The New Nation - Internet Edition

Pvt life insurance cos witness 18.67pc growth in premium earning last year

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

The 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) was held in the Conference Hall of the Chamber Building in the city on Tuesday.

The AGM was told that the total premium earning from private sector life insurance companies rose from Tk 24,576.11 million in 2006 to Tk 29,165.10 million in 2007 registering a growth of 18.67 percent.

The gross premium income of private sector non-life insurance companies increased from Tk 7,975.70 million in 2006 to Tk 9,387.26 million in 2007 recording a growth of 17.70 percent.

Chaired by AMK Rafiqul Islam, Chairman of BIA, the meeting was largely attended by the Chairmen, Managing Directors and senior executives of member companies.

Mr. M. Moyeedul Islam, Chairman, United Insurance, Mr. Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Vice-Chairman, BIA, Mr. Syed Moazzem Hussain, Chairman, Delta Life Insurance, Mr. A. K. Azizul Huq Chaudhuri, Managing Director, Bangladesh General Insurance, Mr. A.B.M. Nurul Haq, Managing Director, Global Insurance, Mr. Md. Ali Hossain, Managing Director, Fareast Islami Life Insurance, Mr. Obaidul Kabir Khan, Managing Director, Republic Insurance, Mr. Md. Ezhar Hossain, Managing Director, Asia Insurance and Mr. K.A.M. Ferdous, Managing Director, Dhaka Insurance spoke on the occasion.

The meeting confirmed the minutes of the 2& AGM held on December 18, 2007 and adopted the Annual Report for 2007 and the audited accounts and report of the auditors for the year ended 31st December, 2007.

In the meeting, the newly elected members of the Executive Committee of Bangladesh Insurance Association for 2009 & 2010 were introduced before the representatives of member companies.

2,155 Bangladeshis to get jobs: Korean co to set up shoe making unit at KEPZ investing $12.5m

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

M/s Footwear Manufacturing Company Limited, a Korean company will set up a shoe manufacturing industry at Karnaphuli Export Processing Zone.

This 100 per cent foreign-owned company will invest 12.5 million US dollars in setting up its unit and will produce to export annually 2.4 million pairs of leather footwear and accessories products. The company will also create employment opportunity for 2,155 Bangladeshis and five foreign nationals.

An agreement to this effect was signed between Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and M/s Footwear Manufacturing Company Limited of Korea at the BEPZA Complex, Dhaka on December 24 last. Md Farhad Uddin, Member (Engineering) of BEPZA and Yang Young Sool, Managing Director of M/s Footwear Manufacturing Company Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

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

Massive layoffs expected in UAE

AFP, Dubai

Up to 45 percent of the construction workforce in the United Arab Emirates could be laid off, with thousands already having lost their jobs due to the global financial crisis, a report said yesterday.

The Khaleej Times newspaper quoted Khalfan Al-Kaabi, a member of the board of directors at Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, as saying the job cuts would occur in the new year if private sector projects in the UAE are delayed or cancelled. "It is only but natural for the industry to cut those jobs," Al-Kaabi told the paper.

The report said that thousands of workers have applied to the ministry of labour to finalise the termination of their contracts.

The ministry said it is quickly processing those applications to enable the workers to look for new jobs. In the UAE taking a new job is only possible when the old contract is terminated.

The report said most of those laid off are South Asians employed by companies in the booming city-state Dubai where property development has been badly hit by the credit crunch. Emaar, the property group behind Burj Dubai, the tallest building on earth at around 700 metres (2,296 feet), has seen its share price plunge 80 percent this year to stand at its lowest level since its listing eight years ago.

Rival Dubai developer Nakheel, promoter of several iconic schemes like three palm-shaped artificial islands, said last month it had decided to scale back its work and cut 500 jobs, or 15 percent of its workforce.

JETRO inks deal with BASIS: Promote Bangladesh's software in Japan

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) has inked a deal with Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) to promote Bangladesh's software and IT enabled services (ITES) industry in Japanese market.

JETRO has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BASIS in this regard on December 15 last at the BASIS Secretariat in Dhaka.

Representative of JETRO-Dhaka Tomohiro Kinomoto and BASIS President Habibullah N Karim signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.

BASIS Vice-President Shameem Ahsan, Chairman of BASIS Standing Committee on National Events A Towhid, Director-in-Charge of BASIS Standing Committee on National Events MA Mubin Khan were also present.

Under the MoU, JETRO will promote BASIS SoftExpo-2009 in Japan with the objective to attract Japanese software and ITES companies and bring in a high-level IT delegation from Japan during the exposition.

The two organisations will also work together aiming at promoting IT marketing ventures among the companies from Japan and Bangladesh on a regular basis. Another Japanese organisation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has already selected Bangladesh's growing software industry as the highest priority sector for export diversification.

AMCL (PRAN) declares 28pc dividend

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Agricultural Marketing Company Limited (AMCL-PRAN) declared 28 per cent dividend to its shareholders for the year 2007-2008 at its 23rd annual general meeting held at National Shooting Complex, Gulshan, Dhaka on Wednesday.

Lt Col Mahtabuddin Ahmed (Retd), Chairman, Maj Gen Amjad Khan Chowdhury (Retd), Managing Director, Mrs Sabiha Amjad, Director, Mrs Uzma Chowdhury, Director, Md Muniruzzaman, Director, Md Eleash Mridha, Executive Director and Md Abu Kawser, Company Secretary were present at the meeting.

A large number of shareholders of the company attended the annual general meeting. The shareholders thanked the management for achievements of the company over the years and made valuable suggestions for improvement in running the business of the company. They re-iterated their profound confidence in the management.

It was reported that in spite of stiff competition in the market, the pre-tax profit of the company was Tk 38.94 million in FY 2007-2008 while gross turnover was Tk 1057 million, and the total export figure was Tk 465.43 million (including cash incentive).

The AGM ended by seeking continued support of the investors of the company and with a vote of thanks to the chair.

Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd holds annual sales conference

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

The annual sales conference 2009 of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre on December 23 last.

Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals Ltd Abdul Muktadir inaugurated the daylong programme.

Mrs Hasneen Muktadir, Director Planning and Commercial also addressed the programme.

Year 2008 was a successful year for Incepta.

Incepta at present is ranked 2nd among all pharmaceuticals companies in Bangladesh. The company is undergoing huge expansion of its production facility with its ever expanding product range. Many innovative and bio-tech products are introduced in the market for the first time in Bangladesh by Incepta.

Managing Director discussed about the performance and significant growth of Incepta in 2008 on local and international market. He also mentioned about the objective for 2009. He further said that Incepta will continue to introduce many of new molecules and novel dosage forms which will be developed at the newly established 'Research and Development Department'. Recently, the company received European Commission "Certificate of GMP Compliance" for the first time ever for a Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals company. The company is currently focusing on entering more and more regulated and advanced markets. With these he expressed his determination to serve the country in the coming years.

Mrs. Hasneen Muktadir, Director, Planning and Commercial, said that the company is working very hard to achieve its goal of becoming a global player and planning to explore export market. However she mentioned that Incepta is already exporting to more than twenty countries throughout the world.

In that session Md Monowar Hosen (National Sales Manager) analyzed the last years sales and discussed the planning for 2009.

Dr. EH Arefin Ahmed (Manager, Marketing Strategy Department) and Ehsan Aziz (Manager, Marketing Strategy Department) discussed and analyzed the promotional strategies for 2009.

In the program, best performers and achievers were awarded for their excellent performance in 2008. The daylong program ended with a colorful cultural program followed by dinner.

Japan to send observation team to monitor general elections

STAFF REPORTER

Upon the invitation of the Bangladesh government, Japan will send an election observation mission to Bangladesh from December 28 to December 30 to support holding of a fair general election to be held on December 29.

The mission consists of seven members including two members of the House of Representatives, Mr Goji Sakamoto (Head of the Mission), Senior Secretary-General of the Japan-Bangladesh Parliamentarians' League, and Mr Akihiro Nishimura, Secretary-General of the League.

In Bangladesh, the mission will observe the voting and counting, hold talks with high officials of the Bangladeshi government and political party members, and exchange views and information with other election observation missions.

Besides Mr Sakamoto and Mr Nishimura, the mission also includes Mr Matsushiro Horiguchi, visiting professor of Waseda Graduate School and former Ambassador to Bangladesh, and Mr. Masaaki Ohashi, professor of Keisen University and President of the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, Mr. Kazuhiko Aiba, professor at Tokushima University and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Myanmar gas to be exported to China

XINHUA, Yangon

Natural gas produced from the Shwe Field off Myanmar's Rakhine coast will be exported to China's southwestern region under a new export gas sales and purchase agreement signed between companies from China, Myanmar and South Korea.

The three parties are the China National United Oil Corporation (CNUOC), Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, and a consortium led by the Daewoo International Group Corporation, sources with the CNUOC said today.

Under the agreement signed yesterday evening, the Shwe gas will be transmitted through pipeline and partly tapped along the route in Myanmar's territory to promote the economic development of the region, the sources said, adding that the contract agreement is effective for 30 years and it is estimated to start supplying gas in 2013.

The Shwe gas project, located at A-1 block in the Rakhine offshore area, has been developed by the Daewoo consortium comprising South Korea Gas Corporation, India's ONGC Videsh Ltd and Gas Authority of India Ltd.(GAIL).

The Shwe field holds a gas reserve of 4 to 6 trillion cubic- feet (TCF) or 113.2 to 170 billion cubic-meters (BCM), while the Shwephyu 5 TCF and the Mya 2 TCF with a combined proven reserve of 5.7 to 10 TCF of gas being estimated by experts. Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources in the offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and 19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 trillion cubic-feet (TCF) or 510 billion cubic-meters (BCM) out of 89.722 TCF or 2.54 trillion cubic-meters (TCM)'s estimated reserve of offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserve.

Bhutan bans import of poultry from Assam, West Bengal

PTI, Thimphu

Bhutan has banned the import of poultry and its products including poultry feeds from neighbouring Indian states of Assam and West Bengal in the wake of outbreak of avian influenza in these states. According to the country's Ministry of Agriculture, the transport of poultry and poultry products via Assam and West Bengal will also not be allowed.

However, import of poultry and its products from designated farms or processing plants in unaffected states of India will be allowed only by air.

The ministry has also banned the import of poultry feeds from Samrat feed mills in Siliguri with immediate effect. It said transport of animal and poultry feeds manufactured in Bhutan via West Bengal and Assam will be allowed only if all the feed bags are fully covered and sealed at the place of origin in presence of Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) officials.

The seal will again have to be verified and opened in the presence of BAFRA officials at the entry point of the destination. Earlier in the month Bhutan had banned the import of eggs and frozen chicken from Assam and West Bengal.

NSU holds Int'l Conference on Statistical Sciences

STAFF REPORTER

North South University (NSU), the first private university in Bangladesh, has organized a two-day International Conference on Statistical Sciences "Recent Development in Statistical Sciences" starting today at Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC).

International and national renowned professors, researchers, expertise and dignitaries will attend the conference, a press release said. The opening ceremony of the conference will be held today at 9.30am at BCFCC. Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, will be present at the opening ceremony as chief guest which vice chancellor of the NSU Dr Hafiz G.A. Siddiqi will chair the session.

The closing ceremony of the conference will be held on 27 December at 7.00pm at Hotel Sarina (Banani).

Professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of University Grants

Commission of Bangladesh, will be present in the closing ceremony as chief guest.

Dr. Shahjahan Khan, professor of University of Southern Queensland, Australia, Dr. AK Md. Ehsanes Saleh, Professor, Carleton University, Canada, Dr. M. Shamsher Ali, President of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, NSU Foundation Chairman Mr. M A Awal, Vice Chancellor of NSU Dr. Hafiz G.A. Siddiqi and CPDS and BBA Director of NSU Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury and other will attend the opening and also closing ceremony, among others, the press release added.