The New Nation - Internet Edition

CSE closes lower yesterday

UNB, Chittagong

Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed lower yesterday (Monday) as the losers strongly dominated the gainers.The CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) shed 0.56 percent to close at 8601.21 points today (Monday).The CSE-30 Index also declined by 0.24 percent to close at 7593.78 points.A total of 159 issues were traded yesterday. Of them, 42 gained, 114 declined and three remained unchanged.Some 2,705,157 shares and debentures worth Tk 39.48 crore changed hands yesterday.

Summit Power recommends 20pc stock dividend

BUSINESS REPORT

Summit Power Limited has recommended 20 per cent stock dividend on 15,444,000 ordinary shares of Tk 100 each, for the year that ended on December 31, 2007.

The dividend was recommended at the board meeting of the company held at its corporate head office on Sunday.

The 11th annual general meeting (AGM) of the company will be held at 11.00 am on August 7 next at Bashundhara Convention Centre at Baridhara in the city.

Summit Power Director Md Latif Khan presided over the board meeting. It was attended by Managing Director Tauhidul Islam, Directors Ayesha Aziz Khan, Tapan Krishna Podder, Helal Uddin Ahmed, Abbas Uddin Ahmed, Financial Controller and Company Secretary Mahmud Hasan and other Directors of Summit Group.

Summit Power, the country's first independent power producer in the private sector, has successfully established three power plants with 11megawatt capacity each for sale of electricity to Rural Electrification Board (REB) on the build--own-operate (BOO) basis at Savar, Narsingdi and Comilla in 2001. The company has already expanded its total generation capacity to 105megawatt.

Summit Power is also going to set up another four power plants with a total a capacity of 110megawatt. Out of the four power plants, three will be of 33megawatt capacity each located at Jangalia, Rupganj, Maona and one with 11 megawatt, located at Ullapara, through its two subsidiaries Summit Uttaranchal Power Company Limited and Summit Purbanchal Power Company Limited.

Atlas-Baraka Fisheries (BD) Ltd underway: Bangladesh-Saudi jt venture co formed to boost fist export

BUSINESS REPORT

Atlas Fisheries WLL, a Bahrain-based Saudi Arabian company, signed a joint venture agreement on May 8 last with Baraka Ltd, a daughter concern of Ahmed Amin Group of Companies, a Bangladeshi company.

The joint venture company will initially focus on fish processing and fish export through establishing a company styled as ATLAS BARAKA FISHERIES (BD) Ltd.

A joint venture agreement was singed by Dr Essam M.R. Abdulghani on behalf of ATLAS FISHERIES W.L.L and A.K.M Ruhul Amin, Group Vice President of Ahmed Amin Group of Companies, Bangladesh on behalf of their respective companies.

The company will be registered with the Bangladesh Board of Investment (BoI) and the Registrar of the Joint Stock Company immediately to resume its function as soon as possible.

The joint venture company, besides fish processing and fish export, will produce value added fish products which will bring tremendous impact on fish production and fish processing and industries and will lead to earning sizeable foreign exchanges for Bangladesh.

The Saudi company will remain in the management of the JV company. It will bring modern technology meant for fish processing and value added products with indigenous fish along with its rich experience and expertise in the fish and fish related products.

In this process there will be technology transfer in this sector. The company will employ Bangladeshi personnel for its operations. As a result of operations of the company, there will be huge employment of the Bangladeshi nationals.

In the next phase the JV company will focus on agro products, fruits and fruit products. The company will export green vegetables, fruits and value added agro products. The company will invest in the agriculture and fisheries sectors to boost production to export and earn foreign exchange for the country.

Prime Bank gives Tk 20 lakh to Wari-Bateshwar project

BUSINESS REPORT

Prime Bank Limited, one of the leading private commercial banks of the country, has provided Tk 20 lakh to Oitija Onneswan, an archaeological organisation for its excavation research project at Wari-Bateshwar in Narsingdi district.

A cheque of Tk 20 lakh was handed over to Oitija Onneswan at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club in the city yesterday.

M Shahjahan Bhuiyan, Managing Director of Prime Bank Limited handed over the cheque to Dr Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Director of the Oitija Onneswan at the press conference.

Capt Imam Anwar Hossain, Chairman of Audit Committee of the bank, Sabur Khan, Chairman of Daffodil Group and trustee and Enam-Al-Hoque, Trustee of Oitija Onneswan were present on the occasion.

Dr Sufi Mostafizur Rahman, Executive Director of the Oitija Onneswan made a presentation on excavation work of Wari-Bateswar project in two villages of Narsingdi district.

Shahjahan Bhuiyan said, "We have now hundreds of millionaires like the previous Adamjee, Dowd and Ispahani families. But, these millionaires are not coming forward to show their corporate social responsibility for helping the distressed and needy people."

"If they came forward, the overall scenario of the society would have changed," he said.

The Prime Bank Managing Director said that the Prime Bank launched 'Prime Foundation' which has so far carried out several development activities like providing scholarships to poor students, free medicare facilities for needy people.

"Prime Bank Limited has contributed over Tk 15 crore, out of Tk 326 crore revenue income of the bank as a part of its corporate social responsibility last year," said Capt Imam Anwar Hossain, adding 'the bank will continue its support in this regard."

He further said that the Prime Bank always gives importance to the culture and heritage. That is why the bank has decided to extend its co-operation in the form of donation for this kind of project.

Dr Sufi Mostafizur Rahman said that his excavation team has found a civilization at Wari-Bateshwar which is 2,500 years old.

"The excavation will reveal the advanced heritage and culture of the then society at Wari-Bateshwar of the country," he added.

Jamuna Bank holds 197th EC meeting

BUSINESS REPORT

Engr AKM Mosharraf Hussain, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Jamuna Bank Limited presided over the 197th meeting of the Executive Committee recently held at its Head Office, Dhaka recently.

The Committee approved several funded and non-funded loans in different sectors. Chairman of the Board of the Directors Md Tazul Islam, with other Directors and Managing Director Mohammed Lakiotullah, Additional Managing Director Md Motior Rahman, EVP and Company Secretary Md Anower Hossain were also present.

LEIC contributes to processed meat export from Bangladesh

BUSINESS REPORT

The Local Enterprise Investment Centre (LEIC) has recently signed a contribution agreement with the Bengal Meat Processing Industries Limited (BMPIL).

Under this agreement, LEIC will assist BMPIL to conduct an extensive training program for two months, to increase its existing export of processed meat to UAE and Kuwait. The training would also help BMPIL to address production management and quality assurance issues, and various social, environmental and HR compliances required for the international market. This will create a pool of trained human resources, ready to explore export opportunities in Malaysia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and other countries.

LEIC, a private sector development project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and managed by IDLC Finance Limited, is working with a special focus to facilitate inter-company long-term alliances.

SIBL holds training on Anti Money Laundering

BUSINESS REPORT

A workshop on 'Anti-Money Laundering' organised by the Training Institute of Social Investment Bank Ltd was held on May 10 at the bank's Head Office in the city. Twenty-four officers from different branches and Head Office attended the workshop.

SIBL Chairman Abdul Awal Patwary inaugurated the workshop as the chief guest. Managing Director KM Ashaduzzaman and Deputy Managing Director Abu Sadek Md Sohel were present as special guests in the opening ceremony of the workshop. Abdul Awal Patwary called upon the participants to work hard with honesty and loyalty for improvement of the institution.

KM Ashaduzzaman emphasized that training has no alternative to build career in banking profession.

Abu Sadek Md Sohel asked SIBL officers to equip themselves with proper knowledge to guard against money laundering.

Md Akhtar Hussain, Principal of SIBL Training Institute and other senior executives and officers were present at the inaugural ceremony.

Orascom Telecom Holding Chairman arrives today

BUSINESS REPORT

The Chairman of Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), Naguib Sawiris arrives in Dhaka today. OTH is the holding company of Banglalink, the country's 2nd largest and fastest growing mobile operator. During his visit, Mr Sawiris is expected to meet the Chief Advisor and BTRC Chairman to discuss matters of mutual interest including future investment plans.

OTH is a part of the Orascom Group, one of Egypt's largest and most diversified business groups, maintaining significant holdings in the areas of telecommunications, information technology, tourism and construction.

As Chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), Mr. Sawiris has dynamically led the growth of the company to be a leading Telecom player and among the best regarded Emerging Markets players in the world. OTH was established in 1998 and has grown to become a major player in the global telecommunications market. Orascom Telecom is operating in six emerging markets having a population under license of 430 million with an average penetration of approximately 40%. OTH had exceeded 74 million subscribers as of May 2008 with a market capitalization of USD 15 billion. Mr. Sawiris is also the Chairman of the Board of Weather Investments and Chairman of the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (ECMS), commonly known as MobiNil.

A man of global stature, Mr. Sawiris has many accolades and awards credited to his name. In January 2003, as recognition for its regional role in the telecommunication industry, Orascom Telecom represented by Mr. Sawiris, was appointed as Board Member of the GSM Association. The appointment came as an acknowledgement of the group's position as one of the largest ten operators based on subscriber numbers.

Mr. Sawiris is also the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, industry awards and civic honors, including the "Legion d'honneur", (the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding services rendered to France) and the recipient of the prestigious "Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam" award (conferred upon Mr. Sawiris in 2006 for services rendered to the people of Pakistan in the field of telecommunication, investments and social sector work).

Mr. Sawiris holds a diploma of Mechanical Engineering with a Masters in Technical Administration from the Swiss Institute of Technology, ETH Switzerland and a Diploma from the German Evangelical School, Cairo, Egypt. Mr. Sawiris is married, with four children and lives in Cairo, Egypt.

90pc of English teachers have no proper qualifications in ELT

Staff Reporter

Classes of MA in ELT (English Language Teaching) for the academic year 2007-08 began on Sunday at the Institute of Modern Languages of Dhaka University.

A total of 25 students got admitted to the IML for the MA in ELT course following a rigorous selection process including written and viva voce examinations.

An orientation class for the new students for MA in ELT course was held at the IML on April 30 last, where Professor Dr Arifa Rahman, Head of the Department of English at IML, explained why MA in ELT degree was important for teachers, particularly for those who had been working as English language teachers at different educational institutions of the country and those who intended to be the English language teachers in future.

Terming the quality teachers as the ultimate key to educational change and improvement, she said the MA in ELT programme aimed to create quality teachers.

While making a presentation on MA in ELT programme through PowerPoint, Dr Arifa Rahman said, "There're lots of English teachers working at different educational institutions of the country, but 90 per cent of those are manned by teachers who have no proper qualifications in English language teaching."

"We're proud to say that we've a highly qualified English language teaching faculty which is not available at any other university of the country….We're really proud of them," she said.

During the orientation class, Professor Hamidur Rahman, Professor Rahela Banu and Ms Iffat Ara Nasreen Majid were present. They replied to various queries of the students and advised how to do well in their learning.

Nitol-Tata launches network of Authorized Service Centers

Tata Motors and its distributors in Bangladesh, Nitol Motors formally launched a new network of Authorized Service Centers for Tata Commercial Vehicles in Bangladesh in a colorful ceremony at the China Maitri Hall, Dhaka on April 28. Fourteen new ASC s have been added to the existing network of ten workshops taking the tally to 24 workshops across the country which is unparalleled in the automobile industry in Bangladesh. This network will ensure the availability of a proper service facility close to the customer's reach thus bringing down his lead time to service as well as the cost. The ASCs are owned by local entrepreneurs with trained workforce as well as all necessary tools and fixtures for attending to the vehicles as per Tata norms.

TATA Motors and Nitol Motors have also expanded their network of spare parts retailers for the distribution and sale of Tata Genuine Parts in Bangladesh. Currently there are_57 authorized parts outlets across the country with a corporate showroom for spares in Dhaka. This is ensuring the widespread availability of affordable genuine spare parts for Tata Commercial Vehicles which will result in reduced overall lifetime cost of Tata vehicles in Bangladesh