Rangpur firm to grow potato seeds

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Rangpur firm to grow potato seeds
Rafique Sarker, Rangpur

Adron Agro Biotech in Rangpur has started producing potato seeds through tissue culture to meet the increasing domestic demand.

The first ever agro-firm in the district cultivated potato this year for seeds on around 30 acres at Baharkatchna in Tapadhan union under Rangpur Sadar upazila with a plan to market the seeds next year.

Adron Agro has targeted three kinds of potato seeds — nuclear, breeder and foundation — for this year, said Aminul Islam, proprietor of the company.

“I have brought breeder and foundation seeds from Olympic Agro Biotech in Dhaka and potato plantlets to produce nuclear seeds.”

“Now I need to set up a laboratory to produce plantlets of potato for which I have recently applied for bank loans,” he added.

Farmers buy imported seeds for Tk 160-Tk 170 a kilogram, while local seeds cost Tk 50-Tk 60, Islam said, stressing the need for setting up a specialised cold storage for seeds in northern districts.

He said the farmers suffer a lot and incur a huge loss in absence of cold storage in Rangpur region.

Bangladesh imports potato seeds worth Tk 3,500 crore every year, according to Department of Agricultural Extension, Rangpur.

The country can downsize the import by producing more quality seeds locally, Islam said.

Bangladesh emerging IT outsourcing destination: survey

http://www.newagebd.com/2010/feb/15/busi.html#3

Bangladesh emerging IT outsourcing destination: survey
Kazi Azizul Islam

A leading global auditing and business advisory group has listed Bangladesh as one of the emerging Asian destinations for sourcing software, information technology-enabled services and business process outsourcing.

The Amsterdam-based KPMG in a survey report placed Bangladesh with Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, along with India on the list of emerging Asian IT services suppliers.

The survey report, Asia-Oceania Vision 2020: Enabling IT leadership through collaboration, was released on Friday.

The KPMG, which prepared the report in association with the Tokyo-based Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation, included Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar and Nepal in the list of potential suppliers.

The report said the Asia-Oceania would become the largest supplier of IT and business process outsourcing services to the world by 2020. The Asia-Oceania is set to account for 74.5 per cent of global IT services demand by 2020.

The report showed a comparison of age of people among 15 Asian countries to link prospect of IT services business.

It found that only 5.6 per cent of Bangladeshis are aged 65 and above. Such aging percentage is 5.6 in the Philippines, 6.5 in India, 13.8 in Thailand and 29.5 in Japan.

The report analysed that countries like Bangladesh which have a good pool of young people, should stay in the list of Asia IT leaders.

The report said huge IT enthusiastic young people and rapid acceptance of IT services in Bangladesh were advantages for the country to be an IT service exporting country.

‘Our report looks at the current growth and future prospects for the IT industry in surveyed countries over the years and current trends influencing the industry have been examined,’ the KPMG said.

The report, however, warned that climate change, poverty and inequality, infrastructure deficits were bottlenecks to Bangladesh’s growth and these impediments should be tackled to become one the leading IT services sources.

The Denmark ambassador to Bangladesh, Einer H Jensen, observed Bangladesh’s IT industry had a ‘good start’ on the global outsourcing market in recent times. Some Danish companies are working with around 20 Bangladeshi companies to develop and outsource software and IT-enabled services.

‘It [Bangladesh] could be a preferred destination for outsourcing in the near future,’ he told New Age.

Citing a recent World Bank report, he said more then 8,000 Bangladeshi young software developers had found jobs in the industry in the past two years and nearly 1,000 of them were working in Denmark-Bangladesh IT joint ventures.

Industry sources said Bangladeshi IT industry had also developed business relation with clients in Japan and other parts in the world along.

Safquat Haider, a director of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, said the IT potentials of Bangladesh had increasingly been pointed out by industry monitors globally.

‘The IT industry is warming up for a breakthrough, as global clients are calling local companies increasingly and a significant local market is also being readied,’ said Haider, whose IT company, CIPROCO develops telecommunication, geographic information system and Enterprise resource planning solutions for clients at home and abroad.

Japan now ‘lucrative destination’ for Bangladesh garments

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=92507

Japan now ‘lucrative destination’ for Bangladesh garments
Monira Munni

Japan proves to be a lucrative destination for Bangladesh’s garment as apparel exports to the Asian giant saw an extraordinary 148.0 per cent growth in the first half of the current fiscal year compared to the same period a year ago.

Bangladesh exported ready-made garments (RMG) worth $34.043 million during the July-December period of 2009-10 compared to $19.415 million of 2008-09.

The country earned $74.381 million in fiscal 2008-2009 and $28.035 million in fiscal 2007-08 from RMG export, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

Knitwear accounted for $ 28.090 million during the same period, up from $5.964 million a year before, the EPB data said.

The country made shipments of home textile worth $ 1.125 million during the July-December of the current fiscal year.

Japan has reduced its dependence on imports from China, which gave a boost to RMG exports out of Bangladesh further increasing their sourcing from Bangladesh, said manufacturers and exporters.

Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said growth in Bangladesh’s apparel exports to Japan has much potential to become sustainable as cost of garment production is lower here.

“The Japanese are coming to source more from Bangladesh in recent times while Bangladeshi exporters are actively trying to explore new markets,” he said.

Imported apparel market in Japan used to be dominated by China, but Japanese importers are now looking out for one more dependable source to reduce their reliance on China.

Industry experts said Bangladesh’s garment shipments to Japan started to swell in the middle of last year after the Japanese retail giant Uniqlo opened a sourcing office in Dhaka, prompting many other Japanese retailers to set their sights on Bangladesh.

“China factor” was playing a major role in swelling the growth of Bangladesh’s apparel exports to Japan.

Pointing out that the Japan market is more quality conscious than other markets, they said, “Japanese businessmen follow different ways of business and the Bangladeshi exporters should try to understand it.”

Mr Murshedy said Bangladesh is the top candidate for being next to China which has till now been the major apparel supplier to Japanese importers.

“The Japanese are now convinced that having decades of experience in supplying to the vast EU and US markets, Bangladesh’s apparel industry is now skilled enough to cater to customers in other regions,” he said.

“We are planning to organise a single country fair in Japan very soon displaying quality products to diversify the market,” BGMEA sources said. “We are hopeful that Japan will increase purchases from Bangladesh as the country reduced its dependence on China and Bangladesh is considered a strong competitor of China,” Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) told the FE.

Mr Hoque led two high-powered delegations to Japan in the middle and end of last year in search of more orders.

“Japan is a ready market for us, as we produce high-quality products, which is a major criterion,” he said adding that the trend shows Bangladesh will be able to export apparel items worth a billion dollars in the next five years.

Uniqlo, one of the largest retail chains in Japan, started investing in Bangladesh, to purchase garment items with a plan to invest $ 70 million initially, Hoque said.

The report showed that Japanese importers procured $ 26.5 billion worth of apparels and accessories from overseas sources with China having the lion’s share of more than 80 per cent of shipments.

Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and India are the next significant sources for Japanese apparel importers, but the growth of apparel imports from Bangladesh has been stunning, industry experts said.

IT industry set to take off on global market: industry people

http://www.newagebd.com/2010/feb/15/busi.html#1

IT industry set to take off on global market: industry people
Kazi Azizul Islam

Bangladesh’s software and information technology-enabled services industry is set to take off with some companies entering the world market and a significant portion of the local market getting readied, industry people said.

Industry output, however, remained insignificant in two decades and entrepreneurs said businesses were earning the capability to cater to clients at home and abroad.

‘The industry has come to a take-off stage now,’ said Safquat Haider, a director of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services.

He also referred to BASIS Softexpo 2010, which ended on Sunday, where several dozen Bangladeshi technology enterprises put on display the latest versions of their programs and IT enabled services.

Many local software houses are now successfully developing world-standard financial solutions and business applications, Safquat said. ‘There are not many such cases, but local companies have talented people to develop GIS and advanced ERP solutions and telecommunications software.’

Anisur Rahman Khan, senior marketing manager at the Leads Corporation, said a significant portion of the local market was getting readied and enterprises had also matured to offer world-standard solutions.

At least four local banks are running their core operation with solutions developed by the Leads Corporation, said Anisur, who has been in software marketing for more than decade and a half.

He said banking software developed in Bangladesh had a hard time fighting the software developed abroad, especially in India, although local solutions were cheaper, Anisur said. ‘Bankers now have understood that local solutions are dependable.’

Bangladesh’s software and ITES export amounted to only $33 million or Tk 230 core in 2009. The domestic software market was estimated worth less than Tk 500 crore. Local solutions account for less than a half of the market.

Mannujan Nargis, director at the Rave Systems, said internet telephony or IP solutions such as switching, billing, byte server operation and mobile VoiP dialers developed in Bangladesh were selling well on the world market.

She said her organization had a presence on the European market and dominance on the Middle-East market with several IP operation management solutions.

‘One of our solutions is fighting a solution of global majors like Fringe of Israel,’ said Nargis, who sees operation of her company’s office in Singapore.

Mashuk Rahman, managing director of the Skynet Digital Private Limited, told New Age about half a dozen Bangladeshi companies were catering to overseas clients of advanced image editing services.

Skynet’s image editing service called PixArt Studios employ 45 Bangladeshi digital artists who work with critical Photoshop tools for colour correction, soft layer masking, and image etching and stitching.

‘It is just arty manipulations on photos which have tens of millions of dollar worth global market,’ Mashuk said. ‘India and the Philippines earns tens of million of dollars by sourcing image editing services to clients abroad.’

Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, feels Bangladesh’s software industry was warming up to take off.

‘Many global importers are still unaware that software and solutions are developed in Bangladesh,’ Annisul said, adding that this is a major barrier for Bangladesh’s significant presence on the European market worth several billion dollars.

Annisul owns a software development house, employing some 80 engineers, which serves foreign clients with enterprise resource planning and solutions.

‘The government should spend on local software and the Intellectual Property Rights Act should be implemented,’ he said.

He also said the government should invite globally renowned software companies to set up production facilities in Bangladesh.

Local telemedicine firm plans to reach out to South Asian workers

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Local telemedicine firm plans to reach out to South Asian workers

Jasim Uddin Khan

A Bangladeshi telemedicine company is set to provide healthcare services for more than five million South Asian workers in the Middle East and Malaysia in a couple of months.

Telemedicine Reference Centre Ltd (TRCL) has already signed agreements with around 25 Gulf and Malaysian companies that recruit workers from South Asia.

Telemedicine is a rapidly developing application of clinical medicine where medical information is transferred through the phone or the internet.

TRCL will launch the mobile phone-based service, said Dr Sikder M Zakir, managing director of the company.

“Under the project, we will start providing medical call-centre services to two million Bangladeshi, 1.5 million Indian and two million Nepalese and Pakistani workers,” Zakir added.

Prime Bank and two investors from the US and India are funding the project, he said.

TRCL has also signed deals with seven mobile phone companies in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.

The company is working to set up multilinguistic medical call centres in India, Pakistan and Nepal, from where dedicated physicians will provide healthcare advice to the expatriate workers.

All the workers under the 25 recruiting companies will be registered with TRCL to get the services free of cost. They will call a particular number and get advice in their own language.

The recruiting firms will pay the service charge to TRCL on behalf of the workers, which is no more than one US dollar a month for a person, Zakir said.

They will also be referred to hospitals if necessary.

Zakir said TRCL is now setting up branch offices in nine countries including Malaysia, UAE and Saudi Arabia to comply with those countries’ regulatory requirements.

“It’s a milestone for telemedicine service. The sector is getting institutional shape,” he added.

Established in 1999, TRCL is operating the first medical call centre or electronic referral centre manned by physicians for the largest cellphone operator in Bangladesh — Grameenphone. More than 10,000 people are using the service by dialling a hotline number (789) from their mobile phones every day.

jasim@thedailystar.net

Homegrown software cos eye domestic IT market

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Homegrown software cos eye domestic IT market
Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan

An emerging domestic economy and the ever expanding business activities are rapidly turning the country’s growing IT market a lucrative one for its homegrown software companies, industry insiders said this week.

These are resulting in a major shift in the focus of the local IT companies which are increasingly looking to cash in on the growing IT needs of the country’s rapidly digitising public and private ventures, the insiders said as the biggest exposition of homegrown software called BASIS SoftExpo concluded in the city Sunday.

“For years, our priority has been to capture the international market for IT outsourcing,” said Anisur Rahman Khan, marketing manager of Leads Corporation Limited, a leading software company in Bangladesh. “And that is not only for gaining better turnover in foreign currencies for our local software ventures but also because the local business houses preferred foreign software vendors to the local ones for the lack of business confidence.”

“But now the scenario has changed. In contrary to what it was like five years back, the local software farms are now proved to be capable of providing equal services if not better than their more renowned overseas counterparts while providing that instantly from the doorstep,” he added.

“No more you have to give a call to Bangalore or Singapore and then sit helplessly for the whole day if your company’s IT vendor is just a few kilometres away and ready to serve you within half an hour.”

Observers also opined that the recent government focus on bringing ICT to the rural doorsteps and revamping the local IT infrastructure have also lured the local software companies to shift their eyes on various e-government projects and domestic ICT schemes.

What’s more, it is not only the homegrown software companies who are on the look out for local clients, but also the foreign IT ventures that are growingly focusing on the country’s burgeoning IT market.

Notably, there is a significant presence of Indian software companies in this year’s BASIS SoftExpo, a decade-long annual software fair which is now aiming to be a major IT event in the region within a few years.

“The country’s booming capital market, financial sector as well as its burgeoning corporate infrastructure would require huge IT build up in the coming years which are now up for grab for the foreign and local software companies alike,” said Enamul Haque of Tally, an Indian software company which has presence in 92 countries of the world.

One major attraction of the fair was some wonderful innovative IT projects showcased by young students from various universities of the country.

While millions of the country’s capital city get clogged in traffic jam for hours each day, hardly do they know that there is virtually a digital solution in their hand called “Smart Traffic Signal” invented by some young computer engineering students which got displayed at the BASIS fair.

Similarly, these young bunches of IT whiz kids have also showcased a Robotic Hand, an Intelligent Unmanned Vehicle, a Motion Detector and Follower and a Line Following Robot – all invented at their university laboratories.

“Bangladesh has got numerous IT talents – there are instances of Bangladeshi students coming out first among 1.7 million international students in worldwide computer science exams. But it is time for capacity building for using such talents in the local arena,” said a notable Bangladesh-born IT specialist who is now working abroad.

Bangladesh’s burgeoning software industry, now estimated to worth Tk 10 billion, is set to grow to almost Tk 50 billion within the next three to four years”.

Minimum SME loan limit to be scaled down

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Minimum SME loan limit to be scaled down
FE Report

The central bank will scale down the minimum amount of loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) so that more such enterprises can have access to credit facilities, officials said Sunday.

Under the new provision, the banks will be allowed to sanction loans of minimum Tk 50,000 instead of existing Tk 200,000 for SME financing. The upper limit for such loans, however, will remain unchanged at Tk 5.0 million.

Currently, the banks can sanction loans between Tk 200,000 and Tk 5.0 million, to any single SME to any subject to fulfillment of certain conditions by the borrowers.

“We’ve decided to relax the minimum limit of SME loans to facilitate the entrepreneurs’ particularly small ones,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Sunday.

The central bank has taken the decision in line with the stakeholders’ recommendation, he said, adding that the BB would issue a circular in this connection soon.

“Other terms and conditions for SME loans will remain unchanged,” the BB official said, adding that the borrowers would be able to use the fund as working capital as well as term loan.

The central bank earlier asked the commercial banks to ensure proper utilisation of loans for SMEs to avoid any financial risks.

Under the existing definition, the small enterprises are, in principle, not public limited companies. The criteria for such a company in service sector has been set with a total fixed asset worth Tk 50,000 to Tk 5.0 million, excluding land and building and the number of employees less than 25 persons.

A small enterprise in trading should have total assets worth Tk 50,000 to Tk 5.0 million, excluding the value of fixed asset and the number of employees at 25.

Total asset for a small enterprise in manufacturing sector has been set at Tk 50,000 to Tk 5.0 million excluding land and building and number of employees less than 25 persons.

ACI launches cholesterol-free soya bean oil

http://www.newagebd.com/2010/feb/15/busi.html#8

ACI launches cholesterol-free soya bean oil
Business Desk

ACI has launched cholesterol-free soya bean oil in the brand name of ‘ACI Pure Soyabean Oil’.

This 100 per cent pure soya bean oil is refined and purified by most modern world class European technology, said a news release.

With all natural values, ACI Pure Soya bean Oil is enriched with Omega 3 and 6. It is a good source of Vitamin E that helps prevent various kinds of dangerous disease and complication. This cholesterol free oil helps reduce risk of coronary heart disease and ensures good health, the release said.

ACI Pure Soya bean Oil is available all over the country in 5 litres, 3 litres, 2 litres and 1 litre convenient pack made of food grade PET bottles.

5.9 pc GDP growth in first half of fiscal year

http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=162158

5.9 pc GDP growth in first half of fiscal year
BSS, DHAKA

Speakers at a dialogue yesterday said the country attained 5.9 per cent GDP growth during the first half of the current fiscal year (July to December 2009) maintaining a steady economic advancement despite global financial turmoil.

“Bangladesh economy showed its mettle in 2009,” they said the country has six months more to achieve six per cent growth targeted by the present government.

International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICC,B) and Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) jointly organized the dialogue at the auditorium of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in the capital today.

Executive Director of Board of Investment (BOI) Dr SA Samad addressed the function as the chief guest with former adviser to the caretaker government Professor Wahiuddin Mahmud in the chair.

ICC,B President Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman of SME Foundation Aftab-ul Islam, Chairman of Newage Garmantes Ltd ASM Quasem, President of BKMEA Fazlul Haque, President of DCCI Abul Kashem Khan, among others, spoke.

Anisur Rahman, Investment Policy Officer of BIFC, presented a survey report titled “Business Confidence Survey Highlights 2009- 2010.”

Dr SA Samad said scarcity of power has been identified as one of the major bottlenecks for investment. There are enormous scopes for making investment in this sector.

Mentioning that the country has enormous untapped resources which could not be explored yet, he said discovering those resources, Bangladesh can achieve 8 to 9 per cent GDP growth easily.

Prof Wahiuddin Mahmud said the survey report would help businessmen to know what is happening in the business sector at present.

Referring to the World Bank report titled “Bangladesh Strategy for Sustained Growth” in 2009, Mahbubur Rahman said Bangladesh could possibly turn into a middle-income country by 2016 if GDP growth continues to sustain a 7.5 per cent rate throughout the period.

Quoting a research report of Goldman Sachs released on December 4, 2009, he said Bangladesh is one of the 11 countries which have a high potential of becoming a leading economy in the 21st century.

In his paper, Anisur Rahman showed that the business confidence in the country improved in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009, and is expected to sustain during Q1, 2010.

Business confidence picking up

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Business confidence picking up
IFC survey finds investment on the rise

Dr SA Samad, 3-L, executive chairman of Board of Investment, is seen at the report presentation of “BICF Business Confidence Survey Highlights 2009-10: A Reflection on Business Sentiments” organised by Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund and ICC-B at the DCCI auditorium in Dhaka yesterday. Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, former caretaker government adviser, and Mahbubur Rahman, president of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B), also attended the programme. Photo: ICC-B

Star Business Report

Business confidence and investment have been picking up since October last year, according to a survey conducted by International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.

“Business confidence improved in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2009 and is expected to sustain in Q1 of 2010. Investment also picked up during the period,” it reveals.

The report said investment confidence also marked a boost in Q1 of 2010.

The Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF), managed by IFC, conducted the survey in partnership with the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union (EU).

The report, ‘IFC-BICF Business Confidence Survey, Q4’09-Q1’10: A Reflection on Business Sentiments,’ was released yesterday at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI). BICF and Interna-tional Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B) jointly organised the programme.

The survey covered about 1,440 businesses across the country to measure their investment, employment, profitability and overall performances during July-Sept-ember and October-December, 2009 quarters, and their expectations for the January-March, 2010.

BICF conducts the survey on a quarterly basis to check the pulse of the business environment.

The report shows that the firms surveyed performed better in Q4’09 and it is expected to improve further in Q1’10 with similar pattern across sectors and sizes.

Overall performances tended to be better in Sylhet, Dhaka, Chittagong and Barisal compared to Rajshahi and Khulna, while outlook for Q1’10 shows promising for all locations, it said.

Business leaders, prominent economists, key private sector players, civil society representatives and government officials were present at the function to share the results of the survey and stimulate discussions on how to broaden the appeal of business reforms.

Business leaders however said energy and infrastructure constraints pose a potential threat towards development.

ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman said industrial sector has to grow further to foster the country’s economic growth.

“But smooth supply of energy is a basic requirement for boosting up the industrial growth,” said Rahman. “Energy and infrastructure constraints have now become a major problem for the country’s industrial development.”

Former adviser to the caretaker government Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said the survey result will help the businesses know what is happening currently and subsequently it will be conveyed to the policymakers.

The economist also echoed the businesses regarding energy shortage that poses a great threat to the investment scenario.

Addressing the function as chief guest, Board of Investment Executive Chairman Dr SA Samad said shortage in the energy sector has paved the way for the businessmen to come up with investment.

Samad said Bangladesh could easily grow by 8-9 percent rate by exploring its huge untapped resources.

ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman informed the gathering that the chamber is going to hold an international conference on ‘energy for growth’ in April this year considering its importance.

BICF Head James Crittle, SME Foundation Chairman Aftab ul Islam, BKMEA President Fazlul Hoque, DCCI President Abul Kasem Khan and BFTI CEO Prof MA Taslim also spoke.

Industries may get new gas in 3 years

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2010/02/14/news0861.htm

Industries may get new gas in 3 years
UNB, Dhaka

As the government has approved a new reserve in the Bibiyana gas-field, operator Chevron now moves to substantially augment production and supply of the fuel from the mine by drilling more wells.

According to official sources, the state-owned Petrobangla officially approved the new assessment results from the Bibiyana gas-field last month and asked the US-based international oil company to go for increasing the gas production in the field.

The US company, which operates the Bibiyana field, conducted a survey about its potential gas reserve and submitted the report to Petrobangla last September. After scrutinising the survey result, the Petrobangla accepted it and asked the Chevron to move forward with a development plan.

The survey report on Bibiyana indicated a larger reserve structure of 7.43 trillion cubic feet (TCF), which includes proven plus probable gas finds. The recoverable reserve is estimated to be 5.76 TCF.

Official sources said the foreign company would now move to carry out drilling for new wells in the field and increase the daily gas supply.

One official noted that when new wells would be drilled, it would facilitate increase in gas production in the field from the existing daily 600 million cubic feet to more than 1200 mmcfd within next two to three years.

Industry-insiders consider the new reserve of the Bibiyana gas field as the good news for Bangladesh as it as been experiencing nagging gas crisis that hampers operation of power plants, fertilizer factories and industries.

Dallas-based petroleum consulting firm DeGolyer & McNaughton (D&M) made the estimation last year, putting proven reserve of gas at 4.40 Tcf, more than double than the previous estimate.

Petrobabgla Chairman Dr. Hossain Monsur hoped that Chevron would be able to supply additional gas from Bibiyana field after digging new wells within the next two years.

“Bibiyana has a long life that will help Bangladesh meet its energy demand for several decades to come,” the company is quoted as saying, adding that the new reserve could also go up by another 25 per cent.

The industry-insiders believe that when Bibiyana’s new gas comes into the national gas grid, it would bring some respite from the current energy crunch.

At present, the Chevron has been operating in three gas fields across the country under production-sharing contracts (PSC) with Petrobangla. The fields are Moulvibazar, Jalalabad and Bibiyana.

Chevron Bangladesh has a 98 percent interest in Jalalabad and Moulvibazar fields. The company supplies around 250 mmcf gas a day from the two fields.

The company also has a 45 percent interests in Block-7 in southern Bangladesh where it conducted seismic survey in 2006.

Gas-fields in Bangladesh currently produce around 1,980 mmcfd gas against a demand for over 2,200 mmcfd, in which Chevron alone has a stake of about 45 percent.

FBCCI signs deal with Turkish peer

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FBCCI signs deal with Turkish peer
Star Business Report

Apex trade bodies of Bangladesh and Turkey entered into a cooperation agreement yesterday to deepen trade and economic ties benefiting the businesspeople of both countries.

Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and M Rifat Hisarciklioglu, president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, signed the deal at a breakfast meeting at Sonargoan Hotel in Dhaka.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Finance Minister AMA Muhith were also present on the occasion.

As per the deal, two trade bodies will exchange information on the state of their economies, commercial and economic legislation to further strengthen the ties.

The two sides will also organise discussions on various issues such as joint ventures, foreign direct investment and transfer of technologies.

Technical support to the field of small and medium enterprises is another aspect the two trade bodies are supposed to extend bilateral collaboration.

The accord will also envisage exchange of trade missions and participation in trade fairs organised by the two countries. The two sides agreed to take necessary preparations for the establishment of Turkish-Bangladesh Business Council.

MOU ON INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

Turkish Investment firm RHEA Investments and domestic DANA Group also penned a memorandum of understanding with the objective to arrange and lend up to $1.0 billion to the government of Bangladesh to finance infrastructure projects.

Subject to successful implementation of the projects, RHEA also expressed interest to donate $5 million to education and healthcare projects in Bangladesh

RHEA Chief Executive Officer Onur Takmak and Dana Group Managing Director Salman Masud signed the agreement.

Govt plans permanent bank reform committee

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Govt plans permanent bank reform committee
Star Business Report

The government plans to form a permanent bank reform committee in a bid to strengthen the banking system and reduce the risks caused by globalisation, finance ministry officials said.

They also said the government is considering a number of bank reform proposals.

Some parliamentary committees and businessmen have recommended amendment to a number of bank-related laws.

The last caretaker government had promulgated an ordinance amending some clauses of the bank company act, but the present government did not get those passed. The bank reform committee will examine all these matters and make recommendations.

During the past BNP-led four party alliance government, a bank reform committee was formed with Wahiduddin Mahmud as its chief but most of its recommendations remained unimplemented.

Tourists to get added pleasure as sea cruise starts at Cox’s Bazar

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Tourists to get added pleasure as sea cruise starts at Cox’s Bazar

Keari Cruise and Dine sails through Moheshkhali channel with tourists from Cox's Bazar as the luxury ship started its maiden trip yesterday morning.Photo: STAR

A Correspondent, Cox’s Bazar

Luxury ship Keari Cruise and Dine started its maiden trip yesterday, offering tourists in Cox’s Bazar a unique opportunity for enjoying the picturesque natural beauty of the Bay of Bengal and the beach.

Lawmaker from Cox’s Bazar-3 (Sadar-Ramu) constituency, Lutfor Rahman inaugurated the trip at the BIWTA jetty at Nuniachhara on the estuary of Bakkhali River in the town at 10:00am.

During its daily trip from the jetty, the ship will cross through Moheshkhali and Sonadia channels and sail up to Inani beach in Ukhia upazia. The 35-kilometre trip will take one and a half hours. In another 90 minutes, it will return to Bakkhali River, touching Himchhari, Baro Chhara and Kolatoli.

The ship with a 150-seat conference room and arrangement for 310 passengers’ travelling will take three two-way trips (morning, noon, afternoon) daily from Bakkhali River to Inani beach and a night trip will be added later, said Mohammad Mohsin, director of Keari Cruise and Dine.

A tourist will have to pay Tk 1200 to Tk 1800 for the three-hour trip, including high quality food, tea, coffee and snacks, said officials of Keari Tours and Services Ltd that has taken the initiative.

The initiative has offered tourists the rare opportunity to watch the coast with hills and streams, fishermen’s catching and drying fish while travelling in the sea, said several tourists narrating experience of their first trip by the ship.

Handicraft fair begins in Sonargaon

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Handicraft fair begins in Sonargaon
Bss, Narayanganj

A month-long handicraft fair and folklore festival kicked off yesterday at Bangladesh Folklore and Crafts Foundation in Sonargaon.

Abdullah-Al-Kausar MP, inaugurated the festival as chief guest, while Hedeytullah Al-Mamun, cultural affairs secretary, was present as special guest.

A total of 192 stalls will display handicrafts, apparels and stationery goods at the fair.

Rabindra Gope, director of Bangladesh Folklore and Crafts Foundation, presided over the function, where Shamsur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Narayanganj, and Noorsia Komol, upazila nirbahi officer of Sonargaon, were also present.

The fair and folklore festival ends on March 14.