The New Nation - Internet Edition

Farmers continue plantation of Boro seedlings in N-region : Hasina's commitments create enthusiasm among farmers

BSS, Rangpur

Farmers are continuing plantation of Boro seedlings with huge enthusiasm and full efforts for achieving a record production target as fixed by the government for 16 northern districts this season.

Preparation of all variety Boro seedbeds has already been completed and the farmers are planting Boro seedlings in full swing everywhere to achieve the fixed target.

The pre-election commitments of Awami League (AL) president Sheikh Hasina of bringing down prices of the fertilisers and agri- inputs side by side the essentials have created further enthusiasm among the farmers in the region. The farmers are very enthusiastic in making the Boro farming programme successful and even to produce more rice and they sought cooperation from the next government to make the country self-reliant in food production.

The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources today told BSS that a record target of producing 66,59,361 tonnes of Boro rice from 15,69,209 hectares of land has been fixed for the current season in northern Bangladesh.

Last year, the farmers had achieved a super bumper Boro production when the DAE had fixed a production target of 59,58,980 tonnes of Boro rice from 15,08,137 hectares land and the production was 17 percent higher than the fixed target.

DAE's Deputy Director (DD) of Rangpur Agriculture Zone Nur Mohammad said that special emphasis has been given on using the latest technology and increased farming hybrid variety Boro to help the farmers achieving the target this season. Increased yield of Boro is expected this year because of the training being provided to the farmers on the latest technologies along with all possible facilities including fertilizers and other agri-inputs.

The farmers may bring vast lands under hybrid variety Boro farming this season than any time in the past as they have been getting bumper production of hybrid variety Boro every year in recent years, he said.

Special steps have also been taken by the other concerned agri- departments to bring more land under Boro farming including cultivation of hybrid varieties at larger scales aiming to increase the production further for ensuring the country's food security.

Hybrid varieties of Boro paddy are being cultivated in more and more lands this season to further increasing Boro rice production, senior DAE officials said.

Officials said the farmers could achieve more yield this year as the special awareness building and training activities are being conducted for them on the latest technologies and provided with all possible facilities.

There are tremendous potentials of increasing the overall rice production than that of the previous annual productions through ensuring supply of hybrid seeds to the farmers during the Boro farming season, they added.

The early variety Boro plants are growing well in the low- lying beds of the dried-up water bodies, beels and haors where the farmers transplanted the seedlings much ahead to harvest those before commencement of the next rainy season.

Electro Mart introduces wide range of products at DITF

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Electro Mart Ltd, a large marketer of electronic household appliances and automobile, is participating in the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) 2009 at the marvelously decorated premier pavillion No.7. This delicate and wonderful premier pavillion is featuring the world famous KONKA Plasma Screen, LCD TV, Color TV, Refrigerator, Freezer, Mobile Phone, DVD Player, Washing Machine, Micro-wave Oven etc. smart and most modern household appliances as well as air conditioning components from GREE, HAIKO brand color TV, fridge and DVD/VCD and the infamous KHIND and MISTRAL brand household appliances and electrical accessories from Malaysia. Apart from these, Electro Mart Ltd is featuring the Chinese No.1 motorcycle brand LIFAN with their classy range of motorcycle and generator which are also available in this premier pavillion.

This premier pavillion has been inaugurated by President Prof Dr Iazuddin Ahmed and the inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman and Ms Rashida K Chowdhury, Advisors along with Md Nurul Amin Farook, Managing Director of Electro Mart Ltd, Md Nurul Afser, Director of Electro Mart Ltd, FBCCI Member Nurul Fazal Bulbul and a lot of other distinguished personalities.

Electro Mart Ltd is offering special discount for any buy from the DITF premier pavilion. All Konka Color TV's come with a fabulous discount starting from Tk 400 up to Tk 3,000, Tk 800 for all Konka refrigerators/freezers and also other household appliances offer attractive discount package for the buyers at DITF premeier pavillion.

The HAlKO brand products features special discount up to Tk 700 as well as the Khind and Mistral items offering cash discounts. Lifan motorcycles are offered with Tk 2,000 off and Tk 1,000 discount for Lifan Generators. On the other hand, Electro Mart Ltd should perform the installation of GREE Air Conditioners bought from DITF '09 for free. Another special atftraction of the fair ground is fabulous gifts with each buy of minimum Tk 7,000 for any product of Electro Mart Ltd.

Sunman Group takes over Tele Barta

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Sunman Group, a leading conglomerate of the country, has acquired Tele Barta Ltd, a private nationwide public switched telephone network (PSTN) operator.

A signing ceremony for taking over Tele Barta Ltd. was held recently at the Board Room of Dhaka Bank Ltd.

Six banks/NBFIs comprising the syndication lenders to Tele Barta under the lead arrangement of Dhaka Bank Ltd took part in the signing ceremony, said a press release issued by Dhaka Bank.

Market operators said Tele Barta's equity sales reflected the dull businesses of 12 PSTNs in the country.

"More PSTNs are in the process to see a safe exit in testimony to the dull business of private fixed phone business, once anticipated as a lucrative one," a market operator hinted.

With this acquisition, the Sunman Group expects to grow at a faster pace than before to deliver fixed-line connection with value added services at a cheaper price.

Tanweer Rahim, Deputy Managing Director of Dhaka Bank Ltd. conducted the signing ceremony while senior executives of all the participating Banks, Sunman Group and the existing sponsors of Tele Barta Ltd were present in the programme.

Sunman Group recently obtained Wi-Max license and having diversified investment in textile, RMG, beverage, financial, pharmaceuticals sectors both in the country & abroad.

Tele Barta Limited, having a subscriber base of 56000 in the whole country, started its operation in 2006. It has a countrywide network through PSTN Microwave Backbone and sophisticated PSTN Technology of world-renowned companies like Siemens and Motorola.

Among others, Mohammad Abu Musa, Managing Director (Current Charge), Dhaka Bank Limited, Major (Retired) Abdul Mannan, Chairman, Sunman Group, Hossain Al Masum, Chairman, Tele Barta Limited, Faruq Moinuddin Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director, AB Bank Limited, MA Matin, Deputy Managing Director, Uttara Bank Limited, Daliful Haque, Managing Director, Ali Mohammad Masud, Senior Vice President, Md Shafiqur Rahman, vice president, People's Leasing and Financial Services Ltd were present on the occasion.

Prices of atta still high despite significant fall in int'l market

Prices of atta (crushed wheat) have fallen substantially in the local market as the international prices have long started to decline.

As of yesterday the wholesale prices of wheat imported from Ukraine ranged between Tk 545 and Tk 560 a maund (37.2 kilogram), which is about Tk. 15 per kilogram.

The current price of packed flour at retail level is Tk 28 per kg. Previously, it was Tk 32 per kg.

However, the price of loose flour at retail level is Tk 24 at different city markets on Saturday.

Commerce secretary Feroz Ahmed said that they were yet to discuss with flour millers to keep the prices of the same reasonable. He observed that prices of flour still remained high in the local market.

Importers said wheat prices plunged to around US$200 per tonne whereas it was above US400 per tonne before June last year.

Importers said prices of wheat started to cool off in the international market since June, after a record harvest of the cereal and lower freight due to lower fuel oil prices.

Abdur Razzak, president of Moulvibazar Wholesale Traders Association said although the prices flour have declined but it is still high compared to the international prices.

Bangladesh imports wheat worth US400 million a year while it produces around 800,000 tonnes a year.

GMG to expand routes, expects growth in passengers in future

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Country’s aviation industry remains stronger in the face of recent abnormally high fuel prices in the global market, a high official of a private airlines said on Saturday.

Shahab Sattar, Managing Director of GMG Airlines, told the reporters that the annual growth rate of passengers in Bangladesh is 12 to 14 per cent while the global growth rate stands at around six per cent.

He was speaking at the launching ceremony of its newly-acquired MD-83 aircraft at the VIP Lounge of the Domestic Wing at Zia International Airport.

This new aircraft with a seating capacity of 150 passengers will help open up new destinations for GMG such as Singapore and Karachi very shortly. From mid-January it will take passengers to Bangkok and Hong Kong, he said.

He further said two more aircraft will be added to the existing fleet of six by the end of this year as the leading private operator eyes new routes. The airline will go for expansion from the second quarter of the current calendar year.

"From next quarter they will take passengers to Kuwait, Muscot, Doha and Abu Dhabi. So we will need extra aircraft at that time."

He said they have acquired this aircraft priced at around $80 million from US-based General Electric Capital Aviation Service, the largest leasing company in aviation sector in the world.

Shahab Sattar said despite high fuel prices the number of passengers has not come down. Therefore the opportunity is there, he added.

"The evidence is that Emirates has recently increased the number of their flights to 17 from 14. If it were not profitable then they would not have done it."

S A Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Sonali Bank Ltd, also spoke on the occasion. A host of officials of the state-owned bank and GMG were present on the occasion.

GMG operates flights in all domestic routes except Rajshahi and Syedpur. But they have a plan to go there from February, officials said. Their international destinations include Kolkata, Dubai, Kathmandu, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The latest acquisition of aircraft will add two more destinations -- Karachi and Singapore. Currently the number of their international flights stands at 18 every week.

The managing director of GMG said actually the GMG was eying expansion from early last year and started working accordingly by acquiring a Jumbo jet. "That helped increase the number of passengers dramatically. But due to price hike of fuel at that time we had to return the aircraft to the owner."

He admitted they had to consolidate their position in the first quarter of the current year to make up for the loss they incurred last year due to high fuel price. "But from the next quarter we will go for further expansion."

He said the GMG incurred a total loss of around Tk 50 million in 2008 when the fuel price peaked to all-time high of $147 per barrel, although they made a profit of Tk 100 million in 2007.

When asked about the level of their customer care service as reports of poor services of private operators are published regularly, he said, "we had started with the slogan of 'First Class All the Way' service and we have been maintaining that since we went into operation in 1998.

"Problems can arise anytime. But the ultimate thing is how you take care of the passengers during such unexpected situation."

Shahab Sattar expressed the hope that the newly-elected government would not give two posts- minister of civil aviation and chairman of state-owned Bangladesh Biman to the same person as this creates problem.

"The chairman of Biman always gives priority to the interest of the government. We want someone who is non-political and understands this business well."

GMG currently takes around 500,000 passengers yearly to different destinations of the world. They want to increase this number to one million by the end of the year. If it is materialised then the turnover would be around $600 million, which is around 20 per cent of the country's total market of $3 billion, officials of the airline said.

BRDB distributes over Tk 4cr in Narsingdi

BSS, Narsingdi

Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), under its seven programme has distributed Taka 4,63,36,000 among 5,336 small farmers and poor women in the six upazilas of the district during the first month of the current fiscal year.

Official sources said the BRDB has earmarked Taka 16 crore for distribution as loan in the district for the current fiscal year.

The percentage of loan distribution by BRDB in the district stands at 29 percent on December 30.

Indian president okays her own salary hike by 300pc

PTI, New Delhi

The monthly salary of the President of India has been hiked by 300 per cent taking it to Rs 1.5 lakh from Rs 50,000 earlier. Similarly, the salary of vice- president has been hiked to Rs 1.25 lakh per month from Rs 40,000.

President Pratibha Patil has approved the law effecting this hike in the New Year.

The hike comes a year after the Cabinet considered a proposal seeking an increment to the salary of India's First Citizen and enhancing post-retirement benefits for former presidents and vice-presidents.

Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had taken a decision to rationalise the salaries.

The hike comes close on the heels of government announcing a bonanza for its employees by implementing the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission report under which a secretary at the Centre will draw Rs 80,000 a month.

Immediately after the hike was announced, President Pratibha Patil contributed a month's salary to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund towards the relief and rehabilitation of those affected by Bihar floods.

The salary of president, which was fixed at Rs 10,000 in the Constitution, was gradually raised to Rs 50,000 a month in 1998 with effect from January 1, 1996.

Almost everything that the President does or wants to do is taken care of by the annual Rs 22.5-crore budget that the Government allots for his upkeep.

Richest German families lose billions in crisis

AFP, Berlin

Germany's 20 wealthiest families have lost about 40 billion euros (55 billion dollars) in the economic crisis in share values alone, the financial magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported yesterday.

The richest families have lost "30 percent on average" of their fortunes since the summer of 2007, leading asset manager Joachim Paul Schaefer, told the magazine. "It is clear now that the present crisis has inflicted much deeper wounds on big family fortunes than the last four or five recessions combined," he said.

"Some fortunes which have grown over the generations are as threatened as much as they were in the hyperinflation of the 1920s or during the (1930s) depression."

The value of the shares held by the Quandt industrial dynasty, which owns half the capital of carmaker BMW, has halved in a year, according to WirtschaftsWoche.

The magazine Manager-Magazin claimed in October that 122 German individuals or families were worth at least a billion euros (1.38 billion dollars).

Apollo Hospitals introduces 4 health screening packages

Apollo Hospitals Dhaka, the only JCI accredited hospital recognises the importance of preventive healthcare and created a separate clinic (Master Health Check) to help people with screening needs. Master Health Check started operating from April 16, 2005 and since then more than 16,500 patients availed this facility. At present, AHD has 12 health screening packages, which includes Apollo Whole Body Check, Apollo Heart Check, Apollo Diabetic Check, Apollo Common Cancer Screening, etc.

From January 01, 2009 AHD has introduced 4 new packages to strengthen its MHC, which are Apollo Liver Screening, Apollo Screening for Smokers, Apollo Thyroid Check, Apollo DAP Screening (Drugs with Addiction Potentiality).

Among these Apollo DAP Screening, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, is a convenient and all encompassing route to screen the people with history of alcoholic or other drug addiction. This includes tests for detecting presence and the level of drugs with addiction potentiality like cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, opiates, methamphetamine (commonly known as Yaba), CDT in blood; which will be helpful in persons with drug addiction or drug dependence and also in adolescent and young age groups who are living in close association with people having drug dependence history. This will also help in authenticating and diagnosing medico-legal cases where necessary.

Among other new packages, Apollo Screening for Smokers is considered to be playing an eyeopener role for persons with smoking habit, about the harmful effect of smoking in active and passive smokers.

MHC services in Apollo Hospitals Dhaka are available from 7.30am to 4.00pm six days a week (except Friday) and most package results can be given in one day.

Dubai dream turns sour as job losses mount

AFP, Dubai

Dubai's rapid expansion in recent years provided jobs for millions. But the global financial meltdown has abruptly ended the dream for many people as more and more firms sack staff to cut costs.

Spectacular economic growth, spurred by a robust construction sector, lured people from far and wide to the booming city on the shores of the Gulf, tempted by high pay, low tax and-for many Europeans-the year-round sunshine. Foreigners form most of the population in Dubai and with residency permits linked to employment many of the people who are losing their jobs face the added upheaval of leaving the country. "I don't feel that I was wronged. This is businesst But I would have preferred a cut in my salary rather than being sacked," said an Arab man who was let go by government-controlled property group Nakheel.

Another former Nakheel employee: "Only four days before we were given the termination letter, our director told us in a meeting that the situation was very difficult and that the budget for our project had been cut by nearly three quarters. "It was too quick," said the 30-year-old employee who was sacked at the end of November as one of 500 employees -- 15 percent of the workforce-who lost their jobs. Nakheel has its fingerprints on most of Dubai's iconic projects, including three palm-shaped artificial islands and a cluster of islands in the shape of a world map. It unveiled in early October another gigantic project to erect a one kilometre high tower, which, if ever built, would dwarf the unfinished Burj Dubai, currently standing around 700 metres (765 yards) high.

"We have the responsibility to adjust our short term business plans to accommodate the current global environment," said a Nakheel statement announcing the redundancies, which it described as "regrettable, but a necessity dictated by operational requirements."

Property sold like hot cakes for the past few years but demand has slumped amid the global credit crunch as panicking investors and creditors fled the market.

All of sudden, the viability of the grandiose property projects has become questionable.

Nakheel's job cuts programme is one of the largest so far in the United Arab Emirates, but is far from the only one.

Damac Properties, Dubai's largest private property developer, cut 200 jobs, or 2.5 percent of its workforce, in

October.

"We'd been growing in sales by 100 percent a year, but it is not the same now. If the market gets worse, we will have to let more people go," Damac chairman Hussein Sajwani said this month. Al-Shafar General Contracting said a few days ago it was laying off up to 1,000 workers as its order book has dropped by three billion dirhams (817 million dollars) since September. Emaar, the other local property giant, said recently that it was revising its recruitment strategy and reportedly laid off 100 workers last month.

Omniyat has shed 69 jobs out a 350-strong workforce and Tameer has reportedly notified 180 employees that December 31 will be their last working day.

The job losses have spread beyond property jobs to the financial sector. Shuaa Capital investment bank, for instance, has cut 21 jobs, or nine percent of its manpower. Companies in Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates were until recently on a hiring spree. Some 640,000 work permits for foreigners were issued in the first quarter of this year, 306,000 in Dubai alone, according to a study published last week. The study put the population of the UAE at 6.4 million by December 2007, among them 5.5 million foreigners. Over three million were registered with the ministry of labour, i.e. were workers.

Ex-patriate people who lose their jobs in Dubai or other Gulf countries have to pack up and leave within one month, a potential life wrecker for many families.

Employers are supposed to notify the banks of their sacked employees about their contract termination, potentially prompting the banks to demand repayment of any loans before the employee leaves the country.

Nakheel has taken this into consideration by keeping fired employees on its payroll for three months, enabling them to stay until the end of February.

"Our banks will be informed by February 1," said one of the Nakheel former employees, who added that he was lucky not to have loans to pay, unlike many others in the UAE who took advantage of easy credit over the past few years.

Many Nakheel employees have invested their savings in property being developed by the company and people who are sacked face losing that money.

"We've invested in Badrah, in the Waterfront project. What will happen to our investment and how are we going to pay the coming instalments?" wondered another of the Nakheel employees facing redundancy.

The whole of the ambitious Waterfront development appears in doubt as Nakheel has scaled back work on the project, as well as on other schemes.

However, at least one entrepreneur is seeking to turn the job losses to advantage.

A three-star hotel in a city has offered free meals for diners with redundancy letters. Very few have reportedly taken up the offer, but the hotel has elicited significant publicity.