The New Nation - Internet Edition

CSE closes higher yesterday

UNB, Chittagong

Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed higher yesterday as the gainers dominated the losers. The CSE All Share Price Index (CASPI) gained by 1.07 percent to close at 9199.20 points from 9101.56 points on Thursday. The CSE-30 Index also rose by 1.78 percent to close at 8079.82 points from Thursday's 7937.91 points. A total of 142 issues were traded today. Of them, 82 gained, 55 declined and five remained unchanged. Some 4,644,360 shares and debentures worth Tk 55.43 crore changed hands yesterday against 3,950,709 shares valued at Tk 58.64 crore on the previous trading day.

Govt to adopt coal policy soon

BUSINESS REPORT

The government is expecting to finalise the long-awaited policy soon to extract the huge coal reserves to supplement fast depleting gas resources, a senior energy official said yesterday.

"To meet the energy demand we will have to use the coal resources," said M. Tamim, Chief Adviser's Special Assistant for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.

"I ask all to leave it (issue of coal extraction) to the experts, have trust in them," he said, responding to critics who oppose any deal with foreign companies to run the coal fields.

"Everything will be done on the basis of accountability and transparency," Tamim told a seminar on "Energy security and Development."

Bangladesh, with its 150 million population, faces a serious energy crisis, with lack of gas to produce electricity. The crisis is set to worsen by 2011 when its proven and recoverable gas reserves could run out.

As a result, attention is increasingly turning to the country's vast coal resource.

"The draft of the coal policy is soon to be placed before a cabinet meeting for approval," Tamim said.

The country now extract coal from just one of five fields with 2.55 billion tonnes, with technical assistance from a Chinese firm.

Energy officials say Bangladesh should adopt the coal policy quickly, to allow foreign firms to work on two large coal fields in the country's north at an early date.

The projects worth a total US$6 billion have been put forward by Indian conglomerate Tata Group and Asia Energy Corporation (Bangladesh), a sister firm of UK-based GCM Resources PLC.

Both are pending as environment assessment and rights groups have continued to protest to force the government not to allow foreign investors in the coal sector.

The government, however, says it would carefully consider all issues and concerns before handing them over to any investor and that the coal policy will have provisions to protect local interests.

Grameen Shakti gets Globe Energy Award

BUSINESS REPORT

Grameen Shakti (GS) has won the first place under the National Energy Globe Award 2007 and was also one of the fifteen best projects out of 800 contenders from all over the world .

GS has also been selected as one of three nominees under the air category for the Energy Globe Award 2007. GS has won these recognitions because of its unique and impressive program to bring light , energy and income to energy starved rural Bangladesh through renewable energy technologies .

Dipal Barua, Managing Director, Grameen Shakti received thee awards on May 26 in the Plenary Hall of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The ceremony was participated by eminent personalities such as Hans-Gert Pottering, President European Parliament, Jose Manual Barroso, President EU Commission, Kofi Annan , former UN Secretary General and former President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Grameen Shakti, a worldwide leading rural-based renewable energy provider, has installed 160,000 solar home systems, Over 3000 biogas plants and 15000 improved cooking stoves.

The key to the company's success is an integrated model that blends soft credit with effective after-sales service and aggressive grassroots promotion that ties the technology with income generation. Through its innovative programs , Grameen Shakti is helping to meet the basic energy needs of the rural people such as light , gas for cooking and light, power for income generation . Most importantly , these programs is reducing the use of kerosene and protecting women from in-door air pollution.

Grameen Shakti has developed a market based model which is entrepreneur and community driven instead of donor driven. The company is creating local green jobs and entrepreneurs to drive its program forward . More than 1000 rural women have been trained as Solar technicians to market , install and repair, maintain solar home systems. Rural based Grameen Technology Centers run by women engineers are implementing this innovative program. Grameen Shakti has also trained more than 800 local young men and women as improved cooking stove technicians. These trained technicians are working with GS on a contract basis. In the future these young men and women will become rural energy entrepreneurs.

Grameen Shakti is also encouraging rural micro-enterprise and decentralized power generation through its biogas programme. Many large sized biogas plant owners especially poultry owners are generating electricity to run their homes and businesses, others are selling the extra gas to their neighbours.

Grameen Shakti has a vision to create one hundred thousand Green Jobs in the rural areas by 2015. Through rural entrepreneurs and green jobs, GS plans to install one million solar home systems and 5 hundred thousand biogas plants and 10 million improved cooking stoves by 2015. GS has opened 30 Grameen Technology Centers to train local women technicians and plans to open 300 by 2015. GS has also initiated Tree Plantation & Organic Fertilizer Programs.

Orientation of Life Sciences Deptt held: NSU to excel in imparting world-class education in SA

The Summer 2008 Orientation Ceremony of Masters in Public Health, MS in Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, BS in Microbiology and BS in Biochemistry and Genetic Engineering programs of the Life Sciences Department of NSU was held on May 30 at NSU campus. MA Kashem, Chairman, Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh and Founder Life Member and Former Chairman, NSU Foundation was present on the occasion as chief guest.

Dr Hafiz GA Siddiqi, Vice Chancellor of NSU and Dr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Director HIV/AIDS Programme and Adviser, South Asia Programme, Save the Children, USA spoke on the occasion as special guests.

Mrs Tahera Ahmed, Assistant Representative, UNFPA was present as guest of honor. Dr SAM Khairul Bashar, Pro Vice Chancellor chaired the occasion.

Dr. GU Ahsan, PhD, Chairman, Department of Life Sciences delivered the welcome address.

Registrar Mohammad Ali, Dr. Khairul Azam, Ms. Rifat Mohsin, Ms. Farzana Bashar and Ms. Mahmuda Reza also spoke on the occasion.

MA Kashem mentioned that NSU had a vision and strategic plan to make it a seat of learning that would excel in imparting world-class education in South Asian region.

He said today the study of biotechnology, microbiology, genetic engineering, public health and social sciences were inexorably linked, and the study took place in real time and around the world.

Kashem cited the success story of private sector in education in Bangladesh pointing out NSU as an example. He added, presently there is a huge prospect for private ventures in health services in our country.

Vice Chancellor Dr Hafiz G.A. Siddiqi congratulated the newly enrolled students for their success in the competitive admission test. Dr. Siddiqi assured them that NSU as the leading private university is committed to ensure of modem and high quality higher education and conducive academic atmosphere. NSU is producing qualified manpower and has stepped into the health sector as well by launching public health program under the department of Life Sciences, he added.

Pro VC Dr. Bashar said that NSU is the brand name of the high quality higher education in Bangladesh.

Chairman denies of possessing unnamed shares of ONE Bank

BUSINESS REPORT

Chairman of ONE Bank Ltd Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury yesterday denied the accusation of holding of anonymous shares worth Tk 26 crore of the bank published in a section of newspapers recently.

Addressing a press conference at National Press Club in the city, he said that the authorities concerned had investigated the matter of possessing anonymous shares of ONE Bank Ltd in March 2000 after some newspapers published the same news at that time, which was proved false and fabricated.

Chowdhury said ONE Bank was established on May 12, 1999 and started journey as a full-fledged commercial bank from July 14 of that year with six Bangladeshis and five expatriate Bangladeshis after receiving the banking operation licence from Bangladesh Bank. 'I became a shareholder and director of the bank through receiving 25,000 shares from my wife,' he said.

Referring to the background of establishing ONE Bank Ltd, Chowdhury, who is also the chairman of HRC, said one of his friends, Ashoka Dasgupta, had proposed him in mid-1998 to become an entrepreneur of the bank. "Since I was a sponsor and shareholder/director of a general insurance company, I could not become the director of a banking company. That is why my wife was attached to the bank. After several weeks he gave me a proposal to collect a number of sponsors as several sponsors of the proposed bank left for establishing another bank receiving permission from Bangladesh Bank," he said.

"But, I could not succeed to make anyone of my friends or acquaintances agree to become the sponsor of the bank. I informed Ashoka Dasgupta about the matter. However, he again proposed to help me. Otherwise, he said it would not be possible to set up the bank," he said.

"After a couple of days, he (Ashoka Dasgupta) again proposed to help me and suggested me to contact with my expatriate Bangladeshi friends and colleagues to make them agree to invest in Bangladesh, because I was at abroad from 1974 to 1987."

Later, he said he gave proposals to a dozen of his expatriate friends and colleagues. "Finally, I was able to make five of my expatriate friends agree to invest in paid up capital for ONE Bank Ltd," he said.

However, the expatriate Bangladeshis agreed to become sponsors for investing in the capital of the proposed bank on several conditions, including (i) They would invest after receiving the licence from the Bangladesh Bank and before that "I would be able to take short-term loans from everyone of them, and (ii) After receiving licence from the Bangladesh Bank, "I would have to provide guarantee to their investments, because they wanted to be expatriates."

"At the beginning I was reluctant to accept their conditions. But, Ashoka Dasgupta assured me saying that the then prime minister and finance minister will provide guarantee to the money invested by the expatriates. He (Ashoka Dasgupta) made an arrangement of holding a meeting with the then Finance Minister SAMS Kibria at his secretariat office room to boost my self-confidence and interest for establishing the bank," he said.

Chowdhury said later he held a meeting with the then Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Farashuddin Ahmed. "At that meeting I informed him about my meeting with the late Finance Minister. Hearing this the Bangladesh Bank Governor awarded me the formal licence for launching the ONE Bank Ltd," he said.

Subsequently, he said he was able to provide personal loans in the name of six local and five expatriate Bangladeshis after formation of the company. After receiving licence for ONE Bank Ltd from the Bangladesh Bank as proposed by Ashoka Dasgupta, the five expatriate Bangladeshis sent remittances to their respective accounts with the local banks.

He mentioned that the five NRBs were still the members of the board of the directors of the bank and he had no anonymous shares in their names.

Claiming the reports published in two vernacular dailies about holding anonymous shares as 'false and fabricated,' where he was shown as possessing 35 per cent of the total shares of ONE Bank Ltd, he said he was holding less than 10 per cent of total shares of the bank.

Chowdhury also said he was holding majority of the shares of three, out of five companies. Expatriate Bangladeshis hold majority of the shares of rest of the two companies, he said.

MoneyGram honours NCC Bank

NCC Bank Limited has been awarded the 'Best Support for Brand Building' by MoneyGram International, an electronic money transfer services.

Managing Director of the bank Md Nurul Amin received the award from Vice President (Marketing and Product Development) of the MoneyGram International Jonathan Lavercombe at the first South Asia Conference-2008 in Goa, India recently, said a press release.

MoneyGram agents from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Lebanon and Singapore and employees from the USA, the UK, the UAE, Italy and Hong Kong and MoneyGram South Asia team were present at the conference.

Meanwhile, the bank also won "Best Agent in Market Initiative" award from MoneyGram at the MoneyGram Asia Pacific Agents' Conference in Shanghai, China in 2007.

Spectra Hexa Nam Sai to produce Tilapia, fish fry in Bangladesh

Spectra Hexa Feeds Ltd, a joint venture company of Bangladesh, Thailand and Taiwan and Nam Sai Farms Company Ltd, a world class Monosex Tilapia and other fish fry producing company of Thailand singed a joint venture agreement to establish a modern fish hatchery in Bangladesh named' Spectra Hexa Nam Sai Co Ltd' at Spectra Convention Centre in the city on May 22 last.

The signing ceremony was chaired by Engr Khan Md. Aftab Uddin, Chairman of Spectra Hexa Feeds Ltd.

Managing Director of Premier Bank Ltd Khandoker Fazle Rashid, Engr Md Akramuzzaman, Pisan Chaithirasakul and Chang Neh, Director of Spectra Hexa Feeds Ltd and Warren Andrew Turner, John Thomas Grassi and Worapot Chinwatanakit, Director of Nam Sai Farms Co Ltd were present on this occasion.

Stephane Masse new GM of Westin Dhaka

The Westin Dhaka is pleased to welcome Stephane Masse on the board who assume the job of General Manager for the hotel. Prior to joining The Westin Dhaka Masse was the Resident Manager of Le Meridien Angkor, Kingdom of Cambodia, where he was stationed from August 2004.

Educated in the hospitality management Masse possesses a wealth of 26 years of hospitality industry experience. Born in France Stephane has also begun his career in France. He spent the earlier years of his career honing his skills in various food and beverage positions with different hotels in Europe. His enthusiasm as well took him to cross-Atlantic Canada and finally in Far East and Asia.

Masse has worked mainly for 5 star internationals hotels and great brands like Intercontinental, Kempinski, Shangri-La and Le Meridien. Under his direction and vision, The Westin Dhaka is to set to achieve greater success.

Apollo Hospitals sign deal with East West University

Apollo Hospitals Dhaka has recently signed a corporate agreement with East West University to provide medical services and special corporate benefits to their teachers and staff. Malka Shamrose Director, Business Development of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka and KM Safiuddin Chowdhury, Chief of HR and Logistics of East West University signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations. Senior executives from both sides were also present.