The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORT

A weeklong annual forum of the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions began in the city yesterday.

Some 400 delegates including 220 experts and participants from 21 Asian countries arrived in Dhaka. Such a mega event is taking place in Dhaka after the previous forum in Bangladesh's capital in 1994.

Former adviser and renowned economist Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud inaugurated the three-day workshop sessions of the forum at Hotel Sheraton.

The inaugural day session conducted workshops on four potential cooperative issues--CEO, HRD, Youth and Women.

The main forum will take place on between September 26 and 28 at the same venue.

Theme of the forum this year is "Credit Union Growing to New Heights-Better Choices, Better Organization and Better Community."

"The annual event will bring together leading credit union experts and participants from a broad range of fields, to give a fresh look strategies enabling credit unions to present better choices," said Oh-man Kwon President and Ranjit Hettiarachchi CEO of the AACCU.

About AACCU

Since its birth in 1971, Bangkok-based AACCU affiliated more than 16,000 credit unions. With 20.5 million individual members in 26 countries in the region along with 17 affiliates, promoting credit unionism in Asia, AACCU deals $60 billion worth assets and deposits.

In Bangladesh

The Cooperative Credit Union League of Bangladesh Limited CCULB represents AACCU in Bangladesh. As a federation CCULB coordinates 413 cooperatives, across the country, having 1,80,000 members and it dealt Tk 260 crore worth assets and Tk 150 crore deposits in 2007.