Govt to disburse Tk 100b as agri loan

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/06/12/69512.html

Govt to disburse Tk 100b as agri loan

FE Report

The government has set a target to disburse Tk 100 billion as agriculture credit through banks and non-banking financial institutions for fiscal year (FY) 2009-10.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith disclosed this in his budget speech Thursday.

“In the next FY, we plan to increase the target of agricultural loan from existing Tk 93.79 billion to Tk 100 billion and continue loan programmes at specially reduced rate of interest in the hill districts,” the finance minister said.

In FY 2008-09, the target was to distribute Tk 93.79 billion as agricultural through different state-owned, private, specialised banks and financial institutions.

Tk 150 cr programme planned for farm mechanisation

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Tk 150 cr programme planned for farm mechanisation
BSS, DHAKA

The government plans to take a Taka 150 crore programme for 2009-10 fiscal aiming at more production through dissemination of modern technology in agriculture.

Sources at the agriculture ministry said the programme on “Enhancement of Crop Production through Farm Mechanisation” is likely to get allocation of the amount in the upcoming budget.

The programme aims at distribution of appropriate farm machinery at farm level, reduction of post-harvest loss, decrease of cultivation cost by tackling acute labour crisis in crop production season and increase of crop production through higher cropping intensity and minimising crop loss by required timely operation.

Meanwhile, agriculture land is decreasing by about 80,000 hectares in a year and population is increasing two lakh per year. So pressure is mounting on us to produce more crops from less land area, said agricultural experts.

Besides this, agriculture labours are being shifted to other sectors. As a result, it is imperative to introduce farm machinery to meet the growing demand of farm power-for increasing demand of food and other agricultural products higher productivity and cropping intensity is essential.

On the other hand, natural disaster like cyclone destroyed animal draft power and adds new problems to be attended in southern area. The experts said mechanisation can mitigate the shortage of animal power in southern region particularly and under the circumstances an immediate farm mechanisation programme is needed.

Appropriate farm machinery can ensure higher productivity and cropping intensity by providing timely ploughing, planting, harvesting, officials said, adding that at present in Bangladesh post-harvest loss is about 14 per cent.

A top official of the agriculture ministry told the news agency that the “introduction of mechanisation in farm sector is likely to reduce harvest and post-harvest loss at the level of around 5 per cent and also can save about 25-35 lakh tonnes of food grains annually.”

Farm machinery will be distributed to groups of farmers of all upazilas of the country and special emphasis will be given to the southern belt, the official said, adding that the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) will implement the programme across the country.

Under the programme, the government will provide 30-50 per cent cash subsidy to the suppliers for the purchase of machinery by farmers and if the programme becomes successful at the farmers level, the government will extend it, said the official.

The machinery to be distributed are power tiller, reapers, power thresher for rice and wheat, maize sheller, tractor, manual weeder, urea super granule applicator, combined harvester and seeder.

Plastic raw material maker eyes markets in Asia, Middle East

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Plastic raw material maker eyes markets in Asia, Middle East
Star Business Report

Taking advantage of the reduction in plastic item production in developed countries, including US and Europe, due to the ongoing global financial meltdown, LyondellBasell, a Dutch company who produces polypropylene and fuel, now eyes capturing Asian and Middle Eastern (ME) market, said the company’s commercial director yesterday.

“Asian countries, including Bangladesh, are emerging as plastic products makers, while the production has reduced in the rich countries, hurt by the financial crisis worldwide. This scenario has prompted us to pay special attention to these markets,” Domenico Gigliobianco told a seminar in Dhaka.

LyondellBasell and Linkers (Far East) Private Ltd jointly organised the seminar on Presence of LyondellBasell in the Region and the Value for Our Customers.

Linkers (Far East) Private Ltd, a Singapore based company, is the sole agent of LyondellBasell in Bangladesh.

The LyondellBasell official further said, “Bangladesh is an important market for us, as its RMG and plastic furniture manufacturing has experienced a huge growth, which requires polypropylene.”

Bangladesh, the plastic goods market size of which is worth Tk 4,000 crore a year, imported $40 million polypropylene, polyethylene and spherizone, the raw materials for plastic goods, last year.

Lauding that Bangladesh is doing well in plastic furniture, Gigliobianco said, “Bangladesh, who also produces plastic hangers for the RMG industry, a front on which it has showed a tremendous performance, creates a huge prospect for exporting plastic goods.”

He also pointed to the fact that the market for plastic products in Asian and Middle Eastern countries is growing at six percent in recent years. The global production of polypropylene will double and reach 3500 million tonnes by 2013.

Currently, the local plastic industry fetches Tk 600 crore a year from exports, while the country has potential to export goods worth Tk 1200 crore, according to industry insiders.

Local plastic products include hangers, various sheets, including polycarbonate sheets, PP sheets, HIPS sheets and polystyrene sheets, billboards, POPs, POSMs, dispensers, pipe, home appliances, luggage, danglers, banner stands, shop signs, kiosks, road safety signs, scroll signs, tri-vision, zigzag signs, automated moving signs and electro-magnetic signs.

Deepali Kelekar, technical and innovation manager of LyondellBasell, and Rezwanul Haque, country manager of Linkers (Far East) Private Ltd, were also present at the seminar.

Tk 200cr BB fund for solar power, biogas, effluent treatment

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Tk 200cr BB fund for solar power, biogas, effluent treatment
Rejaul Karim Byron

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has set up a Tk 200 crore revolving fund for banks and financial institutions to give loans at low interest in solar energy, biogas and effluent treatment sectors.

The central bank board of directors at a meeting on Sunday approved the fund.

The BB would soon prepare a scheme in this regard and send guidelines to banks and financial institutions for providing the loans.

A high official of the central bank said the bank would refinance different financial institutions and banks from this fund. This would help face power and gas deficiency by using environment-friendly technology, and would also help maintain public health.

The BB would provide funds to banks and financial institutions at five percent interest (bank rate) so that they can provide loans on soft terms. In giving loans to customers, banks would charge below 10 per cent interest, said the official.

A top official of the central bank noted that lack of institutional financing for renewable energy sectors like solar energy and biogas is impeding effective growth and use of environment-friendly technology in these sectors.

They would prefer to see investment in solar panels particularly in char areas and remote areas still without power supply, he said.

Largest billet making plant set up in Ctg

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Largest billet making plant set up in Ctg

Jasim Uddin Haroon

A local rod manufacturing company said Sunday that it had set up the country’s largest billet making plant at a cost of Tk 2.7 billion, which will almost halve the annual import of the raw material for steel products.

BSRM, the steel market leader, has installed its plant in Chittagong on a 3.0 acre land and it will roll out at least 150,000 tonnes of billet each year, the company sources said.

“We will start trial operation shortly. Definitely, our commercial operation will kick off at the end of this year,” Ameir Alihussian, a director of the BSRM told the FE.

The new plant of BSRM has been named BISCO (BSRM Iron and Steel Company).

The produces will be mainly consumed by different re-rolling mills of BSRM, company officials said.

Leading re-rolling mills manufacture rods from imported billets, a semi finished steel product, to produce quality 60-grade steel products and Bangladesh’s annual import volume varies between 350,000 and 375,000 tonnes.

Smaller re-rolling mills manufacture steel billet by smelting iron wastes or ship scraps for producing plates and mild steel rods.

Mr Ameir said they undertook to set up the new billet making plant mainly as the country’s demand for quality rod is rising and added: “Quality billet is the pre-condition for producing quality rods.”

Steel manufacturers said the demand for 60-grade rod was rising on an average 10 per cent annually and mainly being consumed by the real estate developers.

Steel producers said prices of quality rods depend on the international prices of billets. Self-sufficiency in billet making will help stabilise its prices in the local market, they added.

BSRM said it would purchase 30 MW power from the Power Development Board to run the plant.

Around 250 re-rolling and steel mills in the country produce around 2.5 million tonnes of steel products, which meet the annual local demand.

Optical fiber cable plant to be set up

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Optical fiber cable plant to be set up

KHULNA, June 7: An optical fibre cable plant is being set up at Bangladesh Cable Shilpo Limited (BCSL) situated at the city’s Shiromoni area. This plant will be the first of its kind in the country. When it goes into production, the country will not be required to import optical fibre cables from abroad.

A meeting of BCSL Directory Board was held at its conference room on May 23 last chaired by the Secretary of Post and Telecommunications Ministry Sunil Kanti Bosh and attended among others by joint secretary Dilruba Begum of Post and Telecommunications Ministry, Khulna Divisional Commissioner Younusur Rahman, Managing Director of BTCL SM Khabiruzzaman and Managing Director of BCSL Md Bahadur Ali.

The board meeting approved the decision to set up optical fibre cable plant in the BCSL.

In this connection the Managing Director of BCSL Bahadur Ali informed that at present another committee is working to prepare a project profile to set up the plant. Later an international tender will be invited. He said, at present optical fibre in not produced in the country. The country will save a huge amount of foreign currency when the fibre cable goes into production.

Concerned sources said that the state owned cable factory would be able to export the product after meeting the local demand. It may be mentioned that the use of the cell phone has increased manifold in the recent past whereas the demand for land phone has dropped. As a result the production of copper cable has fallen.

Govt looks to expand manpower export market to Africa

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Govt looks to expand manpower export market to Africa

FE Report

The government is trying to expand the manpower export market to African countries as it is difficult to get jobs in popular destinations abroad due to the global recession, said Manpower and Overseas Employment Minister Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain in the parliament Sunday.

People have started to get jobs in African countries including Angola, Algeria, Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa and Libya, he said in reply to a question.

In response to another question, he said 38,208 Bangladeshis came back home in the first five months of this calendar year due to the global recession, illegal stay and being cheated by recruiting agencies.

Of them, 13,706 came back from Saudi Arabia, 12,401 from the United Arab Emirates, 8,551 from Malaysia, 458 from Kuwait, 313 from Oman, 688 from Singapore and 2,091 from other countries, he said.

Bangladesh sent abroad 212,332 people in the January-May period, according to statistics of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

The government has a plan to rehabilitate those who have come back due to the global financial crisis, the minister said.

Replying to another question, the minister said the government has taken a number of measures to face the challenges of the global crisis and send more people abroad with jobs.

In the next fiscal, it is expected that 600 thousand Bangladeshis will go abroad with jobs, Mr Mosharraf said.

The government is trying to explore new markets for employment in east Europe, Africa and Iraq, he said adding that Libya, Lebanon, Russia, Romania, Sudan, Greece, Poland, Angola, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Botswana and South Africa are the potential destinations.

Libya and Lebanon recruited 7,810 and 6,094 Bangladeshis respectively in the first five months of 2009 and about 200 thousand are working in Singapore, the minister said.

The government is expected to start an ‘Expatriate Welfare bank’ by next year, the minister informed.

Responding to another question, he said from 1991 to 2009, 111,371 women found jobs abroad.

Rubber industry’s prospects

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/06/06/news0291.htm

Rubber industry’s prospects

AS appeared in the press recently, a local entrepreneur is producing liquid rubber and marketing the item in a remarkable feat giving a lift to the country’s five decades old rubber industry. The enterprise, HR Latex, set up at Chokoria near Cox’s Bazar, has successfully developed 60-grade rubber, usually known as liquid rubber, after an untiring effort of four years. Production of liquid rubber – an intermediate material used to make costly products like divers outfits, surgical gloves and automobile parts, etcetera – lifts the local rubber producers’ position from mere rubber-sheet makers. Local rubber developers led by the state-owned Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation used to produce rubber-sheet, a low-end product mainly used for footwear production. Before commercial marketing of the homegrown liquid rubber until last year the country used to depend fully on import to meet the annual demand of liquid rubber amounting to about 14,000 tonnes. The local plant now supplies 2,000 tonnes that helps the country save foreign exchange worth Taka 200 crore at least by substituting the import of the item.

The local enterprise worked hard for the development of its own ‘formula’ for producing liquid rubber is not made available by other producers. Technology transfer is usually restricted in most of such industries elsewhere also. Slowly many private entrepreneurs are coming forward with such industrial ventures like the one at Chokoria. It has 12 rubber gardens on 300 acres land in the surrounding area and the liquid rubber plant can now meet one-seventh of the country’s total demand annually. What is more significant to note is that the local rubber enterprise, if provided with official support and assistance, can meet the total annual requirement of liquid rubber of the country within next five years.

IBBL deposit marks 20pc growth

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2009/06/07/68984.html

IBBL deposit marks 20pc growth

The total deposit of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) rose to Tk 214.87 billion on 31 May, 2009 showing 20 per cent growth against the same period of last year. The total investment reached at Tk 204.97 billion showing the growth rate of 13 per cent against the same period of last year.

A performance review meeting of executives of head office, zonal heads and selected branch incumbents of the bank held Thursday disclosed the information.

Managing Director of the bank M Fariduddin Ahmad presided over the meeting, said a press release.

The meeting was also told that the bank handled foreign exchange business amounting to Tk 179.25 billion including import of Tk 61.13 billion, export of Tk 42.97 billion and collected remittance of Tk 75.15 billion up to last month.

Deputy managing directors Mohammad Shamsul Haque, Md Habibur Rahman and Md Setaur Rahman also attended the meeting.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=33865

WiMAX to reduce digital gap between rural and urban Bangladesh

Syed Ishtiaque Reza

Introduction of WiMAX would have a synergetic effect on rural Bangladesh, an emerging market for the technology, Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) experts and leading international vendors said at a meeting here last week.

BTRC, the telecom watchdog, announced in the two day meet that it would issue WiMax license this year.

Experts from Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Huawei, Intel, Motorola, Nokia and Siemens in the city to explore the business prospects of WiMAX, attended the meet.

WiMAX or the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a telecommunications technology for providing wireless data across long distances through point-to-point links, with full access to mobile phones.

The Wimax service, reaching Bangladesh rather late, will draw about 10,000 users by the end of 2008 and over 200, 000 by the end of 2010.

WiMAX is replacing traditional phone technologies across the world the experts said at the meet.

BTRC Chief Major General (Retd) Manzurul Alam said WiMAX will definitely unleash the Internet, creating a new optimism for Bangladesh. Being a densely populated country the technology is expected to prove better results to Bangladesh than many western countries, he added.

Dr. M. Zafar Iqbal of Shahjajal University of Science and Technology in his presentation explained WiMAX as a dynamic provider of communication to link distant places, how it works, and the position of Bangladesh in the global information super highway network.

WiMAX, he expects, would be able to bridge the gap of existing digital divide and requested the regulators to ensure that it does not become a monopoly business.

WiMAX, 30 times faster than 3G mobile technology and 100 times faster than wireless data rates, can solve the problems of rural connectivity. WiMAX can replace GSM and CDMA cellular phone technologies, or increase capacity, used as a layover. It has been used as a wireless backhaul technology for 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in both developed and developing countries.

As Bangladesh’s Telecom Industry is booming with a growing middle-class, experts expect a big demand for broadband wireless services and WiMAX. Bangladesh will have around 12 million WiMAX subscribers by 2012, they expect.

Rooppur nuke power plant in 5 years, Says minister

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Rooppur nuke power plant in 5 years, Says minister
Our Correspondent,Pabna

Rooppur nuclear power plant would hopefully start generating power in five years adding one thousand megawatt of power to the national grid, said State Minster for Science and Technology Yafes Osman yesterday morning.

The state minister was speaking during his visit at Rooppur power plant under Ishwardi upazila in Pabna. He said the government had pledged to set up the plant and generate additional electricity in its election manifesto. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia has already been signed regarding the project, he added.

A team of foreign experts would visit the site soon and the project would be on its way, said the state minister.

Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Mosaraf Hossain, Project Director Md Shawkat Akbar, lawmaker of Pabna-4 constituency Samsur Rahman Sarif Dilu were present, among others, during the visit.

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was established during the 60′s over approximately 260 acres of land most of which has since remained unused.

Tipaimukh Dam goes counter to Bangladesh interest

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/06/05/news0204.htm

Tipaimukh Dam goes counter to Bangladesh interest

M.T. Hussain

After getting nod of Bangladesh for the river Ganges’ water withdrawal by India in May 1974 at the Farakka Barrage point up 17 kilometers of the common border of the two countries, and what is called at the downstream the Padma river of Bangladesh in the west, India has taken now to build two dams at Tipamukh and Fulertal in the east on the river Barak that forms upper riparian of the Kushiara, Surma and mighty Meghna rivers of Bangladesh. The evils of Farakka in the three and a half decades in the downstream incurred yearly losses in money term at 150,000 lakhs crores Taka and the incoming Eastern two are estimated to incur yearly loss for Bangladesh at Taka 225,000 lakhs crores. Farrakka Barrage adversely affected the western and southwestern territory of one third Bangladesh and the eastern two dams to affect one fourth of Bangladesh in the eastern area.

On the Farakka Barrage issue I had my first book (India’s Farakka Barrage… now out of print) published in 1996. I was then fortunate not only to have facts from documents of the Bangladesh Government source but also from other published documents about the issue here and elsewhere at the international level. I was also fortunate to have a very close rapport with the renowned hydrological expert B M Abbas during his last days before passing away in Dhaka, in addition to useful information I had from his authoritative book The Ganges Water Dispute. Just a few months back I had two articles, one in Bengali and the other in English on the same topic of Farakka losses incurred by Bangladesh that I took advantage of an occasion of follow up of a surface scratching by the BBC Bengali Radio discussion meeting held at Rajshahi a few months earlier on the effects of the India’s Farakka Barrage in Bangladesh as the razzmatazz of the discussion had nothing of losses of Bangladesh in concrete terms of money figure. In the two articles mentioned and published in dailies in Dhaka I cited figures in specific calculated terms. The figure of Bangladesh losses for 33 years since May 1974, the time the Farakka went on in full commission to 2007 at nearly 49 lakhs crore Taka, that made yearly average of about one and a half lakh crore Taka. A research organization based in the USA and corroborated by a local organization in their calculation for likely losses of Bangladesh due to the India’s Tipaimukh Dam would still be higher at over two lakhs crore Taka than the yearly average due to the Farakka, thus exceeding yearly average of about one lakh crore Taka losses that Bangladesh has been incurring due to the death trap of the Farakka Barrage.

Although there were groups against the Farakka project in West Bengal and Bihar before the barrage was erected, as one was renowned irrigation engineer Kapil Bannerjee (See weekly Holiday, 29 May 09), there are groups, as well, against the other two proposed dams. The Tipaimukh dam to be built at 500 meters downstream of the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers is planned for generation of 1,500MW of hydro-electricity and the Fulertal one for irrigation purpose there in the Eastern India. The likely affected ones included common poor people as also objections raised by area experts, environmentalists, etc. Because, the Dam if erected and made operational is certain to affect lives and livings of many people engaged in agriculture in the project region, fisheries and fishing trade, river craft works and to adversely affect ecological balance that may even add to risks of bigger scale earth quakes in the region according to the noted earth science expert and famous geologist like Dr. Soibam Ibotombi, Professor of the Indian Manipur University

International rivers are well designated so for that they flow through many countries. The Ganges and the Barak are international rivers. There are international rules and conventions that guide modes of sharing waters of such rivers between countries in the riparian regions. The upper riparian country, in particular, is not permitted by the rules and conventions to withdraw and divert water of any amount that would harm the lower riparian country/s. The 1997 UN convention adopted two key issues, one, in gist stated by two words, ‘no harm’ and the other ‘equitable sharing’. To elaborate the implications of the two set of terms, one can safely state that the upper riparian country can do no harm to lower riparian country by withdrawing or diverting normal natural flow of water, and if any such withdrawal and diversion is at all to be done, such mode must have prior sanction of the lower riparian country subject to the condition of mutually agreed equitable sharing. There are examples of such water sharing treaties between countries like Egypt and Sudan for the Nile waters, Germany and Hungary for the Danube, Pakistan and India for the Sind just to cite as instances. The Ganges water dispute with India started about four decades ago, but unfortunately no equitable sharing agreement had been possible. In 1974 there had been a memorandum of understanding for ‘experimental operation’ of the Farakka Barrage by India for ‘forty days’ only. But that experimental forty days went on and on, India cared little for the lower riparian Bangladesh. During Presidennt Zia’s time there had been two-year treaty first in 1977 for sharing water of the Ganges and renewed once only, but during President Ershad there had been no treaty at all. Instead the Indian Government suggested the then President Ershad to forget about making any water sharing treaty and advised him to dredge Bangladeshi part of lower riparian area of the rivers for storing bigger volumes of water. Such dredging action program is not only very costly but also a recurring and very expensive matter having no durable solution to the problem due to siltation of river beds for obstruction of flows in the upper riparian region. The 1996 agreement made by the then government for 30 years duration sealed the ill fate of Bangladesh, at least, until the expiry of the period of the unequal an inequitable treaty until 2026.

I recall very clearly from a TV news item on the day in December 1996 how the 30-year treaty was undertaken by the then Sheikh Hasina during her visit to Kolakata and Delhi. The day previous to the treaty was signed in Delhi, Hasina not only met the West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, but in her meet she fell on his feet to pay respect in somewhat Hindu style, Shashtyange Pronipat, and so pleased the Chief Minister blessed her as usual putting palm on her forehead and then made a brief remark that said that India would make a treaty for water sharing at the Farakka Barrage point for two to three years. Amazingly, the next day the treaty was signed for duration of 30 years and not for two or three years as Jyoti Bosu had predicted in blessing Hasina.

If one would recall further back about the facts about 1974 MOU, 1977 water treaty for two years and renewed for another two years, no treaty whatsoever during the nine years term of Ershad and also none during the first term of Khaleda during 1991 to 1996 with the amazingly 30 year treaty made in December 1996 with P.M. Hasina that Bosu had predicted for a very short period. This treaty had no right standing so far as it did not meet international rules and conventions. Further that the treaty had no guarantee clause at all. These meant that the treaty went against the interest of lower riparian Bangladesh and violated international standard rules, conventions and norms. Thus it became a fait accompli that continues to harm Bangladesh, its ecology, economy and thus subservience to Delhi made in reality a mockery of sovereignty of Bangladesh. During the last 13 years it is the sad reality that India released for Bangladesh less quantities of water than Delhi had promised in the terms and schedule of the treaty; their excuse keeps on telling that they had no flow enough in the upper region and hence the lower quantum for Bangladesh became obvious.

Having had the sad and painful experience due to India’s Farakka Barrage being operated for the last 35 years, the Tipaimiukh dam has been floated to further aggravate the position of Bangladesh in this case in the eastern region involving one fourth of the much smaller and impoverished geographical area.

Being the Tipaimukh a life and death question for Banglkadesh, Bangladesh has to stand solidly united to restrain India to abandon the Tipaimukh dam project for good. But if she does not restrain on their own, Bangladesh has no option left to bring the matter in the knowledge of international bodies like the UN and the possibly into the International Court of Justice at the Hague for appropriate redress.

$75,000 software export order received

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/jun/05/busi.html#5

$75,000 software export order received
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

Bangladesh has received software export orders of 75,000 US dollar and potential orders amounting to 12.25 lakh from a three-day software exposition titled ‘Software Development Exposition’ held in Tokyo, Japan.

The country, for the first time, participated in the Software Development Exposition from May 13 to 15, said a EPB press release on Thursday.

The Export Promotion Bureau organised the participation of this fair with joint support of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services and the Japan External Trade Organisation.

Local talents invent antivirus software

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/06/05/news0200.htm

Local talents invent antivirus software

S.M. Rafayet Hossain (Rafu) is seen among others with the anti virus software-Cobra in hand.

Staff Reporter

Some graduate students of the country have made history by developing and marketing an antivirus software.

The antivirus software-Cobra, which won fame in the South-East Asia, is the brainchild of S.M. Rafayet Hossain (Rafu), a student of Green University.

Md. Golam Mortuja Azim, Waliur Rahman (Rony), Md. Mehedi Hassan and Shakilur Rahman Srabon, who are students of different universities of the country, supported him in various ways. They named their organisation as Rafu Software Lab.

Agrani Bank, Sonali Bank, National Bank of Pakistan, TV Channel AI-Zanjira and Govt. and non-Govt. companies have already used it and derived immense benefit, according to inventors of the software.

Size of this Antivirus is only 4 to 5 Megabytes. It will be able to identify any kind of Virus. Each of the Antivirus has one Data Base. But the Cobra Data Pas have 2 Data Bases. Of them one is Package update or Auto update and the other is Virus Definition update.

Fire Wall of Cobra Plus is very much powerful and the Computer will be 100% protected from Virus. It is next to impossible for hacker to do any harm to computer they claimed.

The artificial intelligence technology could read of the Auto Virus and there are self repair system.

Rafayat Hossain said that he was overwhelmed with the popularity pf his anti virus software. It has won name and fame within very short time and users are reaping the benefit of its vastly.

They sought ” Useful effect of this Antivirus will be spread in such a manner like this to Government patronization for their ventures.

B’desh-Turkey trade volume to reach $1.0b this year

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B’desh-Turkey trade volume to reach $1.0b this year

FE Report

Commerce minister Muahmmad Faruk Khan said Thursday trade volume between Bangladesh and Turkey will reach $1.0 billion this year from the current level of $517 million.

“I had fruitful discussions with Turkish trade minister, exporters and importers, and I am hopeful that the people of both countries will take advantage of existing confidence, derived from firm bondage,” he said.

The minister led the Bangladesh delegation at the “Turkey- World Trade Bridge 2009″ and “1st Istanbul Trade Ministers’ Summit” held from June 1 to June 3 in Istanbul, where 37 trade ministers and 5,500 businessmen from around the world took part.

The minister said he held talks with trade ministers of Pakistan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and the Maldives and different Turkish business leaders on the sideline of the event.

“The Turkish businessmen showed interest in power, shipbuilding and other sector and a delegation from that country will visit Bangladesh soon,” he said.