The New Nation - Internet Edition

Best years of development lying ahead, says FBCCI

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

The country's 'best years' of development is lying ahead when the GDP growth may hit up to 8 percent in next decade according to expert projections.

The first such forecast came in a report by FBCCI, presented recently to a gathering of business leaders and politicians prior to the general elections. The just released annual report of the Bangladesh Bank made almost similar projections.

These projections echoed the growth roadmap indicators of Awami League which have find place in its election manifesto for the next five years and vision 2021.

The central bank's projections said, the country's GDP growth may reach 6.5 percent in the current fiscal 2008-09 to further accelerate to 7.0 percent in 2009-10 and 7.2 in 2010-11.

This growth performance would however, depend on fulfillment of certain conditions and avoiding certain others. Political stability coupled with stability of macroeconomic fundamentals, solving power crisis and infrastructure problems and a short lived global recession are some of the conditions which may determine the pace of the growth to attain the targets.

These will be the major challenges for the new government, besides bringing down the prices of essentials and lowering the cost of agricultural inputs and other economic benefits to common people, experts say.

The achievements of these targets will, moreover, depend on increased private sector investment, foreign direct investment, skill development and improving vocational training, expanding the SME sector and achieving greater export diversification. Experts have emphasized establishing direct linkages between industry and universities and other training institutions to improve education and skill development.

More emphasis should also go to creating more center of academic excellence to promote skilled manpower to meet domestic and external demand now on steady rise.

These are big problems but not insurmountable, said a chamber leader pointing landslide election victory and level of popular support that the AL-led grand alliance received in the just concluded polls to build new institutions and expand existing ones, said the chamber leader.

The business sources said, Bangladesh is highly dependent on RMG export and greater focus now must go to improving the technology to work out new fashion and design to make Bangladesh made apparels more attractive at low cost at a time when global economic recession is affecting export market seriously.

One of the biggest challenges to new government to achieve the projected growth is power shortage and experts have positively taken the AL emphasis to quickly set up new power plants to meet the growing demand gap.

They also laid emphasis on taking exploration work of at least one gas well in the first 100 days of the new government while it should have a target of exploration of at least six gas wells per annum over the next few years.

Shortage of gas is forcing many power plants sitting idle and newly built factories remaining defunct while waiting to go for production due to poor electricity supply and frequent load shedding, business leaders allege.

They said, Bangladesh is poised to go for higher growth in the next couple of years and the new socio-political environment is quite supportive of it at the moment.

The growth snags of the past two years may start moving out, they said pinning best hope to new government initiatives now in the offing.

10 persons receive Nat'l Cooperatives Award

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Ten individuals and 10 organizations were given this year's 'Jatiya Samabaya Purashkar' on Sunday for their outstanding contributions to the promotion of the cooperatives.

Adviser for LGRD and Cooperatives M Anwarul Iqbal handed over the national cooperatives awards to the recipients at a function at Osmani Memorial auditorium in the city.

Secretary of the department of rural development and cooperatives ATM Fazlul Karim was in the chair while registrar of the department of the cooperatives M Masud Elahi addressed ,among others, on the occasion.

Anwarul Iqbal said a large portion of the population has improved their lots through cooperatives. They have achieved self-reliance though depositing small savings and investing the funds in productive activities, he said.

The country has now around 1.60 lakh cooperatives in 10 categories involving around 83 lakh members. From each category every year a best individual cooperative and a best organization are given the award which includes a gold medal and a citation. The categories are: agriculture, savings and credit, milk, women, multipurpose, fisheries, freedom fighter, poor and land less, youth and special class and housing and market based cooperatives.

The individual award recipients are M Zahirul Haque of Gaibandha, Sentu B Gomez of Gazipur, M Belayet Hossain of Pabna, Begum Rahima Chowdhury of Thakurgaon, Syed Hamim Jaman of Jamalpur, Goranga C Barman of Netrakona, Alhaj Syed Abbas Hossain of Mirpur, Dhaka, Khodeza Begum of Chowgacha, Jessore, Jasim Uddin Sheikh of Chandpur, and Gazi Saiful Rahman of Bangladesh Bank colony, Motijeel, Dhaka.

The organizations received the awards are Nabaganga Canal and Water Management Cooperative Society Ltd of Chuadanga, Rupali Credit Cooperative, Chittagong, Bhennabari Primary Milk Producing Cooperative Society, Gopalganj, Banarupa Women Cooperative Ltd, Rangamati, Rural Cooperative Multi-purpose Society Ltd, Comilla, Parulia Fisheries Cooperative Society, Satkhira, Biral thana Freedom Fighters Poultry and Livestock Cooperative Society Ltd, Dinajpur, North Sonapur Poor Women Cooperative Society Ltd, Noakhali, Ideal Cooperative Society Ltd, Dhaka and Jashore Market Small Traders' Cooperative Society Ltd, Narsingdi.

9th AGM of International Medicare Ltd held

Being encouraged by landmark achievements in health service for the last eight years since 2000, the authority of International Medicare Ltd is making efforts to upgrading the institution into a complete health care and dental institute. The 9th AGM of 'International Medi Care Ltd held on January 4 last at a local hotel in the city.

Prof. Dr Shahla Khatun, Chairman of the organization presiding over the occasion. Among others, Md. Akikur Rahman, Vice-Chairman, Major General (Retd.) Md. Abdur Rab PSC, Managing Director, International Medicare Ltd, the mother organization of IMCH, M A Mubin Khan, Deputy Managing Director; and Ranojit Kumar Shaha, Principal IMCH, Nasreen Rab, Director and other members of the directorial board and shareholders were present.

IT was disseminated that the big budget organization maintaining a Medical college & Hospital, in which 120 teachers regularly attending 346 medical students at the hospital (IMCH). IMCH, for the first time in the country has launched a private BSC nursing unit under Bloomsburg University, USA with a capacity of 20 seats. International Medicare Ltd is looking forward to develop a complacent medical Care and Dental Technology Unit.

Public sector important to check profit in unscrupulous manner

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Education Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman Sunday suggested institutional role of the public sector in checking profit in an unscrupulous way taking the advantage of existing problem in the market system.

His suggestion came when a 15-member FBCCI delegation called on him at the commerce ministry conference room here. Zillur asked the ministry of commerce to work laying equal importance on both local and international trade and commerce. He said the business community has an immense role in enhancing the country's volume of trade and urged them to help enable the private sector organisations to improve their performance.

The commerce ministry, he said, will have to gear up its normal functioning for expanding the country's market both at home and abroad.

The members of FBCCI delegation thanked the commerce adviser for his constructive role during the last one year in bringing dynamism in the country's trade and commerce. Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed, FBCCI vice-presidents Abul Kashem Ahmed and Abu Alam Chowdhury, Nitol Group chairman Abdul Matlub Ahmed and president of Frozen Food Exporters Association M Belayet Hossain were present.

Tk 9.60 crore T-Bills accepted at auction

Treasury Bills (T-Bills) worth Taka 9.60 crore were accepted against 91-day and 182-day bills in an auction held at Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Sunday.

Earlier, the bills worth a total of Taka 770.35 crore for both the maturities were offered in the auction but only Taka 9.60 core including Taka 5 crore for 91-day bills and Taka 4.60 core for 182-day bills were accepted, a BB press release said.

Meanwhile, a 91-day T-Bills worth Taka 495 crore and another 182-day bills worth Taka 245.40 crore were developed on primary dealers, the press release said adding the rates of implicit yield of the accepted bids were 7.93 percent and 8.16 percent per annum respectively.

Aristopharma vows to contribute more to pharma sector of country

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

Aristopharma would contribute more to the pharma sector of Bangladesh.

It was stated by the directors and senior officials of the company at its annual sales conference held on December 27 last at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city.

Aristopharma, the leading pharmaceutical company, manufactures and markets world-class life-saving drugs for the people of Bangladesh at affordable price. The products of Aristopharma have already been proved as bioequivalent to foreign brands in clinical research.

Apart from local market Aristopharma is exporting its products to 9 countries of 3 continents as well.

In 2008 the company introduced 30 new products in the market.

Chairman and Managing Director of the company MA Hassan inaugurated the conference.

Director, Marketing and Commercial Md Mahboob Hassan, Director, Production Md Mahmud Hassan, Director, Finance and Administration

Md Sahid Hassan, Marketing Manager, Noor Hossain and other Managers spoke on the occasion. More than 1200 people working in different parts.

Swanirvar Bima Division of Meghna Life Insurance holds Conference

A conference of Swanirvar Bima Division of Meghna Life Insurance held its head Office at Motijheel C/ A, in Dhaka recently.

Nizamuddin Ahmed, chairman of the company graced the occasion by hfs presence as the chief guest. Managing Director Ekramul Amen FCA. and Director Co!. (Retd.) Shams uddin Ahmed Director MA Majid FCA and Consultent M Sultan Khan also present as the special guest at the occasion. Project Director Sadequr Rahman presided over the meeting.

Swanirvar Bima Division operate business activities throughout the country. It aims at selling Ekok and Islami Bima (Takaful) products.

Nat'l Leadership Development Seminar 2009 begins tomorrow

NATION BUSINESS REPORT

The National Leadership Development Seminar (NLDS), the biggest and most important conference in the AIESEC Bangladesh calendar, begins tomorrow.

It was told at a press conference yesterday. ACME Group of Industries is sponsoring the seminar.

The NLDS is a 4-day seminar aimed at developing leadership skills and competencies of all AIESEC members in Bangladesh. The number of delegates present at the conference would be approximately 200-250 expected.

These delegates are university students studying in programs such as Business Administration, Economics, Computer Science and Engineering, law, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Media and Communications etc. The theme of National Leadership Development Seminar (NLDS) 2009 is 'Youth Towards Sustainability' and is the very first event open to international delegates from over 30 different countries.

The conference is scheduled to be held from January 7, 2009 to January 10, 2009. The venue of the conference is Zastat Holiday Resort, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The agenda of the conference consists of various kinds of sessions such as AIESEC training, leadership development and management, Sustainability, CSR and many others. There will be focus on issue based projects that will be able to solve various problems facing the society such as, Poverty, Illiteracy, and HIV AIDS etc. One of the key aims of this conference is to enhance the skills and competencies of AIESECers such that they become 'change agents' for the society. A team of international speakers will also be present to facilitate the conference.

The event sponsor of National leadership Development Seminar (NlDS) 2009 is ACME Group of Industries. ACME Group is one of the leading and diversified global conglomerates in Bangladesh. It has diversified interests in pharmaceuticals, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), Information technology services, aviation services, printing and packaging services, Trading Services, C & F Services, Apparels and more.

Mohammed Rafiqul Islam, Director, Marketing and Sales, ACME Laboratories Ltd will be facilitating a session and Asif Ainul Hoque, Head of HR, ACME laboratories ltd. will be present on the 9th of January 2009 respectively during the seminar.

The event partners are Star Campus, Radio Foorti, Olympic Group, Nestle Bangladesh and Zastat Holiday Resort.

Two BB GMs promoted to Executive Director

Chowdhury M Mohidul Haque, general manager of department of currency management and payment system of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has been promoted to executive director.

Besides, Mir Abdur Rahim, general manager of inspection division-1 of the Bank has also been promoted to the executive director at the same, said a BB release.

Regulatory reforms team leaves for South Korea

A 28-member delegation of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Working Groups has left Dhaka for South Korea on a study tour to gain skills for acting as agents in making regulatory assessment interventions in Bangladesh.

Three RIA Working Groups were formed under the Regulatory Reforms Core Group (RRCG) programme of IFC Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) with cooperation of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and Institute of Governance Studies (IGS), said a press release on Sunday.

The RRCG was initiated with a view to enhancing the overall regulatory reform agenda in Bangladesh with a primary objective of encouraging selected individuals preferably mid-level government and private sector officials to become proactive change agents in identifying major areas for possible regulatory impact assessment interventions.

The RIA Working Groups already visited several government offices and private sector organizations to gather knowledge on how those organizations are dealing with respective RIA issues in Bangladesh, the press release added. Former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Senior Adviser of the RRCG Dr Haroonur Rashid is leading the RIA team.

Programme Coordinator of RRCG Hasan Imam and Investment Policy Analyst of IFC-BICF Miah Rahmat Ali accompanied the delegation.

The purpose of the tour is to share and enhance experiences with the South Korean government and private sector counterparts on issues related to customs, traffic congestion, postal law and courier services, the press release said.

The Korean Development Institute (KDI) will facilitate workshops and meetings to be held during the study tour, which is expected to contribute to the private sector development of Bangladesh.