The New Nation - Internet Edition

GP CellBazaar launches voice based service

BUSINESS REPORT

CellBazaar, an innovative market-access service from Grameenphone Ltd, is launching a voice platform to enhance both CellBazaar Service proposition and user convenience.

Using Grameenphone CellBazaar, buyers and sellers would be able to trade basic goods (e.g. rice, motorcycle, electronics, etc.) through their mobile phones.

Expatriate remittances hit record in July: BB

BUSINESS REPORT

Remittances sent home by expatriate Bangladeshis hit a new record of $829.5 million in July, up from $567.11 million a year earlier, Bangladesh Bank said yesterday.

Remittances totalled $7.94 billion in the 2007-08 financial year that ended in June, a 32.8 per cent rise over the previous fiscal year.

Booming economies in the Middle East and the Gulf region, as well as an ageing population in European countries and the improving skills of Bangladeshi workers were driving demand for Bangladeshi labour, officials said.

The strong growth in remittances also helped keep the country's overall balance of payments in surplus.

The Bangladesh Bank expects the inflow of remittances to touch an annual $10 billion in the current financial year, boosting a key source of foreign exchange for the country.

Bangladesh has been making vigorous efforts to encourage expatriates to send money home through legal channels, officials said.

Remittances from more than 5 million Bangladeshis are the country's second-biggest source of foreign income after ready-made garments, which earned $10.7 billion in 2007-08.

The majority of the expats work in the Middle East, the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

StanChart pre-tax profits up by 31pc to $2.59 billion : Income also up by 33pc to $6.99b in first

half

BUSINESS REPORT

Standard Chartered PLC on Wednesday delivered another record performance for the first half year ended June 30, 2008 with operating profit before tax (OPBT) rising 31 per cent to US$2.59 billion and operating income increasing 33 per cent to US$6.99 billion. Normalised earnings per share increased 19.6 per cent to 120.4 cents. The Board on Wednesday declared an interim dividend of 25.67 cents per share, up 11 per cent.

Growth in underlying income accelerated to 28 per cent, up from 23 per cent in 2007. The performance was a result of the disciplined investments made in its core markets over the last few years with 85 per cent of the operating income growth now coming from organic businesses. Both Wholesale and Consumer Banking businesses showed strong income momentum delivering over $3 billion of revenue each.

Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive, said: "I am very proud of what we have achieved in terms of both financial performance and strategic progress, despite the turmoil in financial markets. The Bank is in great shape-we are strongly positioned to weather the economic uncertainties and superbly placed to capture opportunities."

Most of the key markets in the Standard Chartered network delivered strong performance. Hong Kong, the Group's largest market, increased pre-tax profits by 28 per cent; India, now the second largest market, by 89 per cent; Singapore by 55 per cent; Africa by 41 per cent; and UAE 65 per cent. Seven of the nine markets delivered pre-tax profit growth in excess of 25 per cent, and four at over 40 per cent.

The Group's key markets in Asia continued to enjoy robust economic growth underpinned by resilient domestic demand and increased intra-regional trade flows. The African economies continued to leverage off Asian economic growth and commodity demand, while the Middle East region continued to benefit from the high oil price and ample liquidity.

Wholesale Banking delivered an outstanding performance with pre-tax profit jumping 38 per cent. A feature of these results is the breadth and diversity of the Wholesale Banking business, which whether viewed by product, by customer segment or by geography, is firing on all cylinders. The deal pipeline was strong as the Bank entered the second half. The number of clients generating over $5 million income increased by 60 per cent in the first half.

Consumer Banking delivered good income growth of 15 per cent while expenses grew 22 per cent, reflecting the Bank's strong investment programme in the franchise, resulting in pre-tax profit rising two per cent. Underlying double digit income growth of 10 per cent was underpinned by continued strong growth in SME and Wealth Management.

Richard Meddings, Group Director Finance, said: "These results reflect the benefits of the significant investments we have made in our key markets and businesses in recent years, together with the value of a clear and consistent strategy.

Our growth is broad-based, not concentrated on one region or business, and we have shown great resilience in uncertain times."

The Bank's capital and liquidity position remained strong with Tier I capital at the top end of the target range at 8.5 per cent and total capital at 14.9 per cent. Almost 23 per cent of the balance sheet was held in liquid assets, and the Bank was a net lender in the inter bank market as at June 30.

The acquisition of American Express Bank was completed earlier in February and 24 of the 48 markets were legally amalgamated in the first half. The Bank is on course to deliver in excess of the $100 million a year of cost savings we had initially expected, and double digit return on investment by 2009.

Emergency rule boosts garment exports: EPB

BUSINESS REPORT

Country's ready-made garment exports are booming thanks to a new, stable business climate under the country's state of emergency, officials said yesterday.

The exports of knitted and woven items rose by nearly 17 per cent to a record US$10.7 billion in the financial year to June 2008.

"We had an image as a strike-prone country. Buyers from all over the world used to worry a lot about whether our manufacturers could meet shipment deadlines," a senior official of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said.

"But the state of emergency brought much-needed stability as there have been hardly any strikes," he said.

The garment export growth rate in the last financial year was up only marginally from the previous year's 16 per cent rise.

But industry officials said the headline figure masks a big achievement considering exports fell 5.37 per cent in the first quarter of the last financial year, amid concern about the country's political outlook.

It took a while for buyers to realise that Bangladesh could be a stable supplier of garments and after that "export orders jumped," the official said.

"To buyers, stability means a lot," said Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez, President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), having 4,200 factories.

The BGMEA chief said global buyers -- mainly from the US and the European Union -- started looking towards Bangladesh from October.

Exports leapt by 51 per cent year-on-year in January and by more than 20 percent in the other months until the end of the financial year.

A state of emergency was imposed in Bangladesh in January 2007, banning strikes after months of bitter political and industrial unrest that left dozens killed and closed factories and ports.

The military-backed government has promised elections in December 2008 after it completes political, electoral and economic reforms.

Garment industry officials said they hoped the industrial climate would remain stable after democracy is restored.

Constant general strikes paralysed the country amid a duel between the country's two main rival political parties, Awami League and the BNP, before the imposition of emergency rule.

The garment trade accounts for 40 per cent of all industrial jobs in Bangladesh, with women making up more than 80 percent of the workforce.

Garments, which make up three-quarters of the impoverished country's export earnings, helped boost total exports by 16 percent to a record 14.11 billion dollars in the last financial year.

WFP to give 9,000 tonnes of rice to poor in Bangladesh

BUSINESS REPORT

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) will distribute some 9,000 tonnes of rice worth $7.9 million among 100,000 of Bangladesh's poorest people over the next six months, a WFP official said on Wednesday.

"The programme for food distribution among 100,000 ultra-poor people is entirely financed by the government of Japan," said WFP spokesman Enamul Haque.

The programme will cover areas prone to floods, riverbank erosion, coastal cyclones and tidal surges.

In 2007, Japan contributed more than $70 million to the WFP in Bangladesh, a WFP statement said.

Warid signs corporate deal with IFIC Bank

Warid Telecom on Wednesday signed an agreement with IFIC Bank to provide complete telecommunication services under its corporate package.

Under the agreement, IFIC Bank will enjoy customised call tariff and value added services of the Warid Telecom which would keep the users of the bank one step ahead of others in receiving telecommunication services and also help them deliver telecommunication-based services to customers efficiently.

Deputy Managing Director of IFIC Bank Mohammad Abdullah and General Manager (Sales) of Warid Telecom Mahboob Hossain signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations at the Corporate Head Office of Warid Telecom in the city.

Muneer Farooqui, Chief Executive Officer of Warid Telecom, Mohammad Lutfar Rahman (Badal), Chairman of IFIC Bank, Mosharraf Hossain, Managing Director of the bank, Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, General Manager and Fayyaz A Sheikh, Adviser to Warid Telecom were also present during the signing ceremony.

Muneer Farooqui thanked IFIC Bank authorities for choosing Warid telecom's services to meet their telecommunication needs. "We hope users in IFIC Bank would enjoy our high-quality services at a very competitive price,' he said.

Lauding Warid Telecom for its quality services, IFIC Bank Chairman Lutfar Rahman said the crystal clear sound of the telecom company and almost zero call-drop will facilitate them provide better services to their customers.

Since its commercial operation in Bangladesh in May 10, 2007, Warid Telecom, which invested US$500 million to establish the state-of-art Next Generation Network (NGN), has acquired over 3 million subscribers through spreading its network to 64 districts. Warid has aggressive plans to further invest and roll out extensive coverage across Bangladesh.

Auditors' Institute holds seminar on National Budget 08-09

The Institute of Internal Auditors of Bangladesh (IIAB) held a CPE seminar on Wednesday on changes of fiscal policies from the Finance Ordinance 08-09. The Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) attended the seminar as the chief guest while representatives from the government offices and corporate houses were present along with the members of the institute.

President of IIAB Raihan Shamsi opened the session while A Khalek, Finance Director of Berger Paints BD Ltd presented the keynote paper.

NBR chief Muhammad Abdul Mazid underscored the need of awareness of the members on the latest fiscal regulations which help ensuring the right level of compliance both at individual and corporate levels.

The IIAB is an affiliate of the US-based IIA Inc, a global organization having more than 1,50,000 professional members in 165 countries around the world dedicated to contribute to the development of internal audit practice toward good corporate governance.

Kohinoor Chemical launches Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner

BUSINESS REPORT

Kohinoor Chemical Company (Bangladesh) Ltd, one of the leading toiletries and cosmetics manufacturing companies of the country, yesterday launched a new product-Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner.

The product "Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner" was formally launched at a function at the National Press Club yesterday.

Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, Editor-in-Chief, the Daily Manabzamin was the chief guest at the launching programme, while Senior Vice-President of the company Altaf Hossain, Director (Corporate Affairs) MA Khair and Assistant Vice President of the Brand Golam Kibria Sarkar, among others, were present.

Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner is the latest addition to the wide range of products of Kohinoor Chemical Company Ltd. With 100 per cent extra power LABSA and special inorganic chemical (SIC), it removes tough stains, kills germs and eliminates the sources of bad odor from ceramic commode/pan/urine and basin. Its brood-spectrum chemical blend enhances the cleaning performance as an effective toilet cleaner.

Clean Master causes no harm to septic to septic tank or the natural environment. Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner is available in 500ml standard plastic container at retail price of Tk 50. A 200gm Xpert Dishwash Powder is available along with each Clean Master Liquid Toilet Cleaner as a gift for consumers.

'Chef of the Year-2008' Competition: Malaysian Palm Oil Council becomes title sponsor

BUSINESS REPORT

Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Bangladesh Monitor at the office of the later yesterday to become the Title Sponsor of 'Chef of the Year-2008' competition.

A K M Fakhrul Alam, Regional Manager, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar Malaysian Palm Oil Council and Kazi Wahidul Alam, Editor, The Bangladesh Monitor signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.

Kazi Wahidul Alam said, "We are very happy to have a renowned organisation like Malaysian Palm Oil Council as the Title Sponsor for the second consecutive year. It had added a new dimension to the competition, being organised by us for the fourth time in a row."

A. K. M. Fakhrul Alam said, "We are pleased to join hands with The Bangladesh Monitor for a popular competition, as it will provide us with exposure to the end users, the housewives and the professional chefs."

The Bangladesh Monitor, the premier travel journal of the country, as in the last three years, is the Lead Organiser of the Competition.

The final round of the Competition and the award presentation ceremony of the "Chef of the Year-2008" Competition will be held at a city hotel in November 2008.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh gets new Head of Consumer Banking

Sandeep Bose has recently been appointed as the Head of Consumer Banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh. Sandeep has 15 years of experience in Finance, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking at various locations of Standard Chartered in the Middle East and Asia.

A Chartered Accountant by profession, he initiated the SME business at Standard Chartered and ran the SME business for Middle East and South Asia for last two years, based in Dubai. "I am happy to be here, at Standard Chartered, we believe that there are a lot of opportunities for growth in Bangladesh, personally I would like to take our leadership position in Consumer Banking to a whole new level through continuous product innovations and customer centric approaches. "

Sandeep, a Singaporean citizen, having his roots in Bangladesh is happily married with two sons.

DIU 1st Business Festival 2008 begins

For the first time a three-day unique and distinguished festival began yesterday at Daffodil International University (DIU) in the city.

Faculties of Business and Economics, DIU and Career Development Center (CDC), both together serving over a five thousand students, have partnered to bring the heights of excitement to the Summer 2008.

DIU 1st Business Festival 2008 has a great significance to all of us. In order to make this festival successful, it has been divided into several events, like Business Plan Competition (Young Entrepreneurs' Fair), Business Quiz Competition, Business Case Competition, Workshop on 'Presentation Skills', Seminar of 'Student Volunteerism and Reduction of Hazardous Child-Labor', a Panel Discussion on "Career Planning" with distinguished and renowned personalities from our business arena and so on. These events are expected to play a significant role for the development of the students to be most effective and role personnel in future. The question may raise, why these are the events include at this festival? Why, other business concerns are not going to consider here? If we go for the reasoning, the answers will be as follows.

Firstly, if we consider the importance of Business Case Analysis, we can easily find that a good business case helps to make right decisions and avoid horrible waste. The vast majority of unsuccessful projects fail not because of poor project management, but because of poor decisions with respect to the choice of projects. Our students, though they are not professional yet, will try to solve some business cases and give us their feedback logically, what they think about the mentioned situations. In one side, it will help students to think about a situation or matter in different dimensions; in another side, it will develop the students' analytical skill to present the answers systematically.

There is a fallacy that a business case is a thick tedious manuscript, written by professional consultants in an incomprehensible language. It's printed on high-quality paper stock and placed onto the top shelf of an executive's office to be used as a breeding ground for dust bunnies. This is not a business case; this is a disaster.

The sole role of a business case is that of a communication tool, composed in a language that the target audience understands and with enough detail to facilitate decision making on his or her part. There's -no magic formula when it comes to the size of a business case. The size is irrelevant. What is relevant is that the business case provides all the necessary information to

- make the job of the decision maker possible. So, A Business Case is a persuasive and compelling argument advocating a course of action intended to achieve one or more business objectives. A well-crafted business case proves to readers that the recommended action is the best option to pursue. As its name implies, a business case presents a definite point of view.

To put it simply, a business case is the body of facts' and evidence presented to senior management to support a recommended course of action. Generally, a business case is prepared when a major change in policy, direction, technology, etc. is proposed.

A business case consists of a thorough analysis of business needs, opportunities, threats, and options developed for senior management's consideration and decision. This includes clear identification of proposed benefits (both quantitative and qualitative), cost-benefit analyses, risk analyses, alternative and sensitivity analyses, and return on investment (RO) calculations. So, we think, this event will play a significant role in this festival for our business students and upcoming leaders in this society by which they can take the best decision in their professional and academic career.

Secondly, a business plan is simply a resume for proposed business. Its primary importance is that a business plan becomes a calling and system anyone is going in to talk to a property manager about leasing space for the business, or are meeting with a potential lender or investor, the business plan will announce/outline who the person is and what is the purpose.

In most cases, a business plan is created to explain and illustrate the vision, have for the business, and to persuade others to help entrepreneur achieve that vision. To accomplish this, the plan will need to demonstrate on paper that a person has a firm visualization of what the business is going to be. It needs to convince others that the business concept can be successful, and that the entrepreneur possesses the expertise-alone or collectively-to assure that it will be both successful and profitable.

While it is obviously important to be able to present the business concept in a way that allows others to understand quickly and precisely what the entrepreneur hopes to be doing, need to develop a business plan for the entrepreneur own use. The process of developing a business plan will require focusing on exactly what the person is trying to achieve, precisely where the entrepreneur wants to be going, and exactly how planning to get there. It will force the person to detail the many expenses involved to open the business, the projected sales and monthly expenses of actual operation, and the volume of business the entrepreneur will need to geflerate to meet obligations.

As a result, our students are going to prepare the business plan, submit the plan and will try to implement the project virtually through the entrepreneurs' fair. We will then go for the judgment based on four: criteria, the plan idea (business idea), deliberation, presentation skills and total outlook of the stall, will determine' the best three teams.

Thirdly, the business quiz competition will help the students to gain basic knowledge of different business fields like management, marketing, accounting, finance, human resources and general knowledge of current business affairs. This competition' will be very much beneficial for the participants to build their confidence, exercise the business knowledge, show the ability with constraint time, prepare them as optimistic individuals and update the knowledge on different business aspects. .

Next, the workshop on "Presentation skill" wilt be very much effective for our students, who need to develop their skill to deliver their knowledge towards the target audiences. As a student of business, this skill has the significant role for developing the career in future. We add this event here considering the importance of this skill in this 2151 century business environment. As business graduates, if individuals fail to present themselves and fail to negotiate with proper manner, business may not be -flourishing with competitive pace.

Another most important event of this festival is the panel discussion on Career Planning with the leaders of different sectors and industry, The students will enjoy the discussion about the prospects and opportunities for the future leaders (upcoming graduates) from the leaders of different sectors. Afterwards, there will be a question and answer session, where the managerial leaders will answer the questions of our students on their career planning. This panel discussion will provide the realistic and holistic information to the students by which they will choose their actual fitted field of profession after their graduation.

Overall, DIU 151 Business Festival 2008 is going to inspire and motivate our students for further development and try to make them serious on their study which has the great importance for future career. This is the festival to create awareness among the students, do something effective for future development, motivate and encourage everyone for doing the best, and prepare our students by which they can compete in this fast moving business world .