The New Nation - Internet Edition

Taiwanese co to invest Tk 150cr at KEPZ

BUSINESS REPORT

Messrs Greenland Footwear (BD) Limited, a Taiwanese company will set up a footwear manufacturing industry in the extension area (CSD) of Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone.

This 100 per cent foreign-owned company will invest about Taka 150 crore in setting up their plant and will manufacture 3,600,000 pairs of finished shoes and footwear annually to export abroad. The company will also create employment opportunity for 3,540 Bangladeshi and 40 foreign nationals.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the Messrs Greenland Footwear (BD) Limited in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka on August 10.

Prasanta Bhushan Barua, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Yu Cheng Hsing, Managing Director of Messrs Greenland Footwear (BD) Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Brig General Jamil Ahmed Khan, ndc, psc, Executive Chairman of BEPZA and other officials from respective organizations were present on the occasion.

No decision yet on appointing MDs of three Petrobangla cos

BUSINESS REPORT

A committee of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has submitted a report regarding the expiry of tenures of the contracts of three managing directors and directors of three major companies under the Petrobangla.

In its report, the committee recommended re-appointing the eligible managing directors and directors or to appoint new MDs and directors in order to bring fresh leadership to these companies.

According to the conditions of Clean Fuel Project of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), three managing directors and six directors were given appointment to Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd (TGTDCL), Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL) and Gas Transmission Company Ltd (GTCL) at higher salaries for five years on November 7, 2003. The contracts of their services are going to expire only after three months. If the government wants to give fresh appointments in place of these managing directors and directors, it will require minimum four months to complete the process of publishing advertisements in the newspapers as well as other processes. But, the government has only three months in hands to renew the contracts or to give fresh appointments. The government is yet to take any concrete decision in this regard.

Earlier, a committee headed by joint secretary (administration) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources was formed by the government to review the performances of the existing managing directors and directors in running the administration in their respective companies. The committee has recently submitted its report to the Special Adviser to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

A senior official of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources told The New Nation that they had received the report of the committee. "We're yet to take any decision in this regard," the official said expressing anonymity.

However, the official said the ministry concerned would take a decision in this regard very soon.

The official further said that there were scopes of extension of the tenures of services of the competent managing directors and directors according to the recommendations of the committee. "We're unable to disclose anything else in this regard right now."

The contractual appointments of three managing directors and six directors to these three companies led to serious anomalies regarding the salaries and allowances in the companies, because the managing directors under the contractual appointments have been receiving facilities worth Tk 1.5 lakh including basic salary of Tk 50,000 to Tk 60,000 although the managing directors of other companies under the Petrobangla get less than one-fourths of the benefits.

Prime Bank opens 64th branch in C'nawabganj

BUSINESS REPORT

Prime Bank Limited opened its 64th branch on August 10 in Chapainawabganj. Nasiruddin Ahmed, Acting Managing Director of the bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest.

While inaugurating the 64th branch at Chapainawabganj Nasiruddin Ahmed mentioned that Prime Bank opened the branch as a part of its programme of extending its quality banking services to every corner of Bangladesh.

He emphasised that a country like Bangladesh could only prosper when its economic activities flourish everywhere. Prime Bank is expanding its network of branches to contribute in the economic development of the country.

Acting Managing Director Nasiruddin Ahmed in his speech said that Prime Bank believed in the economic emancipation of mass people of the country and keeping that view in mind the bank had introduced several customised solutions for their welfare. People of all tiers of the society could avail these products and services particularly the small investors under SME category.

He recalled that continuous support of the stakeholders who have encouraged the Board and the Management of the bank to take prudent decisions which has tremendously contributed towards its present envious position in the banking industry. The bank is based on sound fundamentals' and this has helped the bank to earn "AA" rating which is unique among the local banks.

Md Jasim Uddin, SEVP, Khondaker Iqbal Hossain, SEVP of the bank, and a large number of local elite, clients and businessmen were present on the occasion.

SIFY Technologies appoints Innosol

Associates as exclusive agent Sify Technologies, India's pioneer and leader in Internet, Networking and e-Commerce services, and the first Indian Internet company to be listed on the Nasdaq National Market in the US, has appointed Innosol Associates as its exclusive agent in Bangladesh. Innosol Associates is a sister concern of Ice Technologies and Brightstar Telecom.

Sify is among the largest managed enterprise and consumer Internet Services companies in India, offering end-to-end solutions with a comprehensive range of products delivered over a common telecom data network infrastructure reaching 500+ cities and towns in India.

Sify is recognized as an ISO 9001:2000 certified service provider for network operations, data center operations and customer support, and for provisioning of VPNs, Internet bandwidth, VoIP solutions and integrated security solutions, and ISO 27001 certified for Internet Data Center operations. The company is India's first enterprise managed services provider to launch a Security Operations Center (SOC) to deliver managed security services. A host of blue chip customers use Sify's corporate service offerings.

Consumer services include broadband home access, dial up connectivity and the e-port cyber cafe chain across 180 cities and towns. Sify.com the consumer portal of Abhijit Barua, Head of Strategy of Sify Technologies, signs the agreement with Babar Huda Managing Director of Innosol Associates

Textile workers to get 20 pc wage rise

BUSINESS REPORT

Workers in the country's export-oriented knitwear manufacturing factories will get a pay rise by about 20 per cent from next month due to increases in the cost of essentials.

"The decision was approved today in the board meeting of our association to reduce the sufferings of the workers and also to raise the productivity of them," said Mohammad Fazlul Haque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).

Knitwear is the largest export earner of Bangladesh, employing 800,000 workers in more than 1,500 factories, he said.

Earnings from knitwear garments in the July-June period of the 2007-08 fiscal year grew 21.5 per cent to $5.53 billion, 1.24 per cent above the target.

"The enhancement will have a new pressure for us, but we want a peaceful atmosphere in factories so that our production is not hampered and can sustain growth," Fazlul Haque told at the news conference.

The country exports surged 15.87 per cent to $14.11 billion in the 2007-08 fiscal year from a year earlier, thanks to a rise in clothing sales, officials said.

During the fasting month of Ramadan shops would be opened in knitwear industrial districts selling food items such as rice, pulses, edible oil, sugar, onion and milk at less than the market price, Fazlul Haque said.

Essential prices have nearly doubled in the country over the past year and may rise further during Ramadan, starting early September.

Fazlul Haque said that if the government could ensure smooth supplies of electricity and natural gas along with other infrastructure and related supporting facilities, it would be possible to raise export growth by nearly 18 per cent to $6.5 billion in the current fiscal year to June 2009.

Grameenphone signs deal with Dutch-Bangla Bank

Grameenphone Ltd has recently signed an agreement with Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd (DBBL) for collection of the distributors' payments through DBBL online branches all over the country.

Md Arif AI Islam, CFO of Grameenphone and Moyen Uddin Ahmed, EVP and Head of Card Division of DBBL, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Md. Mainur Rahman Bhuiya, Head of Treasury Operations, H M Nazmul Ahad, DGM, Nasim Imran Ahmed, Manager, Mirza Ashfaq Ahmad, DM of Finance Division, Grameenphone Ltd, and SM Jahangir Akhter, VP and Head of IT, Shafkat Rana, FAVP, Shahajada Basunia, FAVP of DBBL, along with other senior executives of both organisations were present on the occasion.

Aktel signs deal with Fairway Automobiles

AKTEL, country's one of the largest telecom service provider has recently signed an agreement with the Fairway Automobiles (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture automobile company between Fairway Group of Bangladesh and New Asia group of Pakistan.

Jefri Tambi, Managing Director and CEO of AKTEL and Ms Zarka Banu, Chairman of Fairway Automobiles (Pvt) Ltd, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Being a leading cellular service provider, AKTEL has always been clearly ahead by offering its customers with unique products and services. With more than 800 corporate houses in Bangladesh, AKTEL is known for its compatible products, competitive price, better call quality, friendly customer services with unequivocally best network. AKTEL's Group Talk Plan (GTP) offered for its corporate clients are among the most cost effective. Currently, AKTEL offers GSM digital cellular services in all divisional headquarters, major districts and cities throughout Bangladesh.

Under the agreement, Fairway Automobiles (Pvt.) Ltd has taken a complete Corporate Solution including SMS push pull service. It is noteworthy to mention that AKTEL has already opened Nineteen Customer Care Centers and installed more than 500 AKTEL Touch Points (ATP) around he country apart from traditional outlets and also in process to open many more in the coming days.

At the signing ceremony, Bidyut Kumar Basu, Chief Commercial Officer of AKTEL, Muhammed Binyamini, Managing Director of Fairway Automobiles (Pvt) Ltd were also present along with other senior officials from both the company.

The Ogilvy Group: Miles Young to succeed Shelly Lazarus as CEO

BUSINESS REPORT

WPP Group has announced that Miles Young, Chairman of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide Asia Pacific, has been appointed global CEO of The Ogilvy Group, succeeding Shelly Lazarus who has led the company for 11 years. Ms. Lazarus will remain Chairman of The Ogilvy Group. Both appointments become effective from January 1, 2009.

Miles Young, 53, is one of Ogilvy's stellar performers. For the past 13 years, he has run Ogilvy in Asia Pacific, building it into the clear industry leader in the world's fastest growing region, consistently outperforming all competitors in terms of creative recognition.

Under his leadership, Ogilvy has seen phenomenal development in scale and creativity across all marketing disciplines: in India and China as market leaders; in Japan as a prominent player; and with strong success in Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, not forgetting the creative powerhouse of Ogilvy's Singapore hub.

Mr. Young was also responsible for consolidating Ogilvy's South Asia presence and opening the Dhaka office in March of this year.

Miles Young's background is in both advertising and direct marketing. He is a champion of multi-disciplinary marketing, of integrated offerings--a philosophy that drives Ogilvy's brand-building business practice, 360 Degree Brand Stewardship®.

In making the announcement, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said, "Miles brings to the role of CEO a deep understanding, not only of European and Asian markets, but also of the role that new technologies--and integrated thinking-bring to our business."

Mr. Young is a graduate of Oxford University where he gained a first class degree in history. He has lectured and written widely on integrated marketing, a special interest.

Shariah Council meeting of Meghna Life Insurance held

The meeting of Shariah Council of Meghna Life Insurance Co Ltd was held at its head office in the city recently.

Mufti Nuruddin, Khatib (C.C), Baitul Mukarram National Mosque and newly elected Chairman, Shariah Council of Meghna Life Insurance presided over the meeting.

Former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Mohammed Abdur Rouf, Principal of Madrasa-e-Alia, Khulna, Moulana Mohammed Saleh, Principal of Islamia Alia Madrasa, Comilla and Mohtamim of Charmonai Qaumi Madrasa, Barisal-Moulana Mohammad Nurul Huda Fayazi, Chairman of Islamic Studies Department of South East University Dr Moulana MA Faruque, Chairman of Meghna Life Insurance Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Managing Director Ekramul Ameen, FCA, Senior Executive Director Mohammed Nurul Islam, Senior General Manager Abu Bakar Siddik Sohel and Muraqib Mufti Muhammad Amimul Ehsan were also present at the meeting.

Nasir Uddin Ahmed elected Vice-Chairman of Karnaphuli Insurance

Nasir Uddin Ahmed has been elected as the vice chairman of Karnaphuli Insurance Co Ltd for the next two years. It was declared at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the company held recently.

Nasir Uddin Ahmed is a Director and convener of Investment Committee of Meghna Life Insurance Co. Ltd. He passed BBA and completed training courses on Insurance from Bangladesh Insurance Academy. He is a Rotarian of Rotary Club of Dhaka Midtown. He visited many countries like Japan, Hong Kong, China, Oman, Russia and Ukraine.