The New Nation - Internet Edition

World financial crisis set to cut remittances to Bangladesh

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Country's millions of people will be hit by an expected downturn in remittances because of the global financial crisis, experts warn.

Some five million Bangladeshis work abroad, mostly in the Middle East, in healthcare, engineering, domestic service and manual labour.

"We won't feel the blow of the cut in overseas employment immediately, but after two to three years remittances will definitely dry up if no major changes take place," Syed Ashraf Ali, former executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, said.

Although foreign workers make up just 2.8 percent of the population, they contribute more than 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Remittances are Bangladesh's second-biggest source of foreign income after ready-made garments, which earned US$10.7 billion in the last fiscal year.

"Remittances are like a goldmine for Bangladesh, playing a key role for stability in the balance of payments and mitigating unemployment problems here," said economist Atiur Rahman, chairman of Shamunnoy, an NGO. "We will be in deep crisis if remittances are destroyed."

Remittances at $10 billion

Bangladeshis working abroad sent home $7.5 billion in the first 10 months of 2008, up 37 percent on the same period a year earlier.

The central bank expects the inflow of remittances to reach $10 billion in the current financial year (July 2008-June 2009).

But as the global financial crisis worsens, those figures will likely decrease, as major labour markets reduce their quotas.

"Signs are there that the demand for Bangladeshi labour will drastically slide in the Middle and Far Eastern countries," Jahangir Kabir Chowdhury, a leading recruiting agent, said adding that Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, two major employers of Bangladesh migrant labour, had already slashed their quota for Bangladesh from September.

At a recent conference in Dhaka, Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned that the ongoing global economic slowdown would further affect remittances to third world countries, including Bangladesh, where approximately 38 percent of inhabitants live below the poverty line.

While there are no exact figures on how many people will be affected, throughout Bangladesh at least one family in every village is dependent on regular remittances to survive.

Citing International Labour Organisation (ILO) statistics, Supachai said the financial crisis would raise global unemployment by 20 million in 2009 and push 40 million people into extreme poverty.

Globally, migrant workers remitted $250 billion in 2008, he said.

Saudi Arabia tops the list of remittances to Bangladesh followed by the USA, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Iran, Hong Kong, UK, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Italy and South Korea.

About three million Bangladeshis living in the Middle East send approximately 70 percent of all remittances.

According to the statistics for the latest fiscal year, Bangladesh received about 27 percent of its remittances from the US and European countries.

The number of workers who went abroad for jobs in 2000-2005 ranged between 180,000 and 250,000, while about 380,000 workers left in 2006 and 832,000 in 2007, according to the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training.

Today 1.5 million wage earners live in Saudi Arabia alone.

Bangladesh stands fifth among the top remittance recipient countries in the world.

Prime Finance wins SAFA Award

Prime Finance & Investment Limited, one of the leading merchant banks and financial institutions, has been adjudged Runner Up and won Silver Award 2007.

The awards are conferred on the basis of evaluation administered by SA FA's Committee on improvement, transparency, accountability and governance of the Published Annual Report of Listed Companies from South Asian Countries.

Md. Akter Hossain Sannamat FCA, Fes, Managing Director of the company received the Award at a ceremony held on November 15, 2008 in Hyderabad, India.

Prime Finance brought this honour for Bangladesh by winning the most coveted SAFA Award, which benchmarks all financial institutions in SAARC region. Prime Finance wins such prestigious award for the third successive year since its listing with the stock exchanges in 2005.

Prime Finance provides comprehensive investment and financial solutions in an integrated manner with a wide range of services which include lease finance, term finance, real estate finance, SME finance, bridge finance, syndicate finance, public issue of securities, underwriting of shares, portfolio management, margin loan, share trading and corporate financial services including merger and amalgamation. Moreover, Prime Finance also offers different deposit schemes such as Housing Deposit, Fortune DPS, Annual Income Deposit, Monthly Income Deposit, Cumulative Income Deposit and Double Income Deposit. Prime Finance gave 40 percent stock dividend to its shareholders for the financial year 2007.

'Waterproof' rice to tackle crop loss in Bangladesh

WASHINGTON: "Waterproof" versions of popular varieties of rice, which can withstand 2 weeks of complete submergence, have successfully passed tests in farmers' fields in India and Bangladesh, and can tackle the problem of major crop losses due to flooding.

The flood-tolerant versions of the "mega-varieties" of rice, which are high-yielding varieties popular with both farmers and consumers that are grown over huge areas across Asia, are effectively identical to their susceptible counterparts, but recover after severe flooding to yield well.

Several of these varieties are now close to official release by national and state seed certification agencies in India and Bangladesh, where farmers suffer major crop losses because of flooding of up to 4 million tons of rice per year. This is enough rice to feed 30 million people.

The new varieties were made possible following the identification of a single gene that is responsible for most of the submergence tolerance.

Thirteen years ago, Dr David Mackill, senior rice breeder at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), then at the University of California (UC) at Davis, and Kenong Xu, his graduate student, pinpointed the gene in a low-yielding traditional Indian rice variety known to withstand flooding.

Xu subsequently worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Pamela Ronald, a UC Davis professor, and they isolated the specific gene, called Sub1A, and demonstrated that it confers tolerance to normally intolerant rice plants. Dr Ronald's team showed that the gene is switched on when the plants are submerged.

"Sub1A effectively makes the plant dormant during submergence, allowing it to conserve energy until the floodwaters recede," according to Dr Julia Bailey-Serres, a geneticist from UC Riverside, who is leading the work to determine exactly how Sub1A confers flood tolerance.

Typically, rice plants will extend the length of their leaves and stem in an attempt to escape submergence.

The Sub1A gene is an evolutionarily new gene in rice found in only a small proportion of the rice varieties originating from eastern India and Sri Lanka.

The activation of this gene under submergence counteracts the escape strategy.

"The potential for impact is huge. "In Bangladesh, for example, 20 per cent of the rice land is flood prone and the country typically suffers several major floods each year," said Dr Mackill.

"Submergence-tolerant varieties could make major inroads into Bangladesh's annual rice shortfall and substantially reduce its import needs," he added.

DBBL opens 58th branch at Beani Bazar in Sylhet

Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has opened its 58th Branch at Beani Bazar, Sylhet (Zaman Plaza, Beani Bazar) on November 19 with Truly On-line Banking facilities from the very opening day of the branch.

The Branch was inaugurated by Md. Yeasin Ali, Managing Director of the Bank. Ali also opened 5 ATM booths at different locations of Biani Bazar town including one at the Branch premises to facilitate round-the-clock banking services to the customers - like cash withdrawal, balance enquiry, mini-statement, payments of utility bills etc.

The opening ceremony started with a Milad-Mahfil seeking blessings of the Almighty Allah for successful operation of the Branch, prosperity of the business community, depositors of the bank and stakeholders.

The distinguished guests of inaugural ceremony opined that, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited is not only rendering present-day customers need banking services but also the Bank spends a significant portion of its annual profit for carrying out a wide range of philanthropic activities from which the society is at large benefited.

The local elites, business personalities, bankers, educationists and local journalists were present at the inaugural ceremony. The respected guests, residents of the locality and owners of business houses/shops showed their spontaneous enthusiasm by opening account with the bank.

24 CCCI directors elected unopposed

BSS, Chittagong

Twenty-four directors of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry were elected unopposed on Saturday for a two-year term.

CCCI sources said the election commission of the trade body declared the 24 directors from four categories elected as an equal number of nomination papers were found valid on the final day of withdrawing the nomination papers.

The elected directors will choose a three-member presidium and president and two vice presidents of the CCCI on December 15 for the years 2009 and 2010.

Twelve elected directors from Ordinary Group are MA Latif, Abdul Malek, Fahim Ahmed, Shahin Alam, AKM Akter Hossain, SM Abu Tayeb, Mainuddin Ahmed, Mohammad Nurul Amin, Washiur Rahman Chowdhury, Mohammad Shoeb Riyad, ASM Kaiser Ali, and Alamgir Pervez.The directors elected from Associate Group are Mohammad Amirul Haq, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Syed Sagir Ahmed, SM Shafiul Haq, SM Mahbubur Islam and Nur Mohammad.

The directors elected from Town Association Group are MA Salam, Nasiruddin Ahmed Chowdhury, and Ferdous Khan Alamgir while the rest three directors from Trade Group are Syed Ahsanul Haq, Mohammad Emdadul Haq Chowdhury and Benazir Chowdhury, the sources added.

Southeast Bank holds workshop on "Credit Card Operation and Procedure"

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Southeast Bank Limited (SBL) organised a workshop on 'Credit Card Operation and Procedure' for the officers from different branches and Head Office at its Training Institute in Dhaka on November 11 last. Syed Imtiaz Hasib, Deputy Managing Director of the bank, while inaugurating the workshop, urged upon the participants to increase awareness and efficiency of credit card operation with a view to ensuring world class technology driven credit card services.

Thrust on smooth development of packaging industry

Our Correspondent, Chittagong

Smooth development of the packaging industry in the country was urged to ensure dynamism in the national economy. Speakers at a workshop on "Development of Packaging in Bangladesh" described packaging as important and potential in the industrial sector.

The workshop was arranged under the joint auspices of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), International Trade Centre (ITC) and Bangladesh Corrugated Carton and Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BCCAMEA) at a local hotel in the city on November 22.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Saifuzzaman Chowdhury graced the occasion as the chief guest while BGMEA first vice president M A Salam was the special guest.

CCCI president said, Packaging played a vital role in the field of trade and commerce of the country. Terming the packaging industry as a widely prospective one, he expressed his optimism that such an workshop would obviously help develop this sector properly.

MA Salam recalled that even 25 years back, packaging items used to be imported from abroad. He proposed to export packaging items gradually.

Presided over by the BCCAMEA president Shafiullah Chowdhury the workshop was also addressed among others by Taslimuddin Chowdhury, Brig. Gen. (Rtd) Mofizur Rahman, Rajib Dhar and Firoz Faruqui.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank holds board meeting

The 171 meeting of the Board of Directors of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd was held at its head office board room on November 18, 2008. Chairman, Board of Directors of the bank Alhaj Badiur Rahman presided over the meeting. Among others, Directors of the bank, General Manager Bangladesh Bank Mir Abdur Rahim and Managing Director of the bank M. A. Samad Sheikh were present.

The meeting reviewed the overall business position of the Bank and took various important decisions.

National Seminar 2008 of Prime Islami Life held

'National Seminar 2008' of Prime Islami Life Insurance was held on November 18 last at BIAM auditorium on 'Life Insurance for human Welfare: Islamic Perspective.'

Firoz Ahmed, Secretary of Commerce, was present as chief guest at the seminar. It was presided over by Principal Sayeed Kamal Uddin Zafri, Chairman, Shariah Council, Prime Islami Life Insurance Ltd. Professor A K M AbuI Kader, Dean, Faculty of Shariah and Islamic Studies, International Islami University, Chittagong, presented the key note paper. The seminar was also attended by Mohammad Shah Alam, Deputy Managing Director. Habibur Rahman, Company Secretary and SEVP and other senior administrative and development officers of the company.

Shah Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Professor, Department of Economics, Rajshahi University, Professor M Mujahidul Islam, Chairman, Department of Banking, Dhaka University, Dr Syeda Sultana Rajia Associate professor, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Kazi Md. Mortuza Ali, Managing Director, of the company took part in the discussion.

In his speech, commerce secretary Firoz Ahmed elaborated various steps taken by the government to promulgate new insurance ordinance, insurance regulatory authority, and Takaful Act ordinance. Chairman of the seminar, Principal Sayeed Kamal Uddin Zafri told that existing Islami Insurance in Bangladesh is not just Islamization of western world introduced insurance, rather it is the developed stage of Islamic Insurance introduced in the period of 'Great Prophet'(SM) & Kholafai Rashedin.

ICB AMCL declares NAV of its two unit funds

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

ICB Asset Management Company Limited (AMCL), a subsidiary of ICB, announced Total Net Asset Value (NAV) of its two unit funds in the city recently, said a press release.

The total NAV of ICB AMCL Pension Holders' Unit Fund stood at Tk 100,111,490.17 on the basis of cost price and Tk 118,334,101.05 on the basis of market price at the close of business operation on November 18.

The NAV per unit stood at Tk 151.73 on the basis of cost price and Tk 179.35 on the basis of current market price on the same day against the face value of Tk 100 per unit after taking into consideration all assets and liabilities of the fund.

The sale and repurchase prices of the ICB AMCL Pension Holders' Unit certificate have been re-fixed at Tk 182 and Tk 179 per unit respectively with effect from yesterday (Sunday).

Meanwhile, the total NAV of ICB AMCL Unit Fund stood at Tk 861,704,272.05 on the basis of cost price and Tk 992,337,764.73 on the basis of market price at the close of business operation on November 18.

The NAV per unit stood at Tk 177.32 on the basis of cost price and Tk 204.20 on the basis of current market price on the same day against the face value of Tk 100 per unit after taking into consideration all assets and liabilities of the fund.

The sale and repurchase prices of the ICB AMCL Unit certificate have been re-fixed at Tk 207 and Tk 204 per unit respectively with effect from today.