The New Nation - Internet Edition

35 Bangladeshi workers recruited under EPS reach Seoul

The first batch of 35 Bangladeshi workers recruited under Employment Permit System (EPS) reached Seoul Sunday morning. On their arrival at the airport at 4:45am, the workers were received by Syed Nasir Ershad, first Secretary of Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul, and a representative from HRD-Korea, the government agency responsible for hiring foreign workers. Immediately upon arrival the Bangladeshi workers were placed in a training center run by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBiz). After undergoing medical check-up and a short orientation training, the workers will be dispatched to their respective work places located in various parts of Korea. The dispatch of the first batch of Bangladeshi workers to Korea marks the reopening of Korean labor market for Bangladeshi workers. Korea discontinued recruitment of Bangladeshi workers due to the host government's concern over rising number of undocumented Bangladeshi workers in Korea. Korea agreed to resume recruitment of Bangladeshi workers through signing of a bilateral agreement during a visit to Korea by Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in July 2007. The second batch of Bangladeshi workers is expected to depart for Korea later this month, more workers from Bangladesh will be recruitment under EPS throughout the year as Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) place their demands for employing Bangladeshi workers.

Jet fuel price hike to hit aviation industry hard

The sudden rise in jet fuel price is likely to hit the country's grooming aviation industry, as the airliners apprehend to lose passengers with further rise in tariff.

The government increased the jet fuel price from Tk 75 to Tk 95 per litre on June 3.

"Obviously, the growth will be hampered, we might lose passengers as we've already increased our fares on different destinations," Best Air Chairman M Haideruzzaman told UNB Saturday.

He said after the jet fuel price hike on June 3, Best Air re-fixed its one-way fare on its Dhaka-Chittagong route at Tk 5,495.

"We don't have no option but to raise the fare, as the fuel price is the half of an airliner's total operational cost," he said. He said the local airliners would face more difficulties in carrying international passengers from Bangladesh due to this fuel price hike.

"The Thai Air refills fuel from its own homeland where the fuel price is almost 35 per cent lower than in Bangladesh," Haider said adding, "This is just an example. Other foreign airliners also refill fuel from their respective countries. So, we're sure to lose our competitiveness."

Painting a gloomy picture of the global aviation sector due to fuel oil price hike, Biman Managing Director MA Momen said in the last five and a half months about 24 airlines have faced closure, as they could not cope with the shooting-up price of jet fuel.

"In the recent IATA conference, we saw the shadow of a dark cloud just for the uptrend in the jet-fuel prices, many officials were apprehending whether they would be able to attend the next conference or not," the Biman boss said.

Momen said the jet-fuel price hike has made the country's aviation business very vulnerable.

The GMG Airlines is the worst affected operator as they have already put on hold its process to take two MD 80-3 aircraft on lease to strengthen its fleet.

"We've been compelled to roll back the process following the recent increase in the jet fuel price. We were almost close to taking two aircraft under dry lease system," GMG Airlines Chairman Abdus Sattar Nini told the news agency.

He said his organisation would go for extreme cost minimisation after the jet fuel price hike.

IBBL opens branch in Bandarban

Bandarban Branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited was inaugurated as its 195th Branch yesterday at the branch premises, Central Mosque Road, Bandarban Sadar, Bandarban.

Helal Uddin Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Parbottay Zilla Parishad as the chief guest, Md Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) and Abdul Oahab, former Chief Executive of Chittagong City Corporation as special guests inaugurated the branch. Presided over by Engr Md Eskander Ali Khan, Board of Director of the bank, the function was addressed, among others, by Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Deputy Managing Director and Head of the Investment Wing, Md Abul Hossain, Executive Vice President and Head of Chittagong Zone of the bank. Dalilur Rahman, former Member of Parbottay Zilla Parishad addressed on behalf of the clients and wellwishers.

Md. Helal Uddin Ahmed in his speech thanked Islami Bank authorities for starting interest free banking system in the country and opening branch in Bandarban.

He urged the bank authorities to play important role in national development like the past.

Chevron hands over houses to flood affected families

Last week Mrs. Buffie Wilson, wife of Chevron Bangladesh President Steve Wilson, visited the families of Champa Begum and Jotsna Dev at Karimpur, a village located next to the Bibiyana gas field in Habiganj, to officially present the new houses built for them by Chevron. The devastating flood of 2007 destroyed the homes of both women. To mark the inauguration, the new houses were decorated with ribbons and flowers, and the excited family members greeted Mrs. Wilson with warm, welcoming smiles.

It was a fresh start for Champa Begum and Jotsna Dev, who finally found reason to smile after the devastation of last year's flood, which caused widespread damage across the country.

Countless homes were wrecked in the flood, and Champa Begum and Jotsna Dev's were among the 25 families whose homes were severely damaged in the Karimpur area. Chevron, through a post-flood rehabilitation campaign, made sure all 25 families became the proud owners of new homes under a community engagement program.

With the support of its partner-NGO FIVDB, Chevron identified families whose houses were damaged and initiated a house building program in the wake of the flood that affected some 2,000 households in the Bibiyana area.

Chevron initiated a number of rehabilitation programs aimed at assisting the flood-affected community residing adjacent to the Bibiyana 'area. In' addition to building new houses, Chevron launched programs to clean ponds and wells in order to ensure safe and hygienic water supplies; to reinforce pond dykes to withstand future flooding; and to provide assistance in fish farming.

REVE Systems launches iTel Mobile Dialer worldwide

REVE Systems has launched worldwide a soft dialer for Mobile Phone- 'iTel Mobile Dialer' to make VoIP call directly from mobile phone using internet through GPRS or WiFi. A service provider now can launch its mobile VoIP service easily with iTel Mobile Dialer. The demo version of the product is available for free download from its website www.itelbilling.com.

Any operator can configure the demo version of the Dialer with his service information (like IP, Port, IVR Extension) and Operators' end users will only download the dialer and does not need any configuration.

iTel Mobile Dialer is now running on Symbian Operating Systems. Very soon it will be coming on Windows Mobile 5/6.

REVE Systems will exhibit iTel Mobile Dialer in CommunicAsia 2008, Singapore from June 17-20, 2008.

REVE Systems, an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, is one of the leading VoIP solutions providers. REVE has been serving VoIP Service providers in more than 25 countries around the world.

On this occasion, REVE Systems' CEO, M. Rezaul Hassan said, "Mobile VoIP is the new trend in VoIP industry. We have designed the product keeping the operators requirement in mind. This product will help to launch Mobile VoIP Services by service providers very easily. And we will offer new features of this product soon so that operators can offer more value added services to their clients."

Results of auction of treasury bills

BSS, Dhaka

The 23rd auction of the treasury bill of different maturities was held at the Bangladesh Bank here yesterday.

According to a Bangladesh Bank press release, Taka 505 crore, Taka 290.90 crore and Taka 222 crore, in grand total Taka 1017.90 crore were offered for the 28-day, 91-day and 182-day bills respectively.

Of those, five bids amounting to a total of Taka 205 crore, three bids amounting to a total of Taka 40.90 crore and three bids amounting a total of Taka 77 crore were accepted for the 28- day, 91-day and 182-day bills respectively.

Besides, Taka 295 crore and Taka 209.10 crore were developed to Bangladesh Bank for the 28-day and 91-day bills respectively and Taka 73 crore was developed to primary dealers for the 182- day bill.

The ranges of the implicit yields of the accepted bids of 28- day, 91-day and 182-day bills were 7.46-7.49 percent, 7.72 percent and 7.96 percent per annum respectively.

IFC seminar aims to boost trade finance in South Asia

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will host a seminar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to help improve the trade finance operations of banks in South Asia and enable them to better support local entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The seminar will promote tools for managing risks associated with trade finance products and services, and it will facilitate agreements between local banks that focus on international trade. It will target high level banking officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Participants will represent 16 banks from the South Asia region.

Scott Stevenson, IFC Manager for Global Trade Finance Program, explains, "Our mandate as part of IFC's Global Trade Finance Program, includes assisting banks to develop and upscale their trade finance operations; I hope the participating banks would benefit from the course."

"IFC's trade finance program helps local banks offer enhanced tenors and access competitive pricing terms that facilitate trade with emerging markets worldwide and promote the flow of goods and services between developing countries. The program's training component supports our regional approach in enhancing South Asia's financial sector," said Per Kjellerhaug, IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.

The seminar will include sessions on documentary credit, trade finance rules, guarantee instruments, asset liability management, treasury, and the process of applying IFC guarantees to various financing structures. Last year, IFC delivered 13 trade finance training courses, reaching 130 bankers from 25 countries.

Launched in 2005, the IFC Global Trade Finance Program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide. It aims to increase developing countries' share of global trade and promote South-South flows of goods and services. To date, 12 banks in South Asia have joined the program. Globally, the program has provided more than $2.3 billion worth of guarantees to 97 issuing banks in 50 countries, where more than 70 percent are issued for small and medium enterprises.

Emirates to get first A380 on July 28 from Hamburg

DUBAI, UAE- Emirates Airline, the largest customer for the A380 superjumbo, on June 5 announced it would receive the first of its 58 A380 aircraft on order from Airbus' Hamburg facility on July 28.

The 58 A380s on Emirates' order book are worth US$ 18.8 billion at current list prices.

Emirates' A380 interiors and onboard product, which has been kept under wraps thus far, will also be revealed for the first time during the delivery ceremony in Hamburg.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: "The A380, with its large capacity and excellent operating economics, will be one of the pillars of Emirates' future growth. We've been working very closely with Airbus since the A380 programme's inception back in 2000, and all through the ups and downs from the drawing board to production, we have remained unshakable in our belief that this is the aircraft for the next chapter of aviation.

Powered by Engine Alliance's GP7200 engines, Emirates' A380s are capable of flying up to 15,000km on a full load, and offer fuel economy as low as 3.1 litres per 100 passenger kilometre - which is better than most hybrid passenger cars (4.4 litres per 100 vehicle kilometre). A significant environmental development, the A380 is also quieter, both inside and outside of the cabin, which means more comfort for passengers and a smaller noise footprint.

"Despite the high oil prices, for us, demand remains strong and the A380's combination of range, capacity and fuel efficiency will help Emirates to continue achieving our growth targets. We very much look forward to receiving our first A380 aircraft next month."

In its current financial year (ending March 2009), Emirates will receive delivery of five A380s, all featuring its ultra long-haul configuration of 489 seats: 14 in First Class, 76 in Business and 399 in Economy; with 10 tonnes of bellyhold capacity for cargo.

Emirates has already announced plans to deploy its first A380 aircraft on its routes from Dubai to New York, London Heathrow and Sydney-Auckland; and will shortly announce details of its first commercial A380 service.

Emirates currently operates services to 99 cities on 62 countries. Its order book of 180 aircraft (excluding options), worth approximately US$58 billion, is possibly the largest-ever in commercial aviation history. The airline has invested in 58 A380s, and over 100 more new generation aircraft that feature the latest technology and composite materials, because these are more efficient to operate, and produce less emissions while offering travellers more comfort in the air.

US envoy visits Ctg garment factory

Our Correspondent

CHITTAGONG: With a view to ascertaining opinions on formation of trade union, Referendum-2008 was held at Familytex (BD) Limited, a one hundred per cent export-oriented joint venture garments factory at Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) Monday. US Ambassador in Bangladesh James F Moriarty, during his three-day visit to Chittagong, observed the poll.

BEPZA Executive Chairman Brigadier General Jamil Ahmad Khan and other high officials of CEPZ and the US embassy accompanied the US envoy. Familytex Managing Director Abdul Hamid and Executive Director Subrata Biswas greeted the guests at the factory.They visited the factory and witnessed the process of casting of votes. The US envoy was delighted to see the enthusiasm of the workers of the factory, factory sources said.

Japan's latest photo lab now in the market

JB Digital photo lab, a Japan's latest product is now available in the market of Bangladesh. The latest lab consists of 8 new technologies, which eases the lifestyle of the people.

Japan-Bangladesh group Chairman Salim Prodhan said this at a press conference held on Thursday in the city. He said the hopes and aspirations of mankind would be fulfilled in a great extent by this product.

He said that his company has already taken policy of fifty-fifty profit share system that would generate opportunities of jobs and alleviate the non-employment issue in a large scale. "We plan 10,000 of technology based machines all over the Bangladesh within 2012.'

Managing Director Tadao Komatsu, Vice Chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Printing and Papers Ltd Masamichi Taniguchi, Board of Investment Executive Chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed, Executive Vice Chairman Ambassador SM Rashed Ahmed, President Kaizo Sasame were present at the press conference.

The characteristics of this photo technology are described below : (a) Touch stone monitor; (b) Instant photo print within eight seconds; (c) Durability of photo for ever; (d) Anti heat, humidity and water proven; (e) Innumerable frames among the photo where 'effect' and 'text' can be depicted; f) Photo printing can be made taking from all media in the world; g) Photos deferent sizes; (1 cut to 24 cut) of a same paper can be printed; h) This latest technology possesses an extra-ordinary attribute to preserve any sort of photo, so each and every valuable document and photo can be preserved with full care. Hence digital camera, mobile phone, memory card, blue tooth, CD, pen drive and negative can be preserved in the same way.

Uttara University organises orientation for law students

Uttara University (UU) observed its orientation programme for students of the Summer Semester 2008 on Friday. The occasion was held at UU's auditorium.

The 14th batch students of Department of Law were genially received by the university.

Vice Chancellor of Uttara University Dr M Azizur Rahman was present as chief guest at the programme.

In his speech, Dr Rahman univocally stated that study of law is necessary for improvement of professionalism. Mrs Eaysmin Ara Lekha, Dean, School of Education and Physical Education and Vice President, Trustee Board, Prof AKM Mozammel Hoque, Controller or Examination and Registrar, Saiful Alam attended as special guests. Advocate Khondoker Mahbub Hossain, senior advocate, Bangladesh Supreme Court was present as guest of honour. Welcoming speech was given by Dr Md Abdul Jalil, Chairman, Department of Law. The programme was chaired by Prof Dr AB Siddique, Dean, School of Arts and Social Science.

The speakers emphasized on the quality education and appreciated the programmes offered by the university. At last, vote of thanks was presented by Syeda Afroza Zerin, Assistant Professor, Department of Law. Among others, faculty members of Depart or Law, orientation convener ASM Tariq Iqbal and Camellia Khan were present.