The New Nation - Internet Edition

AKTEL launches discount offer

BUSINESS REPORT

AKTEL, telecommunications solution provider, on Tuesday introduced 'AKTEL Reward', a discount offer, for its customers.

Under the offer, AKTEL customers can enjoy upto 50 per cent discount at 194 partner outlets of fashion and beauty, home appliance, fitness and sports, hotel, medical services, restaurant, mega shops, and entertainment across the country, said a press release. Bidyut Kumar Basu, chief commercial officer of AKTEL, announced the launch of the offer at a press conference held in Dhaka city.

To avail the discount facility from the partner outlets, customers have to send SMS writing respective partner codes to 1213.

Bail-out 'vital to easing crisis'

BBC, Washington

Americans must support a massive bail-out of financial markets to ease a "serious financial crisis", US President George W Bush has said.

The entire economy was in danger, he said in a live TV speech, and failure to act now would cost more later.

He has invited presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama to the White House on Thursday to discuss the $700bn (£378bn) rescue package.

The rivals have disagreed on delaying a TV debate over the economic turmoil.

Mr McCain says he is suspending his campaign to help with the crisis, but Mr Obama says voters now need to hear from the candidates more than ever.

The two men will attend a meeting with administration officials and congressional representatives on Thursday morning in the US capital in a bid to broker a mutually acceptable bail-out deal.

'Distressing scenario'

Mr Bush made his comments in an evening address to the nation.

Major sectors of America's financial system were at risk of shutting down, he said, and without action a "distressing scenario" would unfold.

His administration is calling on Congress to approve a costly bail-out - under which the Treasury would use public money to buy bad debt from troubled financial institutions - as soon as possible.

But lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have voiced doubts about the plan and the speed at which they are being asked to approve it.

They want assurances that it will benefit ordinary American home-owners as well as Wall Street, and be subject to adequate oversight.

Mr Bush said he understood the frustration of "responsible Americans" who "are reluctant to pay the costs of excesses on Wall Street".

"But given the situation we're facing, not passing a bill now will cost these Americans much more later," he said, calling for a bipartisan commission to oversee the plan.

'Rise above politics'

Both of the candidates in November's presidential election have been speaking out on the issue.

Mr McCain said he was suspending his campaign to return to Washington to help agree a deal, saying he feared the rescue package would not pass "as it currently stands".

He also called for his first presidential debate with Mr Obama on Friday to be suspended - something Mr Obama did not support.

Americans needed to "hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess", Mr Obama told journalists.

The two men did, however, call for a bipartisan approach on the bail-out.

"This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country," they said in a joint statement late on Wednesday.

FDI inflows fell by 16pc in 2007: UNCTAD

BUSINESS REPORT

Inflow of Foreign Direct Investment in Bangladesh fell by 16 percent in 2007, compared to the previous year, while global FDI rose by about 30 percent, according to the World Investment Report 2008 published on Wednesday.

The annual report by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Bangladesh registered FDI worth US$ 666 million in 2007, down from US$ 793 million in 2006.

The Board of Investment launched the UNCTAD report at a press conference on Wednesday at the board's office at Motijheel in the city.

Bangladesh's ranking in inward FDI dropped one point to 121 out of 141 countries in 2006, said the report.

BoI Executive Chairman Kamaluddin Ahmed told the press that foreign investors may have focused elsewhere other than Bangladesh due to infrastructure problems mainly, gas and power.

Replying to queries, he said, "Unless the problem of gas and power is addressed the country's FDI will be affected."

The BoI is now giving priority to sectors that depends less on gas and power including ICT sector, added the BoI chief.

Dr Ismail Hossain of Jahangirnagar University who presented the report said there was political stability in the country during 2007.

"But political uncertainty about the future was a factor deterring investment," he added.

The report says Bangladesh's share in global FDI of US$ 1,833 for the year was only 3.4 percent of the 2007. The share was 4.5 percent and 5.2 percent in 2006 and 2005 respectively.

The US, UK and France received the highest FDI with China and Hong Kong leading among the Asian countries while India made as the FDI leader in South Asia.

More nations pull tainted Chinese food

CNN, Beijing

Australia, New Zealand and India have joined a growing list of countries pulling contaminated Chinese food products--everything from candy to biscuits--from store shelves.

In Vietnam, authorities have established inspection teams to test milk products, especially those from China, the Vietnam News Agency reported. The Health Ministry said inspection teams would "look into food hygiene and safety standards t involving in milk and dairy products nationwide."

Adding to the growing backlash, India's Health Ministry imposed a three-month ban on the import of Chinese milk and milk products on Wednesday.

It is the latest fallout from a tainted milk scandal that has spread around the world.

White Rabbit Creamy Candies contain unacceptable levels of the chemical melamine, New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Australian food regulators said Wednesday.

"This is a serious concern," said Sandra Daly, deputy chief executive for New Zealand's food safety agency. "We have issued a Director General's statement advising people not to eat these products as we cannot discount the likelihood of health risks resulting from the consumption of these sweets."

The candies have already been recalled in Hong Kong.

In the United Kingdom, the supermarket chain Tesco said Wednesday that it had pulled the children's sweets from store shelves over fears they contained melamine.

The problem first showed up in China in infant formula made with contaminated milk.

Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by it or other products contaminated with the chemical melamine. Four babies have died. More than a dozen countries, from Asia to Africa to Europe, have banned or recalled Chinese milk products.

The United States, meanwhile, said inspectors would expand testing for Chinese products that may contain high levels of milk or milk proteins.

In South Korea, the government banned the importation of all Chinese products containing milk after Chinese biscuits tainted with melamine were discovered in the country, a government spokesman said.

A formal announcement was expected on Thursday, but the ban went into effect Wednesday night, the spokesman for the Korean Food and Drug Safety Authority said.

The biscuits, called Me Sarang Custard, are sold under the label of a popular South Korean confectioner called Haitai but are produced in China.

Authorities in China have arrested 18 people in a nationwide investigation. They include two brothers who face charges of selling contaminated milk; the brothers could face death if convicted, according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper.

The raw milk used to produce powdered baby formula had been watered down, and the chemical melamine was added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration said its investigators had not found the Chinese infant formula in question during visits to more than 1,000 stores. They were mainly in cities with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and New York.

Meanwhile, health officials in Singapore and Indonesia announced additional recalls of products made with the contaminated milk. Products pulled from store shelves range from flavored milks and ice creams to cookies and candies

Authorities in a variety of places have stopped importing some Chinese products made from milk including Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Burundi, Gabon, Tanzania, Brunei and the Philippines.

Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.

Health experts say that ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.

GP signs landmark deal with postal department

BUSINESS REPORT

Grameenphone (GP), the country's largest mobile phone company, entered into a deal with the postal department on Wednesday to market its products and services through more than 8,000 rural post offices.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Grameenphone Anders Jensen and director general of Bangladesh Post Office (BPO) Mobasher ur Rahman signed the agreement at a city hotel on Wednesday.

Under the deal, the GP will supply over 24,000 special SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) cards to the BPO postmen working in over 8,200 post offices across the country.

The cards blend mobile recharging tool FlexiLoad with GP's voice and data products and services. The GP's health prescription service, HealthLine, and utility payment services will also be incorporated in the offer. A postman will rent the service to rural people at the existing GP tariffs and will get commission based on the amount of phone use.

Speaking on the occasion, Brigadier Gen. M.A. Malek (Rtd.) termed the deal a "landmark event" for the country's perennially losing postal department, saying it would benefit tens of thousands of poorly paid postmen.

GP CEO Anders Jensen said the partnership would 'usher in another new dimension to the services provided by the Bangladesh Post Office, particularly in the rural areas.

FOODEX Japan in March

BUSINESS REPORT

The Japan External Trade Organisation, JETRO, will facilitate the food manufacturing companies of developing countries including, Bangladesh, to participate in the FOODEX-2009 in Japan.

FOODEX, the largest food and beverage exhibition in Asia, will be held on March 3-6 next year at Makuhari Messe in Chiba of Japan. The exhibition will have a special pavilion styled JETRO Zone.

The objective of JETRO is to boost export from developing countries to Japan through providing assistance to the food companies in developing countries.

The JETRO Zone will provide each of the exhibitors from developing countries with booth decorations and equipments, and shared basis interpreters.

In addition to free consultation services by Japanese experts on Japan's food industry and seminars on the Japanese food market, JETRO will provide 70 per cent subsidy of the fee to the participating companies from the developing countries. JETRO Dhaka office has invited Bangladeshi companies to apply for participation in the fair by October 09 and get necessary information on its web address www. jetro.go. jp/ bangladesh

Consulate at Jeddah working to reduce workers plight

BSS, Dhaka

Immigration and labour officials of Saudi Arabia have assured Bangladesh consulate in Jeddah of their highest cooperation to minimise the plight of Bangladeshi workers there, an official handout said in Dhaka Sunday.

It said the labour wing of the Bangladesh consulate at Jeddah is regularly holding meetings with concerned officials to reduce workers harassment and improve the country's image to increase manpower export to Saudi Arabia.

The consulate is working even on the weekend of Friday and meeting Saudi government officials at various places where a large number of expatriate Bangladeshi workers are located.

They are largely located in Makkah, Jeddah, Medina, Tayef, Jijan, Khamis, Albaha, Nazran, Tabuk and Yarmuk, in addition to some other places. The Saudi immigration officials have given assurances of helping Bangladeshi workers to formally stay in the western part of the country.

The consulate officials are also working with senior police officials in Jeddah, Makkah, Tayef and Medina to develop closer working relation with a view to reducing the incidence of crimes and police harassment.

Contaminated Chinese milk powder found in local shops

BUSINESS REPORT

Local shops are still selling potentially tainted milk powder, an

official said, despite a ban on three Chinese brands because the products could be contaminated with melamine.

The government has banned three brands of powdered milk produced by two companies--Yashili and Suncare--at the center of a food scare which has killed four infants and sickened nearly 53,000.

Head of the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute, Azmal Hossain, told reporters that officials were scouring markets for the powder.

"Raids in cities have so far uncovered 77 boxes of the banned brands. We will keep going until we find no more," he said.

"We're worried that shops will sell the items to people who don't know about the possibility that the milk powder could be tainted."

Beijing said last week that the chemical melamine, which is used to make plastics, had been discovered in milk powder. It can make products look like they are bursting with protein but if consumed in large amounts can be lethal.

Food contamination -- often blamed for high rates of kidney disease in Bangladesh -- is common in the impoverished country, mainly due to lack of enforcement of government regulations.

Anti-adulteration drives regularly find food contaminated with fertilizer and textile and tannery dyes to speed up the ripening of fruits or to improve presentation.

Launching of online web portal Dhakabiz.com under way

BUSINESS REPORTER

The country's first real-time financial information online service, named Dhakabiz.com is going to be launched soon.

It has been created by financial news media BID (Bazaar Information and Development).

Based on a software with all modern and up-to-date feeds supported by world-class information service providers, Dhakabiz.com will provide real-time rates and prices of the world commodities like foreign currencies, call money, oil, metals, gold, rice, tea, cars etc and bring the all potential market players together through various online trading platforms.

Addressing a press conference at a city hotel, Chairman of BID Advisory Committee and also former Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Syed Ashraf Ali announced the launching of the service.

He said that it would hit the global cyber net very soon with the view to explore unlimited business opportunities for businessmen, sellers-buyers, traders, investors and consumers as a whole.

Dhakabiz.com will bring market players together through its trading platform and also bring dynamism, transparency and accountability in money, forex, real estate and commodity market of Bangladesh, he added.

Dhakabiz.com is the brain-child of Faruk Ahmed, a financial journalist, who is also the founder of BID, he further added.