired by Managing Director of Prime Bank M Shahjahan Bhuiyan.

Deputy Managing Directors Mahbubul Alam and Syed Mahbubur Rahman were present, among others, on the occasion. In his welcome speech M Shahjahan Bhuiyan furnished the achievements of the bank including receiving No.1 award from ICAB for consecutive three years, SAFA Award and other ratings.

He said, with its commercial venture the bank is also doing Corporate Social Responsibility programmes under which 200 meritorious but poor students have been given stipends for five years, 1,200 cataract operations, sponsored different sports and games and a lot more. Recently the bank launched ATM booth and real online banking by establishing T-24 software, which cost Tk 80 crore.

BEPZA Chairman, in his speech, lauded the achievements of Prime Bank and asked the investors of CEPZ to bank with Prime Bank's OBU. He added that both the bank and the investors will be in a win-win situation because among all the private banks in Bangladesh Prime Bank is doing the best for their customers. He wished more success of the bank. The function was rounded off with munajat and refreshment.

Kyoto city govt honours Bangladeshi-owned co

This is the first time in the history of Japan, especially in business sector that a business company owned by a nationalised Japanese of Bangladesh origin has been honored with an award named 'OSCAR AWARD' given by the Kyoto City Government for its new idea related to IT sector. The name of the company is Rogress Boeki Co., Ltd.

Rogress Boeki Co., Ltd. was born out in Kyoto on 1993 with its offices in Kyoto and Osaka by Shitoru Roy, son of late Rajoni Kanto Roy of Sylhet who has been living in Japan for almost three decades. Within a few years, Rogress Boeki established itself as a reliable and efficient guide for various Japanese manufacturers by successfully introducing their products in the market of South-West Asia. Recognising the rising potential and business prospects of the Indian sub-continent, Rogress Boeki opened a Liaison Office in Dhaka in 2005. This Office obtained full-fledged branch status in March 2008. Initially Rogress has concentrated its business in textile machineries and spare parts, now diversified in effluent water treatment plants, chemicals, home security systems, plastics, etc.

In August 2007 Rogress made its move into the IT sector by establishing Rogress Technology Services. It was geared to bridge Japan and the rest of the world, specially Bangladesh and India. The main intention of this venture is to accommodate skilled Bangladeshis in the IT sector of Japan. It was one of only 4 companies chosen from 12 finalists for the award this year 2008. This very prestigious award is a stamp of approval that the business plan is sound and will help to bring business to the city of Kyoto. This is the first time such an honour has been bestowed upon a foreign-owned company. This award is not only an honour for Rogress Boeki but is also the source of great pride for all Bengalees living in Japan that a fellow Bengali has risen despite the odds in this very traditional city of Kyoto.

DCCI seminar on Labour Law Compliance in Selected Export Industries of Bangladesh

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry-DCCI held a seminar on 'Labour Law Compliance in Selected Export Industries of Bangladesh "in cooperation with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on April 20 at the DCCI Auditorium (5th Floor) at Motijheel Commercial Area in the city.

Dr Mahfuzul Haque, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment who attended the seminar as the chief guest, laid emphasis on training and awareness building for labour law compliance. He also suggested rewarding the industries which comply with labour law appropriately. He praised the recent formation of a crises management committee jointly by the government and private bodies in the RMG sector. He also felt the need of Auditing system of international standards in the RMG industry to meet labour law compliance issues appropriately.

President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Haq informed that his association has conducted a baseline study on labour law compliance in the knitwear industry and found the performance of the industries satisfactory in labour law compliance.

DCCI Senior Vice-President Salauddin Abdullah read out the written statement of DCCI President Hossain Khaled. In the address, he said, the objective of the seminar, among others, is to discuss the findings of a DCCI study on Labour Law Compliance in Selected Export Industries of Bangladesh" It covered different aspects of labour law-2006 of Bangladesh and the states of compliance of relevant industrial laws and rules applicable to the industry considering the needs of the export sectors to cope with the trend of globalisation." Stressing on the need of modernising the labour law, he said, modern labour laws constitute a key element for the success of the adaptability of workers and entrepreneurs.

One of the objectives of the labour law is to promote skilled, trained and adaptable workforce and labour market responsive to the challenges stemming from the combined impact of globalisation, he said. He also informed that the study covered major export sectors of Bangladesh like Readymade Garments (woven & knit), Frozen Food, leather and footwear, jute goods, ceramics and home textiles and a large chunk of the total export earning comes from these sectors. In order to achieve targeted export growth of these sectors efficiency of labour needs to be improved, he pointed out. He also stated that Bangladesh showed some competitiveness in exports and our new generation entrepreneurs have already shown their professionalism. We have developed our skills to be compliant in some areas and our export sector has achieved considerable progress through RMG, Jute and so many others. Through them Bangladesh has earned a lot but we do like to achieve more," he added.

DCCI Consultant, Dr. M. Muniruzzaman, presented the keynote paper, while Chairman, Bangladesh Jute Mills Associations Nazmul Haque and Chairman, Tariff Commission Dr. Syed Naquib Muslim were the designated discussants.

DCCI Past President ASM Quasem gave a brief summary of the labour law compliance and moderated the seminar. Programme Coordinator of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Dietrich Stotz also spoke on the occasion.'

Training, building awareness seen vital

Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment Mahfuzul Haque has stressed the need for training and building awareness to comply with labour laws of the country's industrial sector.

He made the observation while addressing a seminar on Labour Law Compliance in Selected Export Industries of Bangladesh as the chief guest in the city Sunday.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in association with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) organised the seminar, according to a press release.

Mahfuzul Haque also suggested rewarding the industries, which complied with labour laws appropriately.

He praised the recent formation of a crises management committee jointly by the government and the private bodies in the readymade garments (RMG) sector.

He also stressed the need for auditing system of international standards in the readymade garments (RMG) industry to meet labour law compliance issues appropriately.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank holds EGM

BUSINESS REPORT

The ninth extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited (AIBL) was held at the Trust Milanayatan in the city Sunday.

The EGM approved amendment of four (4) clauses of articles of association of the bank.

AIBL board of directors Chairman Md Anowar Hossain presided over the meeting.

Among others, AIBL Vice-chairman Mir Ahmed Sowdagar, directors Md Harun-ar-Rashid Khan, Ahmed Ali, Nazmul Ahsan Khaled, Abdul Malek Mollah, Kazi Md Mofizur Rahman, Badiur Rahman, Ahmedul Haque, Abdus Samad, Kh Meshbahuddin Ahmed, ex-director AZM Shamsul Alam, Badsha Miah, Mohammad Haroon, Niaz Ahmed, Managing Director MA Samad Sheikh were present at the meeting.