Ailing global economy pins hopes on Dubai and the region

NEW YORK, July 18: With the Arab nations', excluding Iran, earnings from oil exports grossing well over $400 billion in 2007 it was no surprise that they played and would be playing a very crucial role in revamping a sluggish...

Talks signal Mideast shift

After years of escalating tensions and bloodshed, the talk in the Middle East is suddenly about talking. The shift is still relatively subtle, but hints of a new approach in the waning months of the Bush administration are fueling hopes...

Pvt land phone cos fear financial losses due to massive tariff cut by BTCL

The country's private land phone companies fear financial losses and job cut due to a massive 40 per cent tariff reduction by their public sector rival and other reasons.PSTN (Public switched telephone network) operators said they have invested Tk27.0 billion."Our...

The curse called drug addiction

Inside the room, lit only by a kerosene lamp, five men crouched around a small stool. The lamp flickers on the stool while the men use a foil to heat up something they call heroin, a popular drug for the...

Water scarcity triggers global food crisis

AFTER decades in the doldrums, food prices have been soaring this year, causing more misery for the world's poor than any credit crunch.The geopolitical shockwaves have spread round the world, with food riots in Haiti, strikes over rice shortages in...

Taking a hard line on soft soap

IN 2003, Patrick Cescau sat down with fellow Unilever directors to hear a presentation from the Dove soap and cleansing products team. The Dove people had an idea for an advertising campaign that would feature women of all shapes and...

Oil giants plan to go nuclear in Middle East

Total and Eni, two of Europe's biggest oil and gas companies, each plan to bring nuclear power to countries in the Middle East in what would be a controversial shift in an industry that is finding itself squeezed out of...

Unlocking the mysteries of force

On a par with the advancement of human knowledge about the structure of matter, the technological civilisation made great strides. And when one talks about structure, the concept of force automatically comes in. For how is it possible to conceive...

Ambani acrimony builds over Reliance and MTN

THE conflict between India's billionaire Ambani brothers over a proposed tie-up between mobile operators Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN deepened early this month amid growing indications the feud could scupper the deal.Representatives of Reliance Communications, India's second-largest mobile operator...

Govt extends time again for release of bond for export-oriented industries

The government has extended time up to September 30 next for the release of indemnity bond offered to the export-oriented industries on promise of exporting goods.The government has offered the indemnity bond facility to 100 per cent export-oriented garment industries...

Zimbabwe: Liberation hero turns dictator

FEDERATION of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in South East Africa, 1953-63, comprised the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The capital was Salisbury (now Harare) in Southern Rhodesia. The federation, also called...

The wrong tools to tackle rising inflation

I remember a popular sticker in Germany during the 1970s, designed to ridicule the opponents of atomic energy. It read: "Nuclear power? No thanks! We get electricity from our power sockets."Our current debate on inflation sometimes reminds me of this...

IMF set to end offshore 'stigma'

THE distinction between "offshore" and "onshore" financial centres has been dropped by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a victory for more than 40 small countries that complained they had been unfairly stigmatised in the fight against financial crime.The IMF...

Red tape impedes PDB pre-paid metering system in Ctg

CHITTAGONG, July 17: Bureaucratic procrastination is hampering implementation of pre-paid metering system of Power Development Board (PDB) in Chittagong aimed at reducing system loss of power and enhancing revenue income.According to PDB sources, Tk 7.50 billion was allocated for the...

corporatewatch

EGM on August 29An extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) will be held on August 29, 2008 at 9:00am to amend memorandum and articles of association of the bank regarding increase of the authorised capital of...

A passage through India

It is 1am and Ashok Alange prays for a safe trip, lighting incense sticks before the miniature statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesh that he keeps fixed to his truck's dashboard.In terms of distance, the 540-kilometre drive is relatively...

Accepting facts and bracing for the hard days

The finance adviser the other day while refuting some economists' claim that the rate of pauperization has increased during the last two years has, however, admitted that the country's poverty alleviation efforts have received a severe jolt as a result...

IPO Diary

Nature of BusinessBankingSubscription OpenJuly 20, 2008Subscription CloseJuly 24, 2008For Non Resident Bangladeshi(s)July 20, 2008 to August 02, 2008Offer Price (Tk.)100.00Face Value (Tk.)100.00Market lot (Share)50Sponsors Portion (Share)11,500,000Public Offer (Share)11,500,000Total Issued Shares23,000,000Total Paid up Capital (after IPO)2,300,000,000Reason for IPO:To strengthen the capital...

Transport planning for competitiveness

Remaining successful in business or winning more market shares, essentially involves reducing the costs of doing business. The economy of a country should aim to become more and more competitive to flourish internally and especially to promote its external trade....

US labour group doubts local claim over child labour in shrimp plants

The US-labour group chief in her recent visit to Bangladesh expressed doubt over a claim on elimination of child labour in the shrimp processing plants of the country.Ellie Kiel Larson, executive director of the American labour group -- Solidarity Center...

DU budget more focused on entertainment

The allocation for entertainment in different departments of Dhaka University (DU) has been increased by more than 122 per cent in the budget for the fiscal 2008-09 compared to the previous year leaving some important sections like medical and educational...

Proposal on

The Department of Fisheries (DoF) has planned to place a proposal to the government for setting up a 'Fish Bank' aimed at development of the country's fishermen.'Establishment of a Fish Bank will certainly reduce dependence of fishermen on local moneylenders...

Reputation made into capital: Branding and CSR go hand in hand for sustainable business development

Great brands meet or exceed consumer expectations. This has always been true. But as the marketplace has gotten more sophisticated and competitive, marketers have realised that what motivates people to buy products is far more complex today. It is not...

Flow of bank credit to private sector in May up

Credit growth to the private sector recorded a 25 per cent rise in May last over that of the same period of the previous year, officials said."The credit increased during the period mainly to real sectors and used for financing...

Managers see advantages of going global

FOR Sue Lin Heng, there was one criterion that really stood out when she was looking for an executive MBA programme, the qualification for working managers. It was its location.A native of Singapore, Ms Heng, 31, had already lived on...

Power shortage frustrates investments

ECONOMIC growth is the best assurance -- notwithstanding variables like how much the growth is pro-poor or if distributive justice is attained --for a continuous process of job creation, lifting up living standards and alleviating poverty. This growth in turn...

Left to live through horrors of price rise

No one knows for sure what is the current rate of inflation, which, led by rising food and oil prices, is posing a serious threat to the economic gains achieved in recent years and the survival of a vast majority...

The business case for more sustainability

There is a green revolution under way in business. After years of scepticism, big companies are starting to see the need for change. They are acting to cut waste, cut carbon emissions, find sources of renewable energy and develop sustainable...

NBR to sit with businesses July 21 on ECR installation

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to bring some flexibility in implementation of its order on mandatory installation of electronic cash register (ECR) in 10 services sector.The NBR order is scheduled to come into effect from January 1,...

Defusing the demographic time device

Thomas Robert Malthus some two centuries back made a very practical, though gloomy, prognostication about the fate of human race. He concluded that population increases more than the means of increasing subsistence does. So it would become at a point...