The New Nation - Internet Edition

South Asia has little scope for economic stimulus: WB

AFP, Tokyo

South Asian economies, still reeling from food and energy crises, have little scope to boost their economies in the face of the global financial turmoil, a World Bank official said yesterday.

South Asia is "not in a strong position to carry out counter- cyclical policies, which is what the rest of the world is trying to do," said the Bank's South Asia vice president, Isabel Guerrero.

The region is unlikely to see stimulus packages like the one unveiled by China on Sunday that is worth more than half a trillion dollars, she said.

"South Asia does not have the same resources to respond to the shock," she told reporters on a visit to Tokyo.

South Asian countries have already drained down their reserves by offering fuel subsidies. Pakistan reportedly will send a request by the end of this week for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as it struggles to secure funding from other donors to prevent the country from defaulting on its debt.

The World Bank expects growth in South Asia to fall to 5.4 percent next year, down from 6.3 percent this year.

But growth will rebound by 2010 to 7.2 percent, supported by economic giants such as India, whose "fundamentals are strong," Guerrero said. The region also includes Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives.

Guerrero was speaking ahead of a Group of 20 summit this weekend where authorities and financial bodies including the World Bank will discuss ways to respond to the current crisis.

But "we won't have all the answers (to the crisis) coming out of the G20 meeting,' she warned.

HSBC launches Young Entrepreneurs Awards 2008-2009

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Ltd in Bangladesh launched the Young Entrepreneurs Awards (YEA) 2008-2009, a business plan writing competition, for the third consecutive year at a ceremony at its new retail branch in Banani in the city yesterday.

YEA was originally launched seven years ago to encourage innovation and creativity amongst students in Hong Kong. Since that time, over 14,000 students have submitted over 5300 ideas in the competition. In 2009, students from Hongkong, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei and Bangladesh will compete in the regional final.

In 2008 over 333 teams from Bangladesh made submissions. 3 winning teams (Gold, Silver & Bronze winners) from Bangladesh were provided with an opportunity to take a weeklong study trip to Hongkong, where the gold team competed with the winners from the each of the other regions for cash prize of close to Tk 900, 000 equivalent. The team came in second while the first team in 2007 won the "Best of the Best" award at the grand finale held in Hongkong.

The competition will be held in 3 phases with students in 2-3 person teams requested to submit a business plan at YEA website (www.asiayea.com) by 11 January 2009. Following which, 30 teams will be selected for the second round and provided with a workshop on business plan writing.

They will be requested to submit their business plan by 15 March. Out of the 30 teams, 7 teams will be chosen for the final round. These teams will be provided with a second workshop on presentation skills and will be required to present in front of a panel of judges on 30 April 2009. The regional competition in Hong Kong will take place in June.

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Prakash, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC Bangladesh said that HSBC was proud to provide students with access to this regional competition and hoped that Bangladesh would continue to produce talented young entrepreneurs that could compete and win on the global stage.

Mustafizur R Khan, Head of Marketing and Communications and Syed A H Uddin, Head of Human Resources of HSBC Bangladesh also spoke on the occasion.

Members of the local winning team from the 2008 competition were also present at the event and shared their experiences of the regional competition. More information about the HSBC Young Entrepreneurs Awards competition can be found at www.asiayea.com

GP organises regional talent hunt for Special Olympics

Grameenphone Ltd, in partnership with Special Olympics Bangladesh, is organising a regional talent hunt for intellectually-challenged athletes. This was announced at a press briefing held at the Grameenphone Head Office on November 10 last.

The objective of the talent hunt is to form a 'national talent pool" of intellectually-challenged athletes and to empower them by nurturing and nourishing their sporting capabilities.

Once finalised, the national talent pool will be further groomed, nurtured and prepared for the next Special Olympics, the largest sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, in 2011.

The first regional talent hunt starts with Rajshahi division at the Rajshahi Physical Training College from 19 to 23 November, 2008.

Athletes from nine special schools, covering Rajshahi, Bogra, Pabna, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Thakurgaon, Panchagar, Nilphamari, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Natore, and Sirajganj districts, will be participating. Subsequently the talent hunt will be extended to other divisions as well.

It is expected that 150 boys and 50 girls will be participating in the talent hunt in Rajshahi under the guidance of specially trained coaches from Special Olympics Bangladesh. Simultaneously, 50 coaches are currently undergoing a six-day special training session by both local and international instructors at BKSP, Savar premises.

Syed Yamin Bakht, Director, Public Relations Division, Grameenphone, Shuvashish Priya Barua, Head of CSR, Grameenphone, Ashraf ud Dowla, Founder Chairman, Special Olympics Bangladesh, and Dr Shamim Matin Chowdhury, Chairman, Special Olympics Bangladesh were present at the press briefing.

Speaking on the occasion, the Grameenphone PR Director said that it is expected that the training would "help the athletes to become independent and to gain self confidence, so that they can not only be a part of the society in which they live, but also play an active role with their own achievements to stand upon."

Earlier in 2007, the Bangladesh Special Olympics Team, comprising of 47 participants, performed exceptionally well in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games, winning a total of 71 medals.

As the sole sponsor, Grameenphone provided necessary support and training for the athletes to participate in the Games.

It should be noted that 10 percent of the population of Bangladesh is still challenged with some form of disability or the other, and outside the initiatives of the government and a handful of private and non-profit organizations, there is very little done for the welfare of the disabled.

Special Olympics Bangladesh is a non-profit organization, accredited by Special Olympics International, and created to help people with intellectual disabilities to develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment through sports training and competition.

Malaysian co to invest $11m in Adamjee EPZ

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Messrs King Kong Leather Ware (BD) Limited, a Malaysian company will set up a leather footwear and accessories industry in the Adamjee Export Processing Zone.

This 100 percent foreign owned company will invest US$11 million in setting up its unit and will produce to export annually six lakh pairs of leather footwear and accessories products. The company will also create employment opportunity for 1,060 Bangladeshi and 10 foreign nationals.

An agreement to this effect was signed between Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and Messrs King Kong Leather Ware (BD) Limited in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka on November 10 last.

Prasanta Bhushan Barua, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and Fong Hoy Loon, Chairman of Messrs King Kong Leather Ware (BD) Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Other officials from respective organisations were present on the occasion.

Islami Bank holds workshop on simplification of forex accounting

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

A workshop on the "Simplification of Foreign Exchange Accounting" was held at Mohammad Younus Auditorium of Islami Bank Tower organized by International Banking Wing of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited.

M Fariduddin Ahmad, managing director of the bank was present as the chief guest.

Presided over by Md Habibur Rahman, deputy managing director and Head of International Banking Wing of the bank the workshop was attended by top executives and 70 officials of 22 branches of Dhaka city and Head Office related to foreign exchange business of the bank.

M Fariduddin Ahmad said in his speech that the effort to simplify Accounting process in line with the proliferation of foreign business is a time worthy step.

It is now the demand of age to implement the program as quickly as possible. He emphasised upon the methodological improvement of all functions of the bank and urged all to play role in research and development activities. Md. Habibur Rahman said in his presidential speech that with the help of modern technology all the expectations of the clients could be fulfilled. He called upon all to increase our capability with the help of technology.

A panel of four members led by Md Mahbub-ul-Alam, Executive Vice President of the bank conducted the business session in the workshop. Mahmudur Rahman, Assistant Vice President of the bank delivered the keynote discussion.

Ananda Shipyard to handover 6 vessels to Mozambique today

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Six ocean going vessels, built in Bangladesh, will be handed over to the Mozambique government today.

Ananda Shipyard and Shipways Ltd (ASSL), one of the premier ship building companies of the country, has built these ships at a cost of US$8 million. Chairman of ASSL naval architect Dr Abdullahel Bari said that the ships would be handed over to the Mozambique authorities on the premises of the shipyard at Meghnaghat under Sonargaon upazila in Narayanganj district.

Shipping Adviser Major General (Retd) MA Matin is expected to attend the handing over ceremony as the chief guest, Bari said. The six vessels, equipped with international standard machineries, have been built at a cost of eight million US dollar, he said, adding that another ship will be exported to Denmark in the first quarter of January next.

Ananda Shipyard Ltd has so far received US$373 million export orders for building 22 vessels for various countries, including Denmark, Germany and Mozambique.

Managing Director of the group Afroza Bari said, Bangladesh has been recognized as a ship-exporting country in the world with the delivery of the first of ocean going vessel on May 15 this year.

The country has already witnessed a huge employment opportunities in the ship building sector by creating confidence of the country's skilled engineers and easy training modules for the workforce, said Afroza Bari.

Reazul Karim and Ahmed Kamal promoted as DMDs in Prime Bank

M Reazul Karim, FCMA, and Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury Senior Executive Vice President have recently been promoted as Deputy Managing Directors.

Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Credit Division, Prime Bank Limited M Reazul Karim, FCMA has recently been elevated as Deputy Managing Director.

Karim has been working in the banking industry of the country for the last 25 years. He started his career with National Bank Ltd. in the year 1984. Joining Prime Bank in August 1995 Karim expanded his career in all the areas of commercial banking and handed a number of major branches of Dhaka city. Since November 2008, he has been holding the position of Head of Credit Division of the bank.

Graduated with Honors in Accounting Karim did his M Com in Accounting at Dhaka University. He is a fellow member of ICMAB. During his long banking career he underwent various training courses and participated in seminars and workshops on different aspects of banking at home and abroad.

Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Prime Bank Limited has recently been promoted as Deputy Managing Director.

An ex-student of Faujdarhat Cadet College, Chowdhury obtained BSS and MSS degree in Economics from Dhaka University. He also completed his MBA in Finance from a private university. During his long 26 years of banking career, Chowdhury worked in different capacities in international bank, specialized bank and private commercial banks operating in Bangladesh. He underwent various trainings and attended workshops and seminars at home and abroad.

Chowdhury is an active member of Rotary Club of Banani and involved with various philanthropic works of the club.

Country can earn huge foreign currency by exporting software, says BB Governor Salehuddin Ahmed

The ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC) 2008, hosted by North South University (NSU) at Dhaka Site, ended with Fudan University of China as the winner, and BUET, Dhaka University and NSU securing the second through fourth position out of a total of 82 teams.

Dr Zafar Iqbal announced the ranking of the winners. The top teams will take part in the world finals in Stockholm, Sweden in April 2009.

The BUET Vice Chancellor Dr AMM Shafiullah inaugurated the event on November 7 last at NSU campus.

Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, gave away the awards as the chief guest at the concluding ceremony at a local restaurant on November 8. The Bangladesh Bank Governor pledged that BB would support for the development of ICT based computer programming firms.

He mentioned that the country could earn huge foreign currency by exporting software and provide career and financial incentives to young and talented computer programmers.

He cited Hyderabad and Bangalore in India as examples of key software hubs. NSU Foundation Chairman MA Awal and NSU Vice Chancellor Dr Hafiz GA Siddiqi attended as special guest and guest of honor respectively. Dr M Zafar Iqbal, Shahriar Manzoor, Dr M Kaykobad and Dr Abul L Haque, Computer Science stalwarts, spoke on the occasion. NSU Foundation members MA Kashem and Mrs Yasmin Kamal were also present.

The NSU Foundation Chairman expressed his satisfaction at the rapid growth of information and communication technology in the country and the growing interest of the students in this sector. Dr Siddiqi said that Bangladesh had the potential for development, production and export of software and a contest such as this offers a chance to test knowledge and skills of budding local programmers.