Economy of Bangladesh [Archive] - Page 3

mirzazeehan

May 31st, 2008, 09:39 AM

Budget 2008-09: Govt to reduce dependence on WB, IMF prescriptions

4-tier duty structure likely, protection to local industries stressed
Saturday May 31 2008 06:47:11 AM BDT

Exigencies are likely to dominate the next budget as the Government this time is attaching more importance to it over the prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF marking a shift in the policy at home.(The New Nation)

The officials of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund also seem to be less active this year to influence the fiscal measures like duty cuts on finished products for further import liberalisation.

Rather, the next budget may include measures to protect local industry from the rising cost of raw materials in the international market.
Massive change is going to be brought in the duty structure by splitting it into four tiers, which is a clear shift from the donor suggested fiscal policy. According to the suggestions of the donors, a three-tier duty structure was introduced in the budget two years back, with massive duty cuts on imports-ignoring local investors plea.

However, the Government in the next budget would give facilities to import raw materials and intermediate products, which are used to produce import-alternative commodities.

Moreover, import duty would be raised considerably on finished products, which are already produced locally. The local business community's suggestions are getting priority in this regard, sources in the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said.

The import duty on capital machinery would be reduced to three per cent from existing five per cent, while duty on intermediate goods and industrial raw materials would be cut down to 7 per cent from existing 10 per cent, the sources informed.

The measures would help reduce production csost of the local industries. Separate measures are also being taken to trim down the production cost of food items, NBR officials said.

Annisul Huq, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), said the budget must be friendly to the local industries, which were suffering from price hike of imported raw materials.

"So we have formally proposed and urged the NBR to reduce import duty on raw materials and raise the same on finished products," he told The New Nation.

Moreover, the Government is also not so serious with budget deficit, which is always stressed by the multinational lending agencies. The overall budget deficit is going to stand at 5 per cent for the upcoming fiscal year 2008-09, though the donors have suggested to narrow it down to 4 per cent, it is learnt.

"Obviously, the budget deficit will increase," Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Mirza AB Azizul Islam said at a function recently. The country's leading economists and researchers also gave the Government the green signal to go ahead with its plan to widen budget deficit necessary for financing increased expenditures due to the present price situation.

Besides fiscal policy, the monetary policy of the Government has also shifted markedly from the tendency to follow IMF suggestions meticulously. Experiencing a failure to curb inflation, the Bangladesh Bank in recent months has shunned the contractionary policy and has eased money supply.

Last year the whole raft of duty measures was planned at the insistence of WB and IMF and the current budget saw a departure from the earlier fiscal measures supporting local industries.

Prescribed by the lenders, the Government withdrew infrastructure development surcharge from several hundred finished goods and imposed or enhanced duties on industrial raw materials.

Besides, zero duty import facility was removed from above 400 industrial raw materials and machinery, which became subject to 10 per cent tariff in the current fiscal year.

Import duty on about 1200 items, mostly industrial machinery and raw materials, went up to 10 per cent from previous five per cent.

The budget for the 2007-08 fiscal doubled the minimum duty to 10 per cent, while import of intermediate goods became subject to 3 per cent higher tariffs.

Economists and industrialists termed the fiscal measures as 'suicidal' for the country's ailing industrial economy. Such measures might make the multilateral lending agencies happy, but would hit the local industry hard, they cautioned at that time.

The successive governments had long been pursuing policies to protect local industries under duty and para-tariff measures, also practiced in almost all countries around the globe.

Source:http://www.bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidRecord=202431

TIslam

May 31st, 2008, 05:26 PM

Budget 2008-09: Govt to reduce dependence on WB, IMF prescriptions

About time!

amar11372

May 31st, 2008, 10:20 PM

B'desh set to emerge as next global footwear making hub

Mahmuda Shaolin

Bangladesh is set to emerge as the next manufacturing hub of global footwear industry as cheap labour coupled with weak currency is prompting top manufacturers to relocate their factories in the country.

Officials said in the last two months alone the export promotion zones authority have signed agreements with at least three top global footwear manufacturers, who have promised to invest more than $118 million dollars.

Local manufacturers said most of the factories outside EPZs are also undergoing massive expansion while at least six new local companies are debuting in the coming months amid a rush of export order from top world buyers.

And in June, work will begin on the country's largest footwear factory in the Korean Export Processing Zone, its owner Youngone Corp. has said, adding the $100 million plant would be able to manufacture 30 million pair shoes a year.

Officials have termed the last half a year being 'revolutionary and epochal' for the footwear industry.

"The figure is at least 10 times the amount of what the EPZs have wooed in footwear sector since our inception more than two decades ago," said a senior Bangladesh Export Promotion Zones Authority (BEPZA) official.

The investment deals include $52.50 million by Genfort Shoes Limited, $50.09 millions by Xin Chang Shoes and $15.47 millions by Super Protective Shoes. All three are Taiwanese companies with huge markets in Europe and North America.

"All three have big manufacturing facilities in China. But they are relocating their factories to Bangladesh as labour has become much expensive in China," said a top Taipei government official who is facilitating the factories' relocation.

According to the Wall Street Journal newspaper at least 6000 footwear factories housed in Dong Guan, the world's biggest footwear hub, have either closed down or become sick due to massive rise in wages and appreciation by Chinese currency.

In addition, shoes manufactured in China have been slapped with up to 16 per cent anti-dumping duties by the 27 European Union countries, the world largest market for shoes.

The three companies would employ tens of thousands of Bangladeshi workers in the EPZs, with at least two keeping provisions for further expansion once they start exporting shoes, BEPZA officials said.

The top Taipei official who does not want to disclose his identity said Taiwanese investors are particularly interested in Bangladesh, as labour is the cheapest in the region while workers have been traditionally strong in artisan works.

"Some of the investors are impressed with the skill of the Bangladesh female workers. Their hands are the nimblest in the world, which is good for footwear manufacturing," he said.

Already eight top factories are lining up to invest in the country's EPZs or outside, he said adding he expect signings of the deals within this year. "Apart from the eight, every week we have visitors from Taiwan and China."

The official however said availability of land poses a threat to relocation of footwear factories from China.

"Land has emerged as the main problem. Some of the investors want land as big as stadiums where 30,000 to 40,000 workers can work in one shift. But BEPZA does not have such a huge land," he said.

Local manufacturers said a weak Bangladeshi Taka against a falling dollar has also driven the growth of the footwear industry.

"Our currency is still weak against dollar compared to the Chinese Yuan or Indian Rupee. As a result our footwear items have become cheaper in the world market," said Saiful Islam, president of Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh.

Islam, the owner of leading local footwear exporter Picard, said most of the country's 47 exporters are expanding fast to cope with increased orders from the top global buyers.

"We are now manufacturing high class and fashionable leather footwear at a minimum of cost. Top foreign investors are also rushing in here to exploit these facilities," he said, adding six new local companies will also start operation very soon.

The rush in order has seen footwear export grew by a 21.32 per cent to $ 120 millions in the first nine months, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

"We are hopeful footwear export will fetch at least one billion dollars by 2011. And if everything goes well, it can be as big as the garments industry within a decade," Islam said.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=35346

mirzazeehan

May 31st, 2008, 10:27 PM

Great news....more diversification..just what we need.Shipbuilding,Leather,IT,footwear,Ceramics could all be our main drivers of export in some years time.

G2G

June 1st, 2008, 04:35 AM

Excellent news indeed. :)

dopekhor

June 1st, 2008, 07:19 PM

cant wait to get my new pair of jordans at a couple of hundred takas

dopekhor

June 1st, 2008, 07:22 PM

land shouldnt be much of a problem there are many areas in bd which are not fertile and are near the sea which makes farming very difficult the goverment should lease these type of lands to such companies

Whiteeclipse

June 1st, 2008, 07:31 PM

Bangladesh expects a 15.6 pct of growth in GDP for next fiscal

DHAKA, Jun 01, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- -- The Bangladesh caretaker government has set the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 6131 billion taka (about 87.6 billion U.S. dollars) for the next fiscal year, marking a 15.6 percent growth compared to current fiscal, said a senior official here Sunday.

The GDP for 2008-09 fiscal (July 2008-June 2009) will be 828 billion taka (about 11.8 billion U.S. dollars) higher than current 2007-08 fiscal, a senior official of Finance Ministry said.

The size of Bangladesh's GDP in the outgoing fiscal is 5303 billion taka (about 75.8 billion U.S. dollars). It was 4675 billion taka (about 66.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006-07 fiscal.

The official said the government is expected to announce a deficit of 300 billion taka (about 4.3 billion U.S. dollars) or 5. 0 percent of GDP in the upcoming annual budget outlay of 995 billion taka (about 14.2 billion U.S. dollars) for the next fiscal.

According to the budget estimates, total revenue collection target of Bangladesh for 2008-09 is likely to be 702.04 billion taka (about 10 billion U.S. dollars), registering a growth of around 15 percent than the projection for 2007-08 fiscal.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1643171/

amar11372

June 1st, 2008, 10:48 PM

Bangladesh expects a 15.6 pct of growth in GDP for next fiscal

Thats seems very high growth, thanks for sharing Whiteeclipse.

amar11372

June 1st, 2008, 11:54 PM

Bangladesh taka strengthens as dollar supply expands

DHAKA, June 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's currency the taka has gained 0.04 percent against the U.S. dollar over the past week owing to an increased supply of the U.S. currency in the interbank market.

An increase in remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad and steady exports have contributed to a rise in the supply of dollars, central bank officials said on Sunday.

However, the central bank has injected around $700 million into the banking system since November 2007 to indirectly help the taka to appreciate, as demand for dollars was high because of increased import payments, they said.

"But, the selling trend is now downward as there is sufficient supply of dollar in the market," a senior central bank official said.

Last month, it sold just $26 million to the foreign exchange market.

The taka closed on Sunday at 68.52/68.54 per dollar against 68.55/68.57 taka last Monday. Officials said the increase might continue.

"We are closely monitoring the foreign exchange market to check unnecessary transactions in the dollar by the dealer banks and ensure discipline in the market," the official said.

However, the south Asian country's foreign exchange reserves fell to $5.33 billion at the end of May from $5.77 billion in April.

Like other countries, Bangladesh has seen food and fuel import prices soar. That has pushed Bangladesh's inflation to double-digit levels and fuelled an expansion in the trade deficit.

Imports in July through February surged by more than 21 percent to $13.4 billion from the same period of 2006/07, while exports rose just 11.3 percent to $8.9 billion.

Remittances, a key source of foreign exchange for the impoverished country, hit $6.45 billion in July through April, 31 percent higher than the same period of 2006/07.

The central bank also withdrew cash through auctions of reverse repurchase agreements, treasury bills and Bangladesh government treasury bonds to keep pressure on liquidity. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by David Holmes)

http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINDHA30393020080601?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

G2G

June 2nd, 2008, 07:17 AM

15% GDP growth rate??.. Imagination should have some limit. :)

dopekhor

June 2nd, 2008, 11:20 AM

15% GDP growth rate??.. Imagination should have some limit. :)
thats the best part of the imagination it is not confined by any borders http://forums.ratedesi.com/images/smilies/icon_dance.gif

amar11372

June 3rd, 2008, 01:38 AM

Industries sector registers 5.6pc growth in 7 months

Country's industries sector registered 5.60 per cent growth in the first seven months of the current fiscal (2007-08) compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

During the first half of the fiscal the sector was affected by sluggish investment and low export-oriented manufacturing activities, head of economic unit of Asian Development Bank (ADB) RK Khan told BSS Monday.

"But in the second half it rebounded with an upturn in the export-oriented manufacturing and effective measures taken by the government to restore business confidence," he said.

The sign of recovery in the manufacturing activities is supported by restored business confidence, increased import of industrial raw materials, rebound in exports of garments and increased private sector credit, Khan said.

According to ADB's recent quarterly economic update, in only January this year, the production of medium and large-scale industries rose sharply by 16.70 per cent against the corresponding period in 2007.

The output of small-scale manufacturing, which caters mostly to the domestic market, also expanded by 7.0 per cent in the first half of current fiscal over the corresponding period of the fiscal 2006- 07, said the outlook.

After witnessing a slowdown over several months, the business community and other stakeholders got relieved when readymade garments (RMG), the premier export industry of the country, sharply rebounded in the third quarter of current fiscal year (2007-08), Khan said.

The RMG sector, which makes up more than 75 per cent of the country's export basket, pulled up the overall export earnings growth to 12.40 per cent during July-March of the current fiscal.

The RMG sector could not be able to manage that much order before January 2007 due to political confrontation which had made a depression in the RMG export in July-to-September of the last year, Khan pointed out.

Improvements in compliance and labour relations, return of business confidence, increasing efficiency of Chittagong sea port and appreciation of currencies in major competing countries including India, China and Vietnam are believed to be contributing to rising RMG orders in Bangladesh, he said.

Another study, conducted by economist Selim Raihan, showed that the business confidence has improved during the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of the last year.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=35506

amar11372

June 3rd, 2008, 09:30 PM

Remittance inflow exceeds $7b in 11 months

FE Report

Remittances from expatriate Bangladeshis exceeded US$7.0 billion in the first eleven months of the current fiscal, marking a 31.14 per cent growth over the same period of the last fiscal.

The country received $7.163 billion during the July-May period of the fiscal 2007-08 compared with $5.462 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics, released Tuesday.

"We expect the flow of inward remittance to reach nearly $8.0 billion by the end of this fiscal," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.

He also said the central bank is now planning to take some effective measures aiming to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis for sending home more money.

"Remittances continued to rise sharply due to massive growth in manpower export and implementation of the Anti-money Laundering Act that influenced the expatriates to use official channels for sending money back home," the official observed.

More than 295,155 Bangladeshis found jobs in over 100 countries during the January-April period, up from 192,725 in the same period of the last year, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) statistics.

The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad was estimated at $732.58 million in May last, a fall of $49.13 million from the previous month.

Last April, the total amount of money remitted by Bangladeshi wage earners amounted to $781.71 million, which was $237.97 million higher than that of the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, the BB's data showed.

The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at $5.35 billion Tuesday due to robust remittance growth, the central bank officials added.

The BB has already enacted a series of anti-money laundering laws and simplified money exchange rules to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to avoid the illegal hundi channel.

It has also allowed the commercial banks to partner with the non-governmental organisations (NGO) having branches all over the country for disbursement of remittances, particularly in the rural areas.

amar11372

June 3rd, 2008, 09:34 PM

14pc growth in expenditure likely in budget

FE Report

The government is likely to set the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimate at Tk 6131 billion for the fiscal 2008-09, up by Tk 828 billion from fiscal 2007-08, Finance ministry sources said.

The size of GDP of the outgoing fiscal is Tk 5303 billion, which was Tk 4675 billion in 2006-07.

The government is expected to project a budgetary deficit of Tk 300 billion or 5.0 per cent of GDP in the upcoming fiscal.

In the budget for FY09, the finance adviser is expected to project over 14 per cent growth of expenditure over that of the revised budget of Tk 860.85 billion for the outgoing 2007-8 fiscal. The projection will be at least 17 per cent of the country's GDP.

The government expects to get around Tk 124 billion as foreign assistance in the 2008-09 fiscal.

"Government's borrowing from internal sources will decline if it receives additional funds as project assistance," a finance ministry official said.

In 2007-08 the original size of the budget was Tk 871.37 billion, including Tk 75.23 billion liabilities of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), which the government absorbed by issuing 'non-cash' bond.

Of the total budget, the size of Annual Development Programme (ADP) is likely to be of Tk 256 billion.

The upcoming budget will streamline subsidies, including readjustment of government controlled prices, in the wake of soaring prices of fuel and fertiliser in the international market, officials said.

According to the budget estimates, total revenue collection target for 2008-09 is likely to be Tk 702.04 billion, or 11.48 per cent of the GDP.

Of the projected revenue, tax revenue collection target might be set at around Tk 547 billion and non-tax revenue at Tk 132.50 billion and non-NBR revenue at Tk 22.50 billion.

dopekhor

June 3rd, 2008, 10:20 PM

woah pretty soon bangladesh is gonna be in the top 5 receivers of remittance

mirzazeehan

June 3rd, 2008, 10:22 PM

7 Billion in eleven months is great news... 850 million more in the last month and we get to hit 8billion remittance:cheers:

amar11372

June 4th, 2008, 02:10 AM

woah pretty soon bangladesh is gonna be in the top 5 receivers of remittance

Lets hope so. :)

sayem

June 5th, 2008, 12:22 AM

GDP growth projected at 6.5pc in FY ’09

Nazmul Ahsan

The country’s gross domestic product is projected to grow by 6.5 per cent to Tk 6131.11 billion in the next fiscal year, while inflation has been estimated at 9 per cent, top sources in the government have told New Age.
Gross investment and savings (public and private) have been projected at Tk 1494.47 billion in the 2008-09 fiscal year beginning on July 1, while total revenue earnings and expenditures have been estimated at Tk 693.81 billion and Tk 999.62 billion respectively, leaving a deficit of Tk 305.81 billion, they said quoting budgetary estimates and targets of medium term macroeconomic framework.
To bankroll the deficit, Tk 135.81 billion has been expected as external finances while net domestic financing has been estimated at Tk 170 billion, according to the documents.
The GDP growth in the outgoing 2007-08 fiscal was originally estimated at 7.1 per cent, which has been revised downward to six per cent.
The government expects tax revenue incomes of Tk 567.89 billion, and Tk 125.92 billion from non-tax sources in the next fiscal year.
Tax incomes from National Board of Revenue have been estimated at Tk 545 billion, according to the budgetary projections, which could see some changes before the budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year is announced on Monday, June 9, sources said.
Subsidies would account for Tk 185.24 billion of the revenue expenditures estimated at Tk 744.62 billion, while the annual development expenditures would be Tk 255 billion.
Interest payment would amount to Tk 125.65 billion and block allocation Tk 28.18 billion in the next budget.
The amount of block allocation — always a concern of economists who say it creates scopes for unseen expenditures — earmarked in the current budget was Tk 6.04 billion.
The domestic borrowing target of the government for the current fiscal year was Tk 117.53 billion, which shot to Tk 139 billion in eight months to February.
Finance and planning adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, who has been on a foreign tour, is scheduled to arrive today (Thursday), sources said.
The projections could go through some changes at a meeting of council of advisers expected on Friday or Saturday before the budget documents get ready for presentation, they hinted.

http://www.newagebd.com/front.html#2

amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:39 PM

Remittance inflow

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:44 PM

Economic Review - May 2008

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:45 PM

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:47 PM

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:53 PM

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:55 PM

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amar11372

June 5th, 2008, 11:56 PM

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amar11372

June 7th, 2008, 08:03 AM

Bangladesh key economic indicators - June

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skydive

June 7th, 2008, 05:39 PM

[SIZE=6]
The country also enjoys one of the world's lowest oil prices owing to government subsidies, which last year cost the country around 600 million dollars.

Worker remittances jumped 25 percent to a record 4.84 billion dollars in the 2005-2006 fiscal year

Isnt is true that Bangladesh gets free oil from Saudi Arabia, and which is why the price of oil/petrol /diesel is so cheap. What would happen to this cheap price if Bangladesh had to pay the market price:nuts: Also regaridng remitance increasing, i bet the corrupt politians or who ever control this money is looking at the brochure of the Latest BMW or london apartment with satisfaction, and not a care in the world for the hard working people who are sending the remitance. :ohno: THIEVES. Bangladesh beat Nigeria to become the number one corrupt country, so yes bangladesh is good in something :lol::ohno: Shame

skydive

June 7th, 2008, 05:42 PM

woah pretty soon bangladesh is gonna be in the top 5 receivers of remittance

and create more corruption from the 'easy money':bash:

dopekhor

June 7th, 2008, 07:21 PM

Isnt is true that Bangladesh gets free oil from Saudi Arabia, and which is why the price of oil/petrol /diesel is so cheap. What would happen to this cheap price if Bangladesh had to pay the market price:nuts: Also regaridng remitance increasing, i bet the corrupt politians or who ever control this money is looking at the brochure of the Latest BMW or london apartment with satisfaction, and not a care in the world for the hard working people who are sending the remitance. :ohno: THIEVES. Bangladesh beat Nigeria to become the number one corrupt country, so yes bangladesh is good in something :lol::ohno: Shame
free where the fcuk did you get that fact?

dopekhor

June 7th, 2008, 07:22 PM

and create more corruption from the 'easy money':bash:
sad but true again...

if only we got the actual figures.. even today the bulk of the remittance comes through hundi

sayem

June 7th, 2008, 09:28 PM

SKYDIVE, First of all Bangladesh don't get free oil from anywhere (and definitely not from saudis). We purchase majority of our oil from Kuwait. Where did you get your info from...?!!!!!!!

About corruption...... ya it is a shame that we used to be no. 1 corrupt country according to Transperency International for few years but after a major crack down on corrupt politicians, govt. bureaucrates and businessmen last year, the situation is improved....the same TI reported this year that we are not within the 5 most CORRUPT NATIONS ANYMORE. So before posting any info please make sure that it is updated.

amar11372

June 8th, 2008, 12:21 AM

First of all Bangladesh don't get free oil from anywhere (and definitely not from saudis). We purchase majority of our oil from Kuwait. Where did you get your info from...?!!!!!!!

About corruption...... ya it is a shame that we used to be no. 1 corrupt country according to Transperency International for few years but after a major crack down on corrupt politicians, govt. bureaucrates and businessmen last year, the situation is improved....the same TI reported this year that we are not within the 5 most CORRUPT NATIONS ANYMORE. So before posting any info please make sure that it is updated.

free where the fcuk did you get that fact?

Ignore him, Only an utter Idiot would think that Saudi Arabia gives away free oil to any country. :nuts:

amar11372

June 8th, 2008, 12:23 AM

Govt sees 6.21pc GDP growth, lower inflation
Staff Correspondent

The government estimates that the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) will grow by 6.21 percent in the current fiscal year (FY2007-08), despite fears that economic growth might dip as much as one percentage point.

Besides, inflation rate has dropped to 7.66 percent, as point-to-point inflation fell by 2.4 percentage points between March and April, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said yesterday.

He was talking to the reporters after yesterday's National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have both said over the past year that they fear the GDP growth may fall by around one percentage point due to a number of natural disasters and government-driven institutional reforms.

Aziz said that inflation was at 10.06 percent in March, which fell to 7.66 percent in April.

Asked how inflation could have gone down with soaring prices of essentials, the finance adviser said that the prices have remained high only in Dhaka, but there has been a fall in commodity prices across the country.

“Most people are looking at it from a Dhaka-centric perspective,” Aziz said.

Last week, a report by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said that people have lost 37.6 percent of their income to rising inflation over the past year.

Talking about it, Aziz said, “I do not know their methodologies, but how could real income fall when nominal income levels have not fallen even if inflation was at 11 percent. So there is no question of incomes falling by 37 percent.”

dopekhor

June 8th, 2008, 08:43 PM

sayem

June 8th, 2008, 08:49 PM

miss quote?

Sorry dopekhor.......it was a miss quote indeed.......but how come I did that ???

dopekhor

June 8th, 2008, 11:24 PM

Sorry dopekhor.......it was a miss quote indeed.......but how come I did that ???
feeds me man~

amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:25 AM

http://edailystar.com/contents/2008/2008_06_09/content_zoom/2008_06_09_24_5_b.jpg

amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:26 AM

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amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:26 AM

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amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:27 AM

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amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 11:31 AM

Budget Speech 2008-2009

http://www.mof.gov.bd/mof2/budget/08_09/budget_speech/08_09_en.pdf

amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:21 PM

From the Budget 08-09

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amar11372

June 9th, 2008, 12:43 PM

From the Budget 08-09

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manbil777

June 10th, 2008, 01:24 AM

From the Budget 08-09

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Now where are the women earning Tk 165,000 per month? I'm willing to pay good money for getting a list :) <JK>

sayem

June 10th, 2008, 03:08 PM

Now where are the women earning Tk 165,000 per month? I'm willing to pay good money for getting a list :) <JK>

It is not month...this is for year's income of TK.165000

manbil777

June 10th, 2008, 09:18 PM

amar11372

June 10th, 2008, 10:18 PM

Yearly sounds more pragmatic now...I was watching a show actually on NTV where they were saying this limit should be increased further to infuse liquidity into the economy (i.e. actual reported incomes instead of under-the-table cash). However I'll let Amar explain it further since I'm no economist.

With the recent run-up on inflation/cost of living, I doubt even earning TK.165000 is enough to bring liquidity into the economy.

amar11372

June 11th, 2008, 02:23 PM

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meghnarmajhi

June 12th, 2008, 02:22 AM

Raising the limit for tax free income to Tk165,000 (US$2,409) isn't bad at all. I think US limit is about US$10,000.

amar11372

June 13th, 2008, 03:03 AM

BB sees near-term outlook for economy positive

FE Report

The central bank sees the near term outlook for the economy positive despite adverse price developments in the international markets and less growth prospects of the global economy in 2008.

"This positive outlook, however, is underpinned by several factors, such as supportive macroeconomic polices, steady growth in public and private investments, effective management of gas, electricity, and other infrastructural deficiencies, and implementation of prudent institutional and structural reforms," the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said in its Monetary Policy Review, released Thursday.

The Review provides analysis of major developments in real and monetary sectors of the Bangladesh economy covering the first three quarters, ending in March last, of the fiscal year 2007-08 (FY08).

"With increasingly more emphasis and reliance on the private sector for investment and growth, one of the priorities that the financial sector policies need to focus on strengthening the required debt market infrastructure that can create a vibrant secondary debt market in Bangladesh," the review recommended.

The policies need also to develop a class of institutional investors capable of providing funds with relatively long term tenures. "This will generate better returns for household savings and wider choices for institutional investors," it noted.

The Review also pointed out that the use of short term instruments relative to longer term ones was more effective for the BB in controlling the liquidity situation in the economy as the bond or bill market is yet to mature in the country.

In addition to monetary policy adjustments, the Review underscored the importance of several other elements in achieving the current economic priorities like maintaining fiscal discipline, rationalising the spread between deposit and lending rates, adopting effective policies to increase real sector production and improve marketing chains and introducing international prudential norms for banks and financial institutions to bring consistency and accountability and ensure grater financial inclusion.

The Review also found that the policy response of the central bank so far had been appropriate and in line with its declared monetary policy stance.

Based on demand and supply side assessments of the economy, the Review projected that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for FY08 would lie in the range between 6.0 per cent and 6.2 per cent.

"While agriculture sector is likely to grow between 3.3 per cent, the growth rate of the industry sector is projected to lie in the ranging of 7.3 per cent to 7.5 per cent in FY08, which is lower than the sector's growth rate of the previous two years. The service sector is likely to grow between 6.4 per cent and 6.6 per cent in FY08," the BB estimated.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=36518

amar11372

June 15th, 2008, 09:34 PM

Country eyes $10 billion remittance next fiscal

Naim-Ul-Karim

The receipts from overseas remittances is expected to reach US$10 billion in the next fiscal year following a robust growth in manpower export in the outgoing fiscal, a senior official said Saturday.

In the first 11 months of the outgoing fiscal, inflow of remittances from around 5.6 million Bangladeshis, living and working abroad, stood at $7.163 billion with 31.14 per cent growth over the same period of the last fiscal.

"We will have no other alternative but to encourage increased remittances from abroad in next fiscal year to meet the country's surging import payments," a senior central bank official said, requesting to be unnamed.

In July-May period of the current fiscal, import payments soared by 25 per cent stood at $18.22 billion against $14.65 billion in the same period of the last fiscal.

On the other hand, the country's exports in the first ten months of the current fiscal with 14.66 per cent growth stood at $11.65 billion.

In the last fiscal, the country's foreign trade accounted for $29.63 billion including $12.18 billion in export and $17.45 billion in import bills.

A senior official of the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, requesting for anonymity, said it would not be a difficult task if the government offers more facilities to the expatriates to remit money through formal channels.

Apart from this, he said: "A business-friendly environment has to be created in the country's real-estate sector so that realtors can woo more expatriates to buy flats and plots at home which can contribute immensely in boosting inflow of remittances."

Chief of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment (MEWOE) said the government has already taken a number of measures to make transfer of remittances to the families of expatriates safely and quickly.

"I don't think $10 billion worth of remittances in next fiscal will be an impossible task as we are now exporting more skilled manpower," Abdul Matin Chowdhury, secretary of the MEWOE, told the FE Saturday.

There is an instruction for arranging motivational courses for overseas job aspirants prior to leaving Dhaka to send home money through formal channels, he said.

"We have already allowed the private commercial banks to partner with government and non-government organisations having network deep into the country side to boost remittances," the official said, adding there is a strong possibility to boost remittances as manpower export is recording an impressive double digit growth this year.

More than 377,894 Bangladeshis found jobs in over 100 countries during the January-May period or 42.16 up over that in the same period of the last year, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) statistics.

amar11372

June 17th, 2008, 05:06 AM

Untapped Investment Opportunities in Bangladesh

Asia Society
New York, NY
Jan 24th, 2008

The World Bank calls it the Bangladesh Paradox. The Bangladesh economy has steadily accelerated in recent years, with growth reaching 7 percent in 2006. The country scores particularly well on socio-economic indicators. Global banks and multilateral institutions present a highly optimistic outlook: Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch have identified Bangladesh as a key investment opportunity. This impressive growth occurs in a climate of political restructuring. A caretaker government is implementing reforms toward privatizing many state-owned enterprises. The Dhaka Stock Exchange Index is at a 10-year high, up 66 percent this year, making it Asia's top performer after China. And the stock market is expected to double in size in 2008.

Discover why market-oriented reforms, strong socio-economic indicators and highly favorable demographics are poised to render Bangladesh one of the world's most exciting investment opportunities - Asia Society

Video

http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Untapped_Investment_Opportunities_in_Bangladesh

Tmac

June 17th, 2008, 06:47 AM

Per capita income leaps to $599
High remittance flow seen as major contributor

http://www.thedailystar.net/photo/2008/06/17/2008-06-17__front01.jpg

Per capita income in Bangladesh has shot up to $ 599 this fiscal year from the previous year's $523, demonstrating that the country's overall income has significantly gone up despite many odds.

The odds include fall in growth by one to three percentage points in agriculture, manufacturing, construction and service sectors.

According to the latest national accounts data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the increase in per capita income is very significant because it (per capita income) used to be $440 in fiscal 2003-4, $463 in 04-5 and $476 in 05-6.

"Per capita income marked a rise by nearly 14 percent due to high growth of remittance," said Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Mustafizur Rahman. "This is the same reason why our per capita income marked a rise of 12 percent in the previous fiscal year."

Bangladesh's achieving the status of a middle-income country from that of a Least Developed Country (LDC) is not very far away. A country remains an LDC till its per capita income remains below $ 750.

The BBS data show that growth in agriculture and forestry was 3.47 percent in 2007-08. In the previous year it was 4.69 percent.

The fall in growth occurred due to Sidr and two consecutive floods. Final estimate of Aus production this fiscal year stood at 15 lakh tonnes, which is close to previous year's production. But production of Aman has been 97 lakh tonnes, which is 10.2 percent lower than that last year. It is estimated that production of Boro will be 1.75 crore tonnes, 17 percent higher than last year's.

Animal farming marked a decline by 3.08 percentage points to 2.41 percent in 2007-08 from the previous year's 5.49 percent.

A Bangladesh Bank (BB) report --Macro Economic Outlook Fiscal Year 08-- says, "Despite massive damage to Aman production due to two devastating floods and the cyclone and the losses in the poultry sector resulting from the outbreak of avian flu, agriculture sector is expected to grow slightly above its trend rate due to bumper Boro production."

The BBS data show the manufacturing sector marked a growth of 7.42 percent-- which is down by 2.3 percentage points from that of the previous fiscal year's 9.72 percent.

Sources said the manufacturing sector suffered from declining exports in the first quarter this year. It improved in the second and third quarters.

In construction sector, growth dropped by 1.08 percentage points to 5.93 percent this fiscal year from the previous year's 7.01 percent. The downtrend is caused by sharp increase in the price of construction materials including mild steel rod, cement, brick, bitumen, and paint. "Increased costs of raw materials contributed to higher prices of key construction materials creating an adverse impact on overall construction activities," said the BB report on macro economy.

Growth in wholesale and retail trade was 7.2 percent, financial intermediations 8.97 percent, real estate, renting and business activities 3.59, public administration and defence 7.15, education 7.88 and in health and social works 7.50 percent. The growth in all of these sectors was however lower by less than one percentage point than that in the previous fiscal year.

Growth in mining and quarrying was 8.61 percent, fishing 4.11, electricity, gas and water supply 4.88, hotel and restaurants 7.58, transport, and storage and communication 8.69 percent. The sectors grew by 0.5 to maximum 2.78 percent points from that of the previous year.

All these contributed to the nation's GDP growth of 6.21 percent in 2007-08 compared to 6.43 percent in the previous year.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=41501

amar11372

June 18th, 2008, 12:12 AM

Bangladesh economy to grow double digit by 2020-ADB

By Serajul Islam Quadir

DHAKA, June 17 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's economy is likely to grow at a double digit level over the next 12 years, a senior official of the Asian Development Bank said on Tuesday.

"With the current growth trends, the country has the potentials to reach the threshold of a middle income country by the year 2020," said Hua Du, the outgoing country director of the ADB.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth climbed steadily to over 6 percent a year in the last 5 years, up from 4.8 percent in the 1990s and 3.5 percent in the 1980s, she said.

"Indeed, I have personally witnessed a dynamic and growing Bangladesh over the past six years," she said at a meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh.

She is due to leave Bangladesh middle of next month ending her assignment.

With nearly half its more than 140 million people now living on less than $1 per day, Bangladesh has set a target to reduce poverty by 50 percent by the end of 2015, one of the key millennium development goals.

"The people of Bangladesh are dynamic and hard working, even with heightened external shocks and critical governance and capacity constraints in its political and public administration system," Hua said.

"The country's garment industry which accounts for two thirds of its total export earnings of more than $12 billion, continues to show strong growth even after the phase-out of the multi-fibre agreement."

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and ADB had predicted that the country's garments industry would collapse after the end of the MFA, which guaranteed export market quotas, "but that did not happen," she said.

"Though often paid a very low wage, the contributions of the two million female workers to the garments industry have been incredible ... (which) revolutionized the mobility of women, broken the social taboo and brought about a positive change outside home," she said.

"Rapid inflation is the biggest problem at the moment which has been pushed by higher import bills on food grains and fuels due to inconceivable price hikes in the international markets," she said.

But Hua said the south Asian country had faced the challenge of inflation boldly.

($1=68.52 taka)

( Writing by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Gerrard Raven)

http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINDHA31991820080617?sp=true

mirzazeehan

June 18th, 2008, 02:04 AM

Thanks Amar and Tmac for sharing such amazing news

The last two posts articles are of great significance...It seems double digit growth and being a middle income country are not far away anymore:cheers:

tanzirian

June 19th, 2008, 03:56 AM

I had no idea that the GDP per capita had gone up so much...if this is true then that's very impressive...25 % or so in just about 5 years. As I was saying in another thread though...we cannot continue to rely on remittance as the major propellant of economic growth...it's far too dependent on unpredictable factors such as other countries policies as well as individual choices on finance.

amar11372

June 19th, 2008, 07:22 AM

Apparel producers expect $10.7b exports in FY08

Apparel exports are expected to grow faster this fiscal year (2007-08), reaching around 10.7 billion US dollars with increased demand for local apparel items on the international market, reports UNB.

A delegation from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BGMEA) expressed the hope at a meeting with Chief Adviser's (CA's) Special Assistant for Industries Ministry Mahbub Jamil at his ministry.

The expectation still remains a little bit below the official target of about 11 billion dollars for the outgoing fiscal year. However, the expected exports would be 1.5 billion dollars or 16 per cent higher than the exports of 9.2 billion dollars in 2006-07.

During the July-March period of the outgoing fiscal year, knitwear exports increased by 17 per cent to about 4.0 billion dollars while woven garments by about 8.0 per cent to 3.8 billion dollars.

The BGMEA delegation, led by its president Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury, sought government cooperation in keeping up the growth trend of the sector.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=37139

amar11372

June 19th, 2008, 11:27 AM

Demographics a key future economic indicator.

http://perotcharts.com/images/population/population04-640.png

sayem

June 19th, 2008, 10:52 PM

Violent politics risks huge growth potentialSays British minister
Staff Correspondent

Junior British minister for international development Shahid Malik yesterday said Bangladesh will risk its "huge potential" for development and the country's future if it returns to confrontational and violent politics.

Bangladesh has huge potential in development and growth that can be realised through greater investment in education and health, Malik said.

But this potential and the opportunities for future generations would be jeopardised if the politicians return to the confrontational and violent politics of 2006, he said at a press conference at the end of his two-day visit to Bangladesh yesterday.

"The confrontational politics that we have seen in 2006 has to be thrown into rubbish bin of history and the country has to move forward towards the future," said Malik, adding, "The politicians and political stakeholders will have to bear that responsibility."

During his trip, Malik met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, Army Chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed and Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam. He also visited "char" livelihood programmes and slum education centres run by Brac.

He said during his meeting with Fakhruddin and Gen Moeen he was reassured about holding of the elections by this year's end.

"Elections in 2008 are a must. Consistently we, like many others, have encouraged the creation, in Bangladesh, of a level electoral playing field with a fair referee. It is then up to the teams to play their part," Malik said.

He said all political stakeholders, including the political parties, must commit to holding elections because "the people of Bangladesh deserve a democratically elected government".

Asked for his opinion on former premier Khaleda Zia's detention when another former premier, Sheikh Hasina, has been released, Malik said although due process and equal treatment are essential, Britain cannot interfere in Bangladesh's judicial system.

He also said the state of emergency must be relaxed in order to let political parties campaign for the elections.

The government is due to relax the state of emergency today in areas where local polls would be held.

"Emergency at any point of time anywhere is not ideal, so it would have to be loosened if elections were to be considered credible," said Malik.

The British under secretary of state for international development also praised Gen Moeen and the military for their work on preparing the voter list with photographs.

Asked if Britain's aid is tied to the type of government, political stability or level of corruption, Malik said development assistance would continue regardless of any political change.

"The people who need the assistance should not suffer if politicians do not do their job," he said.

British development assistance to Bangladesh would rise to $300 million a year by 2010 while about $960 million has already been given in the last four years.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=41986

amar11372

June 22nd, 2008, 09:31 PM

Import *Figures in millions

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1214162977-clip-97kb.jpg

We are definitely going to cross the $20 Billion Mark in import this fiscal year

amar11372

June 22nd, 2008, 09:38 PM

Per capita income leaps to $599
High remittance flow seen as major contributor

http://www.thedailystar.net/photo/2008/06/17/2008-06-17__front01.jpg

To graduated out of the Least Developed Country (LDC)list:

* low-income (three-year average GNI per capita of less than US $750, which must exceed $900 to leave the list)
* human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy) and
* economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, and handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters)

-Seems like we can get out of the LDC classification way before 2020 as stated by ADB and become a middle income country.

manbil777

June 23rd, 2008, 12:25 AM

Funny thing is Amar -- there are quite a few people with vested interests who'd like to see us stay an LDC.

And they may change the definition before 2020 again.

But like all Bangladeshis I've got hope and agree with you.

How is our position compared to the rest of South Asia or Southeast Asia -- a list maybe of per capita PPP-adjusted incomes for last year? Thanks in advance....

amar11372

June 23rd, 2008, 12:40 AM

manbil777

June 23rd, 2008, 02:08 AM

Kewl Amar :) Thanks!

amar11372

June 23rd, 2008, 09:27 PM

WB assures $3.9b in 3yrs to meet budget deficit
Unb, Dhaka

World Bank Vice President for Asia Pacific Praful C Patel yesterday assured Bangladesh of providing enhanced assistance of $ 3.9 billion equally in the next three years to meet the increased budget deficit.

“This is to help Bangladesh face the increased prices of food, oil and fertiliser as well as meet record budget deficit,” he told reporters after a meeting with Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam at the planning ministry.

Patel arrived here yesterday on a two-day visit to Bangladesh to discuss with the authorities the enhanced assistance. It would be his 15th and farewell visit to Bangladesh as vice president of the World Bank.

“We also discussed what more to be done on food crisis that's going on and the kind of help we provide to reduce subsidy to meet the increased prices of fertiliser, oil and food,” he said.

He said they also discussed the social safety net programme. “I appreciate the initiatives that the finance adviser has taken.”

Replying to a question, Patel said: “Bangladesh will decide the price adjustment of oil.”

He said the World Bank Board has approved an assistance of $ 320 million for budgetary support and to help Bangladesh’s power projects.

“World Bank is going to have six or seven new projects in Bangladesh between now and December which will add another $ 600 million to $ 900 million,” said the World Bank executive.

Appreciating the bank's good gesture, Finance Adviser Mirza Aziz said the deficit in the budget has been estimated based on the indication from the World Bank about the enhanced support.

He said the bank has already raised a fund of $ 1.2 billion from which Bangladesh will get a substantial amount as he discussed with the World Bank vice president.

amar11372

June 26th, 2008, 08:31 PM

Forex reserve crosses $6 billion mark again

Siddique Islam

The country's foreign exchange reserve crossed the US$6.0 billion mark once again Thursday thanks to disbursement of soft loans by multilateral donor agencies and a robust growth in remittance.

"We have been able to cross the six billion dollar mark for the second time in Bangladesh," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE on the day.

The reserve rose to $6.02 billion on the day.

The foreign exchange reserve crossed the $6.0 billion mark for the first time on February 28, 2008.

The BB official also said the foreign currency reserve is likely to reach $6.05 billion by the end of this month.

However, the reserve may decline slightly in the first week of next month after routine payments are made to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), the official added.

Under the existing ACU provision, settlement of any balance along with the accrued interest is made among its member countries at the end of every two months.

The ACU comprises Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , Iran , Myanmar , Nepal , Pakistan and Sri Lanka . It is an arrangement for settling intra-regional transactions through the participating central banks on a multilateral basis.

The reserve went up as the World Bank recently released $315 million and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) $32 million as soft loans.

The World Bank has released two funds worth $315 million to assist Bangladesh mitigate the pressure on budget for 2007-08 and implement wide-ranging governance, economic policy and energy reform agenda.

One is Transitional Support Credit (TSC) of $200 million and another is Power Sector Development Policy Credit of $115 million, the BB officials confirmed.

The credits with a service charge of 0.75 per cent from the International Development Association (IDA), the soft loan window of the World Bank, are repayable in 40 years with a 10-year grace period, the World Bank said.

The TSC is to help reduce the pressure on the fiscal year 2007-08 budget that suffered adverse external and internal shocks, including twin floods and cyclone Sidr in 2007 as well as rising commodity prices, particularly oil, food and fertilizer in the international market.

Besides, the ADB has already released a fund amounting to $32 million under a power sector development project.

Both the funds have pushed up the foreign exchange reserve to the present level that will be able to meet payment of import bills of over three months, they added.

On the other hand, the country received $7.163 billion in remittance during the period of July-May of the current fiscal, which was 31.14 per cent more than that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=37876

amar11372

June 30th, 2008, 12:59 AM

Bangladesh: The new frontier

By Lara Wozniak | 30 June 2008

In the wake of Citi establishing an investment banking presence in Bangladesh, we talk to chief country officer Mamun Rashid about the opportunities that the market presents.

Bangladesh remains one of the few remaining outposts in investment banking in Asia. But banks are steadily investing in the country and last year Citi established an investment banking presence in Bangladesh. The bank's chief country officer for the country, Mamun Rashid, explains what opportunities lay ahead for Citi in Bangladesh.

What investment banking opportunities are there in Bangladesh?
There is a wide range of opportunities to help clients in Bangladesh raise capital to support their growth or advise them on opportunities to grow either domestically or internationally. We are also seeing an increased interest from companies looking to invest in Bangladesh.

A recent example of this would be the announcement in mid-June where AK Khan & Co signed a definitive agreement for the sale of its 30% stake in TMIB to NTT DoCoMo for a purchase consideration of $350 million. [TMIB is the third largest mobile operator in Bangladesh, with around 7.1 million subscribers as of December 2007: AKK is one of the largest and oldest private sector corporations in Bangladesh.

The acquisition by NTT DoCoMo will serve to increase its footprint in the fast growing Asian wireless market. What better example of the increasing international investment appetite into Bangladesh than an investment by one of the world’s leading corporations?

On the capital markets front, the pace of privatisation is increasing and the government has started floating state-owned enterprises. Last year alone 14 companies were listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange through IPOs. The pace of reform has been impressive and the government and regulators have done a good job in promoting development. Over the past five years the Asian Development Bank along with the Securities Exchange Commission have developed new trading rules, public issue rules, settlement systems and bond issuance rules to govern the market and create more transparency in the marketplace.

More and more companies in Bangladesh are also increasingly using risk management products and hedging in today’s volatile global markets. This is also something where we can play a role via our equities, fixed income, currencies and commodities teams to help clients navigate these volatile markets, including hedging against future rises in commodities prices.

What is Citi's history in Bangladesh?
Citibank established its presence in Bangladesh through a representative office in 1987. The bank opened its first full-service branch in Dhaka in 1995 and the second branch in Chittagong in 2000. At present, Citibank Bangladesh has four branches, and two offshore banking units in the export processing zones in both Dhaka and Chittagong.

Our operations include the major business units of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group, such as corporate and commercial banking, global transaction services. We also received a license for investment banking operations earlier this year.

How sophisticated are some of Bangladesh's leading companies? What products and services do they use?
There is a noticeable increase in sophistication, the dialogue we are having with some of our clients in the country is evolving fast: 'What are my opportunities in the international capital markets?' or 'Give me some local and regional ideas to help me grow our business...' are now regular discussions that were not so common just a few years ago.

Our main business though remains in the global transaction services space. Many companies in Bangladesh are looking for-cost effective and flexible transaction management services. In April, Citi signed a network arrangement which will allow our clients to use the more than 10,000 post offices in Bangladesh for their regular banking services. Also this year we signed an agreement with Dhaka Electric Supply Authority to offer our CitiConnect services to help them facilitate online bill collections and payment services. We are also active in the corporate and commercial banking space, providing corporate loans and other products to small- and medium-sized companies and multinationals in the country.

Bangladesh is also a pioneer in the field of microfinance services and we were honoured to have led the world’s first micro credit securitisation for BRAC in 2007, allowing BRAC to diversify its funding sources and help develop the microfinance sector in Bangladesh.

What are some of the challenges?
Let me give you a vision. It is the year 2021, the golden jubilee of independence. Bangladesh has just become a poverty-free, middle-income nation with a per capita income exceeding $3,000. Bangladesh is well on its way to become the 22nd largest economy in the world and a globally integrated regional economic and commercial hub. Economists around the world are at awe at the overwhelming success of this South-Asian nation. It seems just a few years ago in fact, that it used to be called the poorest of the poor. The recent track record of the country certainly gives us hope that we will indeed be able to see this vision materialise.

The World Bank calls the phenomenon the Bangladesh Paradox. The Bangladesh economy has steadily accelerated in recent years, with growth reaching almost 7% in fiscal 2006-2007. In spite of the country’s troubled political environment and poverty, it has scored particularly well on socioeconomic indicators. Global banks and multilateral institutions present a highly optimistic outlook. Points they highlight: This impressive growth has occurred in a climate of political restructuring. The government is implementing reforms toward privatising many state-owned enterprises. The Dhaka Stock Exchange Index is at a 10-year high, up 66% this year, making it Asia's top performer after China. And the stock market is expected to double in size in 2008.

However, Bangladesh has failed to realise the full potential of its development prospects. Despite the major socioeconomic progress made in recent years, obstacles like political instability, poor resource mobilisation and a weak capital market are impeding the attainment of economic emancipation. Government revenues, at only 10.7% of gross domestic product, remain far too low to meet growing demand for infrastructure and social services. The country’s primary foreign exchange earner – the garment industry – is now more constrained by poor infrastructure, including ports, roads, rail, and power supply, than by inadequate trade access.

Some of these issues need to be addressed in the coming years if Bangladesh is to reach its full potential.

How easy is it to convince some of your seniors to visit Bangladesh when they come to Asia?
Most of my colleagues in Asia realise that Bangladesh has always had potential and this potential is now turning into reality so it is certainly getting easier. In the last 12 months, we have had more than 20 visits from our Asian senior management team and once they have come once, they want to come back – we do also have some excellent restaurants in the country, which helps. Global management is the next challenge and I am confident as our business grows and develops in Bangladesh, it will not be too long before Dhaka will be on the agenda of senior visits as the likes of Mumbai and Shanghai are now.

What is the outlook for the Bangladesh economy and what plans do you have to grow in Bangladesh?
We expect GDP to moderate in the coming year to 6% on the back of lower agricultural growth, rising inflation and political uncertainty. 2007 was a difficult year for Bangladesh with rising food prices, the floods and the devastating cyclone. Double digit inflation persists and remains a danger but the central bank has stated that growth is also a priority which should leave in place an accommodative monetary stance. On the external front, we expect the trade balance to widen further on the back of rising food imports and lower exports given the US slowdown.

But Bangladesh’s endurance in the face of growing adversity is well known. In spite of all the recent history, the economy maintained a growth rate of well over 6% in 2007. Similar to most developing economies, consumption continues to be a key driver for growth, comprising as much as 80% of GDP. I am confident that while the next 12 months will not be smooth, there is certainly every reason to be optimistic. As such, we will continue to invest and grow our business in the country to help Bangladesh and its companies develop further.

Copyright FinanceAsia.com Ltd., a subsidiary of Haymarket Media Ltd

http://www.financeasia.com/article.aspx?CIaNID=79043

amar11372

June 30th, 2008, 01:20 AM

Goldman Sachs

Global Economics Paper No: 153

The N-11: More Than an Acronym

GS N11 (http://www.chicagogsb.edu/alumni/clubs/pakistan/docs/next11dream-march%20'07-goldmansachs.pdf)

amar11372

June 30th, 2008, 02:35 AM

Goldman Sachs

BRICS AND BEYOND

Another Research by Goldman Sachs, though it focuses on the BRIC, there is a section dedicated on the emerging economies namely the N-11

http://www.greenlightadvisor.com/documents/BRIC-Full.pdf

sas

June 30th, 2008, 05:08 AM

The FinanceAsia.com write-up/interview was very useful. Many thanks.

mirzazeehan

June 30th, 2008, 07:02 AM

Its so exciting to see title's like "The new frontier","emerging tiger" being used to describe Bangladesh's economic potential so frequently these days and in so many foreign newspapers.Thanks for sharing Amar

amar11372

June 30th, 2008, 02:25 PM

The FinanceAsia.com write-up/interview was very useful. Many thanks.

Its so exciting to see title's like "The new frontier","emerging tiger" being used to describe Bangladesh's economic potential so frequently these days and in so many foreign newspapers.Thanks for sharing Amar

Your welcome. Looks like the spotlight is finally coming to us. :cheers:

amar11372

June 30th, 2008, 08:19 PM

Forex reserve hits all-time high

FE Report

The country's foreign exchange reserve rose to $6.16 billion Monday, the last working day of the 2007-08 fiscal, which is the highest ever in the history of Bangladesh.

"The foreign exchange reserve reached the ever-highest level mainly due to significant inflow of remittances and disbursement of soft loans by multilateral donor agencies," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Monday.

He also said the reserve may decline slightly in the first week of the next month after routine payments to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU).

Under the existing ACU provision, settlement of any balance along with the accrued interest is made among its member countries at the end of every two months.

The Tehran-based ACU members are: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The reserve went up as the World Bank (WB) recently released $315 million and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) $32 million as soft loans.

Besides, the country received around $50 million recently from the United Nations (UN) for participating in the peacekeeping missions, he added.

Both the funds and inflow of remittances have pushed up the foreign exchange reserve to the present level that will be able to meet payment of import bills of over three months, he confirmed.

The country received $7.163 billion in remittance during the period of July-May of the fiscal 2007-08, which was 31.14 per cent more than that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.

amar11372

July 1st, 2008, 03:01 AM

amar11372

July 1st, 2008, 03:05 AM

^^ Its about to cross the significant $100 Billion Dollar Mark (680000 Crore Taka) by the next fiscal year. :banana2:

sas

July 1st, 2008, 05:51 AM

Can Bangladesh be Asia's next technology destination?
Ifty Islam

Bangladesh has yet to benefit from its proximity to India in the field of IT and Outsourcing. Software exports also remain insignificant at just $ 30 million. So why is it that the country has not been able to jump onto the ICT train?

I think there are five major constraints on the growth of a sizeable ICT/ITES industry in Bangladesh.

Firstly there is a lack of skilled labour, secondly high internet costs, that have been slow to fall even after the opening of the submarine cable in 2006, and thirdly the country's poor image, associated with political instability, natural disasters and poverty.

Fourthly there is a lack of credible domestic tech players, with too many small companies (more than 300 companies in a $ 30mn export sector) and none with the ability to meet the demands of the major global multinational outsourcing contracts.

Finally there is ineffective marketing, especially in key client markets such as Silicon Valley.

Given the lack of progress in the IT sector, any reasonable potential investor may question if this reflects an intrinsic inability of Bangladesh to compete in the technology and outsourcing business. Is a sizeable ICT industry mission impossible?

I believe that a number of changes in the global competitive landscape argue that ICT is not just a “thrust sector” by name, but in Bangladesh, it is genuinely a sector at a tipping point with prospects for explosive growth.

Firstly, Bangladesh can benefit from the rapid increases in wage costs in India's IT sector coupled with the appreciation of the Indian Rupee against the USD, a trend that has reduced India's comparative cost advantage. There is also a growing shortage of skilled labour in cities like Bangalore, along with staff retention problems.

Secondly, Bangladesh can take advantage of the increasing concern among leading companies about their heavy dependence on India and their desire to diversify their outsourcing requirements. In the same way that Vietnam benefited from a “China+one strategy”, other Asian countries can position themselves as “India+one” technology providers.

Thirdly, by developing its IT talent pool and breadth of capabilities, Bangladesh can position itself to benefit from “secondary outsourcing” from Indian companies who need an additional supply of labour. Indian IT companies are also looking to expand to a rapidly growing domestic market of 150 million people.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, Bangladesh has barely tapped the intellectual and commercial capital of the relatively large numbers of Non-Resident Bangladeshis (NRB) working in the technology sector in the US.

I have little doubt that the Bangladeshi diaspora can have the same transformational impact on the domestic IT sector that Non-Resident Indians (NRI) had on India in the 1990s. A large number of NRBs are keen to use their knowledge and business experience to start up more new tech ventures in Bangladesh. Others remain in the US and use their contacts and credible interface with global tech companies to partner with Bangladeshi corporates to market and source deals. What we need is an effective interface and platform for such NRBs to engage in the Bangladeshi technology.

In the past week I attended the BDI/Harvard Conference on Bangladesh Scholars in Boston as well as the American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects (AABEA) in New Jersey. What resonated with me again was the wealth of NRB intellectual and commercial capital, which if properly harnessed, could have a transformational effect on the growth prospects and trajectory of the Bangladeshi economy.

The problems faced by Bangladesh is not due to the Government not knowing the appropriate steps to create the right environment for a multi-billion dollar IT/Outsourcing sector. Rather it has been a lack of execution, prioritisation and focus.

As an intermediate step to cheapen broadband access for the nation via Wimax technology, the government needs to establish a number of regional technology parks that will offer not just cheap telecommunications, but shared marketing and management support, a tech expertise/training centre and also genuine business incubators. NRBs can return and create new tech business in partnership with existing local tech companies.

In addition, in the spirit of the latest 'trans-national thinking' on leveraging diaspora, NRBs in the US should set up marketing 'front ends' with the right compensation and incentives to market specific Bangladeshi outsourcing/ITES capabilities. This would provide both greater contractual confidence for US and European companies as well as better project management and feedback on customer requirements along with knowledge and technology transfers.

There is nothing inevitable about Bangladesh's emergence as a major technology destination in Asia. But I remain of the view that with the necessary reforms in terms of a focused vocational training programme for IT workers, lower internet costs and more effective leverage of the tech diaspora, net software and ITES export revenues have the potential to move from around $ 30 million currently to in excess of $ 1bn in a 5 year period.

The writer is the managing partner of AT Capital. Ifty.islam@at-capital.com

Write-up available at http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=41756

snoq

July 4th, 2008, 09:39 PM

Real wages decline as living cost soars

Real wages of the workforce in different sectors either stagnated or declined in recent times largely due to soaring costs of consumption with inflation offsetting nominal pay increments, official statistics show.Labour leaders and an economist have pointed their finger at the lack of employment opportunities and absence of bargaining capacity of the workers, apart from the price factor, for dealing severe blows to the living of the workers.Things are to go from bad to worse for workers in days to come, as job scopes in the public sector industries have squeezed with jute mills— once the biggest employer in state sector — being shut down one by one, they forecast.

The rate of increase in real wages was zero in the 2005-06 fiscal, when prices started spiralling out of commoners’ reach. The general nominal wage increase the following year [2006-07] was 7.76 per cent, running almost parallel to the inflation rate at the time, according to data released in Bangladesh Economic Review-2008. Data on real wages in 2006-07 and 2007-08 fiscal years are not available with the economic review, a regular annual publication of the finance ministry. Shahidullah Chowdhury, a labour leader, said, ‘Since the real wages are determined by cost of living, it has declined in absence of natural increase in worker’s income and also because of no upward revision of salaries by authorities concerned in recent times.’ As per 2005 Wage Commission recommendations, the minimum pay to a state sector worker is Tk 2,450 while 45 lakh private sector workers of almost 40 sectors other than readymade garment industry are left out of its purview, he pointed out.‘While the official pay structure remains inadequate, how can we expect that workers in other sectors will get living wages?’ questioned Shahidullah.

‘Real wages fell precisely because market does not determine them whereas policies are being pursued on the basis of assumptions that it is a free market economy, which is not free practically,’ left-leaning economist Anu Muhammad told New Age. Inflation, which was in his view ‘generally anti-labour’, significantly contributed to increasing woes and agonies of the working class in Bangladesh. However, real wages rose 20.63 per cent since 1998-99, when per capita expenditure on consumer goods and services at market prices was Tk 13,516 compared to Tk 24,600 required in 2006-07 fiscal year.

The nominal wage rate index rose 8.52 per cent in construction sector, 7.86 per cent in agriculture, 6.35 per cent in fisheries and 7.99 per cent in manufacturing during the 2006-07 fiscal. The economic review mentioned the food inflation at 8.12 per cent the same year. The food inflation is 19.65 per cent for garment workers, 19.81 per cent for rickshaw-pullers and 21.12 per cent for day-labourers, according to figures revealed in ‘Bangladesh Economic Outlook’ by Shamunnay, a research organisation headed by economist Atiur Rahman. Furthermore, the distribution patterns of income in Bangladesh [Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2005] show the share of income of the top five per cent households was almost 27 per cent and that of the lowest five per cent was 0.77 per cent.

General wages declined around four per cent due to higher inflation, propelled by 16 per cent food inflation in December 2007, revealed a recent study by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the official think tank. It found 4.6 per cent decrease in real wage in agriculture, 2.37 per cent in manufacturing sector and 4.4 per cent in construction sector due to soaring inflation. ‘The real decline in the income level of the workers will be much higher than 4 per cent at present,’ said Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, a trade union leader in Khulna-Jessore industrial region and also a leader of Workers Party of Bangladesh. He mentioned that the real income of the labourers decreased as there were hardly any opportunities of employment and industrial production, particularly in the public sector, had slowed down alarmingly. ‘Unless an atmosphere for productive activities is created by injecting fresh funds, the workers will not get rid of the situation,’ he said.

They commonly suggested that separate wage commissions should be formed for different sectors for fixing minimum wages and massive job creation schemes be undertaken for raising incomes of the working forces. Only the garment sector, which employs about 25 lakh workers, witnessed a review of the wages and other benefits and that again happened following a commotion in the export-earning sector. Still an apparel worker’s minimum wage, revised in 2006, remained below the amount set for a public sector worker a year before. Shahidullah, also a Communist Party of Bangladesh leader, said the workers in the private sector industries like jute, steel, textiles, ceramic and tannery had still been ignored in terms of being provided with a living wage. Hafiz Bhuiyan criticised the government for not allocating necessary money in the budget for sectors like jute and said it would be difficult to ensure real wages for the workers under the present circumstances.

Anu Muhammad pointed out that most of the workforce in Bangladesh remained disorganised or unorganised as informal sectors still dominated the economy. Currently, less than 5 per cent of the employed workers are members of trade unions — a reality which lessened bargaining power of the workers, he pointed out. Asked if safety-net programmes, especially the minimum employment guarantee scheme, would help create new opportunities, the economics professor of Jahangirnagar University explained that if properly implemented, such programmes could narrow the gap in income opportunities although he had doubts about delivery capacity of the government. Bangladesh has a 4.43 crore-strong labour force of above-15 people, including almost one crore women, with agriculture employing the highest 51.69 per cent, according to Bangladesh Labour Force Survey 2002-03.

http://www.newagebd.com/2008/jul/05/front.html

snoq

July 4th, 2008, 09:49 PM

Trade deficit jumps by 59pc on surging import costs

Trade deficit jumped by 59 per cent to $4.6 billion in July-April period of the current fiscal, which was $2.9 billion in the last fiscal, over price hike of almost all items on the international market.Total import payment rose by 24 per cent to $15.9 billion while export receipt grew by 14.5 per cent to $11.24 billion, according to the Bangladesh Bank data. The huge trade deficit is cushioned by robust remittance growth of over $6.4 billion in the same period. Trade gap of over $1.5 billion would not affect the economy, said Suhel Ahmed Choudhury, a former commerce secretary and chairman of Janata Bank.

‘The economy is resilient enough to absorb such amount of trade deficit as remittance and foreign reserve are growing,’ he said. About the lower growth of export, he said prices of almost all items went up on the international market except readymade garments, which is the highest export earning sector in the country. ‘The terms of trade of the country is deteriorating as the price of garment product is on the declining trend,’ he said. The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association has recently set up a floor-price for their commodities, which is a good sign, he said.The BGMEA should also opt for such pricing model, which ultimately gives the country benefit, he opined.

Import bills for consumer goods in the period double to $2.28 billion, which was $1.1 billion in the same period of the last fiscal. Rice and wheat only accounted for $1.32 billion while it was only $399 million in the July-April of the last fiscal, according to the central bank data. For the capital machinery, the import bills reduced to $1.17 billion from $1.29 billion in the same period of the last fiscal. Petroleum and petroleum products imports increased to $1.742 billion from $1.738 billion of the period a year back. Import for crude oil rose to $609 million from $381 million while for refined oil, it came down to $1.13 billion from $1.35 billion a year back.

http://www.newagebd.com/2008/jul/01/busi.html#3

amar11372

July 6th, 2008, 09:20 PM

Remittance close to record $8b

Star Business Report

Remittance grew 33 per cent last fiscal year taking the total amount to nearly $8 billion, according to Bangladesh Bank sources.

Bankers think rising overseas employment and the extra money sent by expatriates to their relatives home to cope with soaring prices of essentials helped remittance reach a record mark.

A total of $7.94 billion was remitted to the country in the fiscal year 2007-08, which was $5.98 billion the previous fiscal.

The central bank statistics of 10-year period revealed that the remittance growth was steady at 24 per cent in both 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years.

The country, however, saw a less growth in remittance only in 2000-01 fiscal when it reached $1.88 billion. It was $1.94 billion the previous fiscal. The records show growth ranges from 15 per cent to 24 per cent over the years but the fiscal year 2007-08 saw a robust growth.

The foreign exchange reserve reached $6.2 billion yesterday due to the strong remittance growth.

Chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Khandaker Ibrahim Khaled said a considerable number of Bangladeshis went to different countries by their own initiatives, which helped increase the volume of remittance.

Echoing his view, Managing Director of Agrani Bank Syed Abu Naser Bakhtiar said every bank launched special drives to increase its market share following the flow of remittance.

"We have sent our staff from Dhaka office to the countries from where remittance is coming so that the expatriates use our bank to send their money home," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

An official at the Sonali Bank said expatriates across the world sent more money in the fiscal year 2007-08 than that of the previous years so that their families in Bangladesh could afford the rising prices of essentials.

According to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, a total of 377,894 Bangladeshis left for various countries in the first five months of the current year. The number was 265,827 during the same period of 2007.

mirzazeehan

July 7th, 2008, 12:55 AM

Great news

manbil777

July 7th, 2008, 09:47 AM

A big vote of Thanks to Amar to keep us abreast of all the good news :applause:

sas

July 8th, 2008, 05:39 AM

The first edition of the AT Capital Weekly is out - the objective of the document being to discuss key issues and trends in the Bangladesh economy and capital markets. There is also focus on developments in global markets that are likely to impact Bangladesh. The document is available at:

http://www.at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_july_07_2008.pdf

manbil777

July 8th, 2008, 08:13 AM

skydive

July 8th, 2008, 05:24 PM

Bhai SNOQ,

Accentuate the positive. It is your country as well as ours...

The image of our country among foreigners (and investors) depends on what us as ambassadors of our country talk about overseas.

Accentuating negative news in this regard will not help. Never does.

why do you want to propose only one sided/good image of BD ONLY, what Snoq is doing is presenting the other side, which is factual and should not be ignored. Painting a good picture of BD artificially like the way you want will arouse suspicion among foreigners and when the dig deeper they will come up with the side of BD Snoq is bringing up and that will be more dreadful for BD's image

skydive

July 8th, 2008, 05:33 PM

A big vote of Thanks to Amar to keep us abreast of all the good news :applause:

how can you suggest BD people leaving the country and inflating the remitance account is good news. Do you not realise that when people leave its a brain drain. These people should be developing BD by staying there, not someone else economy, for every $1 these outside country pay Bangladeshi people, they make over $50. This is a total loss of Bangladesh to the tune of $49. Also when people leave BD to a foreign country, they do so out of tough conditions, they leave their family and loved one and live alone in a foreign country without family backup. And what do the fat cat idiot and corrupt bangladeshi officials in charge of the BD remitance account do, they buy fancy cars and drive in the shit roads of dhaka, no respect or concern for the hard working BD people working abroad under tough conditions.

skydive

July 8th, 2008, 05:38 PM

^^ Its about to cross the significant $100 Billion Dollar Mark (680000 Crore Taka) by the next fiscal year. :banana2:

more fancy cars for the corrupt politicians and officials and their crook relatives :ohno: , luxery appt in Europe and America, oh yeah typical 3rd world situation. $100 billion is a lot of money, the interest alone from that sum will be enough to help lots of needy and the brain drain and construction workers sufferers, wonder how these hard working people will be rewarded by the privilege ruling class.

amar11372

July 8th, 2008, 08:28 PM

Can you all stay on topic, and as for you skydive you do have a tendency to rant on about politics/corruption on every forum you go to. First it was the car thread and now this Economy thread. If you don't have something constructive to add then please don't post.

snoq

July 9th, 2008, 12:27 AM

In general term I am in agreement with manbill777 that positives should be highlighted. And reason for my post was just pointing the mismanagement.

Any investor local and/or foreign still would find strong fundamentals and amazing growth and return prospect in Bangladesh. Fundamental of our economy is still in strong position but this interim entity with its mismanagement weakening macro stability.
------------------------------------------

Skydive, you have been so desperately looking for negatives and trying to undermine Bangladesh with fictitious information. I would not fall for your cheap shot. There is NO dreadful or scary economic scenario exists in Bangladesh. If anything, strength and opportunity in Bangladesh are largely unknown due to bias and propaganda campaign run by certain quarter.

If you think we are fooled by flag you displaying, think again. We know where exactly you coming from and how to read your gross ignorance.

tanzirian

July 9th, 2008, 03:38 AM

why do you want to propose only one sided/good image of BD ONLY

The real question is, your motivation for always wanting to portray BD in a negative light. This seems to be the sole purpose of your infrequent visits to this subforum.

Dhakaiya

July 9th, 2008, 06:52 AM

more fancy cars for the corrupt politicians and officials and their crook relatives :ohno: , luxery appt in Europe and America, oh yeah typical 3rd world situation. $100 billion is a lot of money, the interest alone from that sum will be enough to help lots of needy and the brain drain and construction workers sufferers, wonder how these hard working people will be rewarded by the privilege ruling class.

I believe the last time I entered this forum it read "Bangladesh subforum, meaning its ours. So if we don't want you here, you might as well stop lurking.

sayem

July 9th, 2008, 10:07 PM

HIGHER ECONOMIC TRAJECTORY
Bangladesh ready to rival Asia's mighty manufacturing hubs
By ERIC PRIDEAUX

Staff writer CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh
— Sure, the shipping distance from Japan to this sprawling industrial park might be great, and his trucks must sometimes compete with rickshaws and livestock on the crowded roads outside its walls.

Freighters AWAIT loading and unloading in Bangladesh's main port of Chittagong. At right, an employee of Sanko Optical Co. (BD) holds up an optical lens made for export at the company's plant in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone last month. ERIC PRIDEAUX PHOTOS

But overall, Yasufumi Matsuo, executive director at Japanese electronic parts maker Op-Seed Co.'s factory in Chittagong, is happy with conditions at the Export Processing Zone here in Bangladesh's main port town, where local workers at his plant manufacture buttons and light-emitting diode displays used in vending machines assembled back in Japan.

"They make good products," said Matsuo, who has run the plant for a decade. While he wants improvements in water supply and, to reduce downtime, electricity generation, his 1,200 workers get the job done well, he said. "They hold their own against workers in China and Thailand."

Despite years of corruption that hindered growth by, for example, snarling maritime traffic at Chittagong, Bangladeshi business conditions are improving. Bangladeshi leaders want Japan to invest more in their domestic businesses and consume more exports, saying Bangladesh now has a competitive edge over China as a key economic partner.

In a country with per capita gross domestic product of $1,400 (¥151,000), compared to $33,800 (¥3.7 million), in Japan, building those ties is a priority.

Not that this country of 150.4 million mostly Muslims has been languishing. Annual growth has averaged 5.6 percent over the past 10 years, with last year's rate of 6.7 the highest-ever. A top government official believes that despite November's catastrophic cyclone Sidr, growth this year will hover around a respectable 6.0 percent — above the world average.

Photo slideshow

Photos appear in a pop-up window "What frustrates me is that we could have touched 8, 8.5 percent (growth) easily" had there been cleaner politics in the land, remarked well-known leather-goods and pharmaceuticals businessman Syed Manzur Elahi, who serves as administrator at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Elahi is not alone in issuing bold claims. According to a 2000 report for the World Bank titled "Estimating the Effects of Corruption Implications for Bangladesh," if the country had reduced corruption "to levels existing in transition economies like Poland," growth in 1990-97 could have risen by more than half.

Real growth of 8.5 percent would put Bangladesh on the same economic trajectory as India, with which it shares a long border, and well on the way to China's 10.5 percent. But as long as it was business as usual at Chittagong in Bangladesh's southeast, near the border with Myanmar, Bangladeshi manufacturers could not hope to be competitive on a global scale.

Port authorities demanded "speed money," or bribes, before letting goods pass. And even when officials' palms had been duly greased, other miscellaneous port delays made it difficult for Bangladeshi companies to complete overseas orders in fewer than 90 days — twice the time needed in No. 1 competitor China, Elahi said.

This began to change after leaders responded to an outbreak of political unrest by imposing a state of emergency on Jan. 11, 2007. An interim government assumed power, arresting scores of politicians and businessmen suspected of shady dealings.

Some Bangladeshis have grumbled about the state of emergency because elections have been suspended until this December. But by slashing red tape the political deep freeze has allowed the caretaker government to cut ships' waiting time at Chittagong by some 70 percent to four days, giving domestic manufacturers a new edge on such big competitors as China, Elahi said.

Foreign manufacturers still worry about Bangladesh's underdeveloped infrastructure, but the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority is trying to put their concerns to rest.

For example, at the processing zone in South Halishahar, Chittagong, where Japan's Op-Seed has its plant, there are plans to put 50 megawatts of new power generation online in September, expand treatment of water waste and beef up high-speed communications networks to enable video conferencing between the eight Export Processing Zones and overseas offices.

Meanwhile, officials said monthly worker wages of some $30 make Bangladesh more competitive than their counterparts in Vietnam, where they said wages were $80, or China, where wages reach $100. The comfortable business environment has attracted manufacturers supplying parts to such blue-chip Japanese companies as Minolta, Sony and Nissan, according to BEPZA.

Removing obstacles to exports at home is one thing, but another important challenge for Bangladesh is to diversify its overseas markets for woven garments and knitwear, which together account for about three-fourths of exports, and other products such as frozen shrimp, leather and goods made of the vegetable fiber jute. Just over half go to the European Union, while about a third travel to the Americas.

On the other hand, Bangladeshi trade officials say Japan, the world's second-largest economy, absorbs only about 2 percent of exports partly because of stringent requirements to document that goods originated in Bangladesh.

Also, Bangladeshi officials say Japan sets higher quality standards than large Western buyers, making it uneconomical to build relationships with Japan until larger demand emerges.

"Why should I take the extra botheration of having a fully air-conditioned factory for exporting to Japan and the amount of the export order is only $10,000? It's not feasible," said Faridul Hassan, director general at the Ministry of Commerce's Export Promotion Bureau, speaking as a hypothetical exporter slapped with higher requirements to refrigerate export goods.

Conditions are beginning to change, however, as rising labor costs in China, Japan's largest trading partner, will compel China to up its export prices, Bangladeshi trade officials say.

"Our price is quite competitive in comparison to China and the rest of the world," said Shahab Ullah, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau. "There is a growing realization among Japanese policymakers that there has to be China, plus one country. They're looking for it."

An encouraging sign came during a Bangladeshi trade fair in Japan one year ago. On display were a dozen or so products, including ceramics, ready-made garments, textiles, leather products and jute goods.

Japanese visitors were impressed by the quality, Ullah said. For one, there were immediate "spot" orders worth about $1 million and potential orders twice that value, he said, adding that many of the relationships forged that day have taken root.

"Our commodities are coming up," Ullah said. "A serious market is in the process of being opened."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20080215a2.html

mirzazeehan

July 9th, 2008, 11:23 PM

Revenue exceeds target for first time
NBR earns Tk1000cr more
Star Business Report

NBR Chairman Abdul Mazid briefs the press yesterday
The National Board of Revenue (NBR), for the first time in the country's history, exceeded its revenue target and earned an excess of Tk 1,000 crore for the fiscal year 2007-08.

The actual revenue target for the fiscal 2007-08 was Tk43, 850crore. It stood at Tk45, 970crore in the revised target. The board earnings stood at Tk47, 200crore, which was Tk37, 219crore in the fiscal year 2006-07.

The growth in revenue earnings compared to the 2006-07 fiscal also saw a record 27 percent rise. The board's year on year revenue growth was between 9 and 14 percent in the last four fiscal years.

“This is for the first time the revenue earnings not just exceeded its target but also increased than the revised one,” NBR Chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid told a press briefing yesterday.

Usually, revised target cuts the actual revenue target. But the revised target for the fiscal 2007-08 was set more than the actual target, he added.

Previously unrecovered taxes also contributed to make a big earning figure.. The board recovered Tk1200crore due tax from the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). It also got extra Tk804crore as tax from undisclosed money holders, Mazid said.

According to him, greater transparency and accountability in tax administration, cooperation of the taskforce and an improvement in tax paying culture are the main reasons to have such significant earnings.

Income tax also witnessed a significant growth of 33 percent in the 2006-07 fiscal, which was 22 percent in the corresponding fiscal. The revenue growth in case of VAT (value added tax) doubled to 22 percent in the '07 fiscal.

From import, tax-earning growth was 27 percent in '08 fiscal, which was only 2 percent in the fiscal year 2006-07.

During the press briefing, NBR also disclosed the country's largest taxpayers' lists. When asked about plans to disclose the tax dodgers' names, its chairman said it should be published.

According to the NBR chairman, tobacco companies are on the top of the highest taxpayer lists followed by the mobile phone companies.

According to the NBR list, Grameenphone is on top of the bank dominance income tax paying list. The top income tax paying organisations with the amounts paid are Grameenphone- Tk 435 crore, Standard Chartered Bank- Tk 220 crore, Chevron Bangladesh Blocks 13 and 14 Ltd- Tk 180 crore, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd- Tk161 crore, Titas Gas (TND) Company Ltd- Tk136 crore, HSBC- Tk118 crore, Southeast Bank Ltd- Tk88 crore, Pubali Bank Ltd- Tk 78 crore, Citibank NA Ltd- Tk76 crore and Prime Bank Ltd- Tk 67 crore.

The ten top VAT payers with the amounts paid are British-American Tobacco- Tk 2,828 crore, Grameenphone- Tk 1,438 crore, Dhaka Tobacco- Tk 1,180 crore, Titas Gas Field- Tk 764 crore, Sheba Telecom- Tk 601 crore, Habiganj Gas Field- Tk 465 crore, AKTEL- Tk 277 crore, Kailastila Gas Field- Tk 196 crore, Rural Electrification Board- Tk 105 crore and Rashidpur Gas Field- Tk 101 crore.

Source:http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=45036

sayem

July 10th, 2008, 03:46 AM

Here is the link for the full video of the discussion on untapped investment opportunities in BD which was sponsored by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan which also adressed other broader economic issues from the perspective of economists, business professionals,bankers, fund managers and potential investors.

http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Untapped_Investment_Opportunities_in_Bangladesh

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 03:52 AM

Bangladesh Economy: Opportunities and Challenges

Speech by
Hua Du
Country Director, Bangladesh Resident Mission
Asian Development Bank

At the Monthly Luncheon Meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh

17 June 2008
Dhaka

Distinguished business leaders, development partners, and ladies and gentlemen:

I would like to start by thanking the American Chamber of Commerce for inviting me to share my thoughts on development in Bangladesh. I am talking here today just a couple of weeks before leaving Bangladesh after staying here for nearly six years; and this is the third time I've been invited to speak before you. I recall on this occasion the many interesting, inspiring, and sometimes thought-provoking speeches by many other distinguished speakers at AmCham's monthly luncheon meeting that I have enjoyed.

Bangladesh achieved strong economic growth and impressive social development

Indeed, I've personally witnessed a dynamic and growing Bangladesh over the past six years. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth steadily climbed to over 6% a year in the preceding 5 years, up from 4.8% in the 1990s, and 3.5% in the 1980s, and poverty incidence continued to decline. GDP growth is estimated at 6% in fiscal year (FY) 2008 with fiscal and current account imbalances contained at manageable levels, a remarkable performance considering the impact of the twin floods and a devastating cyclone in 2007 and heightened external shocks. With the current growth trends, the country has the potential to reach the threshold of a middle income country by the year 2020. With higher GDP growth rates of 8-9% a year, Bangladesh can even become a middle income county earlier than 2020.

The people of Bangladesh are dynamic, resilient and hard working. Even with heightened external shocks and critical governance and capacity constraints in its political and public administration system, the country has sustained macroeconomic stability. Before the phase-out the MFA, some predicted that the country's garments industry would collapse. But that did not happen; the garments industry continues to show strong growth, outperforming many others. Notwithstanding the infrastructure and human resources constraints that foreign investors face in countries with low levels of economic development, Bangladesh offers opportunities for foreign investors in important sectors, including power, steel, fertilizer, hotel, tourism, and petrochemicals. These opportunities are reflected in the inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), which increased from virtually zero in the early 1980s to $760 million in FY2007. Access to a growing market with a population of over 140 million, low-cost production facilities, particularly, low-cost labor and natural resources have made Bangladesh significantly more attractive to international investors. In the power sector, for instance, generation by independent power producers (IPPs) has risen from nil in 1997 to 32% in 2007, currently providing 1,190 megawatts of the country's power generation.

Over these years, I've also witnessed the impressive gains that the country has obtained in key social and human indicators, including improved life expectancy, better access to education and health facilities, gender parity in both primary and secondary schools, and advancement and empowerment of women. The country's strong commitment to girls' education has led to amazing gender parity in primary and secondary education and the country is on the right course to meet the key MDG targets by 2015. The country has also made good progress in reducing maternal mortality rates and increase in female life expectancy. Though often paid a very low wage, the contributions of the two million female workers to the garments industry have been incredible, which accounts for 70% of country's exports and the highest export earner for the country. The garments industry has revolutionized the mobility of women, broken the social taboo and brought about a positive change in the attitude about women's working in the factories, outside home. The role of NGOs and increased access to microfinance for poor women has also made significant impact on women's advancement and empowerment in the vast countryside. The enhanced social mobility of women has not only improved their purchasing power, but also given them more respect in the family, access to better health services and reduction in fertility. The government has also announced the National Women Development Policy 2008 for promoting social, political and economic empowerment of women, which will undoubtedly help mobilize half of the country's population into the development process benefiting the nation in economic and social progress.

Critical governance reforms accomplished

Looking back, together, we had lived through some very difficult times. Since the political deadlock in late 2006 and subsequently, the installation of the present caretaker government in January 2007, we have witnessed a series of key economic and governance reforms by the caretaker government, to ensure timely and effective transition to an elected government. I believe that none of you will disagree the current caretaker government has gone the extra mile to restore law and order, and to improve the overall governance setting, by implementing several key governance reforms, including the separation of the Judiciary from the Executive, reconstitution and operationalization of the Anti-Corruption Commission, ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, reconstitution of the Election and the Public Service Commissions, and establishment of the Local Government Commission. The Government is also expected to enact a law very soon on the Right to Information, and prepare a National Integrity Strategy to address the issue of ethics and corruption in a holistic manner.

Improving good governance in a developing country like Bangladesh is not a quick and simple task. Though, we're indeed impressed by the pace of unprecedented governance reforms that Bangladesh has achieved during the last 18 months. There are challenges ahead, but we are all hopeful that these reforms will be sustained in the future. It will be pertinent to mention that ADB has placed good governance as one of the strategic priorities in its assistance program to Bangladesh. Last November the ADB-supported Good Governance Program came into effect, through which we are providing the Government of Bangladesh $150 million over four years to undertake a comprehensive governance reforms program in the jurisdiction of ACC, the judiciary, and other core institutions to strengthen government's core and sector level anti-corruption measures. We sincerely believe that the December general election will lay the foundations of a democratic government under which debates on key economic issues will be held in the Parliament instead of through hartals and blockades in the streets, when the movement of people and goods would come to a standstill in the country. And this democratic government will continue the efforts including economic reforms initiated by the present and past governments.

The extensive anticorruption drives have caused some fear and uncertainty within the business and investor community. However, the caretaker government has recognized this problem and is undertaking several measures to safeguard better business practices. A Better Business Forum was set up to facilitate systematic feedback from the private sector on major issues affecting private sector development. The caretaker government also formed a Regulatory Reforms Commission to streamline and upgrade the cumbersome business policies and regulations of the country. The initiative of setting up a Truth Commission is also encouraging. These have started to lift business confidence.

At the sector level, reforms in the Chittagong Port have improved its efficiency by 30% and cut costs by 40%. Bangladesh Bridge Authority has been transformed into a Bridge Division vesting it with greater autonomy in decision making ahead of the construction of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge. In the financial sector, reforms include transforming three nationalized commercial banks and Biman Bangladesh Airlines into public limited companies and listing four state-owned power and oil companies with the stock exchanges. In the telecommunication sector, the liberalized policies, regulations and the reform plans of the Government including transforming the T&T Board as a public limited company are already showing very positive results in attracting large private sector and foreign investment in the country.

Challenges facing the country are also grave

Now let me focus on the challenges. Bangladesh, indeed, politically as well as on the economic front, is at a critical juncture and facing a difficult and challenging time ahead. However, I am confident that with the emergence of a visionary and capable political leadership, backed by oversight from the ever conscious civil society and private sector, and the citizenry, Bangladesh will be able to translate these challenges into opportunities for the country.

Food security and inflation are pressing concerns

In the macroeconomic front, rapidly growing inflation is the biggest problem at the moment, which has been pushed by higher import bills on food grains and fuels due to inconceivable price hike of these commodities in the international market. The unusual rise of food prices in the recent time, which has been a world phenomenon, has really hard hit the poorest and the marginalized groups. This price hike was caused by domestic production shortfall following successive natural disasters and also by international higher prices. The food price rise has severe human dimension and has seriously eroded the purchasing capacity of people living below the poverty line and government employees, industrial workers, and others with fixed incomes. Addressing the hardship of poor people affected by higher food prices remains a challenge. Failure to contain higher food prices could seriously undermine macroeconomic and political stability. Government responses including raising food-grain imports, building its own stock through imports and domestic procurement, and widening social safety net programs are commendable. But over the medium to longer term, improving productivity by disseminating modern production technologies, developing rural infrastructure including reliable and expanded irrigation systems, bringing ecologically disadvantaged areas under cultivation, providing extension services, improving marketing, producing quality seeds through public-private partnerships, and ensuring rural financial services are essential.

Make economic growth more inclusive

We all understand that challenges of Bangladesh's development agenda are immense. However, in the quest for quick economic growth and development, the country must seek inclusive economic growth and put in more resources for reduction of poverty of millions of people who live under desperate poverty. This would need to create and expand access to opportunities and more investment in health, education and safety net programs for the poorest. Alongside, the country needs big investment in infrastructures- energy, power generation, roads, railway and ports to attract further investment and ensure industrial development and employment creation through private sector participation. The country also needs to expand and improve the education and health services and to protect the environmental degradation.

Private sector driven economic development is the key

Bangladesh's aspiration to become a middle income country by 2020 must be led by the private sector. A robust private sector is the key to attracting investment, entrepreneurship and technological innovation needed for quick economic growth. It is obvious that without private sector investment, jobs and economic opportunities for the thousands of people cannot be ensured. The government, therefore, needs to continuously invest in infrastructures and social development, and to further liberalize the policies and regulations and remove obstacles to inclusive growth and private sector driven development efforts.

Regional integration

I think you would all agree that Bangladesh can gain a lot from regional and sub-regional integration and cooperation. Economic and social cooperation through forums like SAARC and BIMSTEC can indeed help the country not only to accelerate its economic development through promoting regional trade and investment, but would also protect the people from cross-border environmental and health risks. In this context, I would like to stress on upgrading and opening the Chittagong Port for the use of eastern Indian states and other landlocked neighboring countries and developing it as a regional hub, which could be a major driver for economic development of the country.

The bureaucracy needs transformation

The caretaker government has implemented many landmark governance reforms. Unfortunately, one major reform that has remained untouched is the sluggish and complex bureaucratic structure of the Government. In my view, this is the mother of all other reforms. The pyramid bureaucratic structure and its archaic systems and procedures, inherited from the colonial days, are characterized by inefficiency, centralization, lack of delegation and job description; too many tiers in the decision making process; archaic filing and noting system and lack of e-governance; and poor pay structure are out of place in the modern states. That is why it is incapable of implementing government's own development projects, let alone promoting business and investment. We need to highlight this to the government for transforming this bureaucracy. Without its reforms, implementation target of development projects will always fall short and the vision of transforming Bangladesh into a middle-income country by 2020 may remain as an illusion.

Convert huge population as assets

We live in a world that is transforming fast, and the stock and quality of human resources has become a key to accelerating growth and reducing poverty. Bangladesh has made considerable progress in establishing a comprehensive education system, particularly in providing access to primary education. The quality of education, however, needs improvement at all levels. Even though there are pockets of excellence, the overall quality of higher education remains a concern due to a lack of funds, shortage of qualified teachers, weak management and supervision, and in certain cases, politicization of campuses. In many universities, access to ICT, science laboratories, and other educational facilities is limited. Education that is provided is not strongly linked to market demands. There is also inadequate focus on science and technology or on areas that produce marketable skills. Over 80% of young graduates enroll in general studies; only 20% study science, technology, and applied subjects. Any nation that does not possess the ability and the technology to gain and process vast amounts of information quickly will lag behind in development. Much instructional time is lost due to demonstrations and strikes, particularly at public universities. As a result, degrees are not awarded in time, which adversely affects the academic and career pursuits of the students. It is a genuine concern that campus violence has now extended to some private universities. Bangladesh can easily double or even triple the foreign exchange remittance from expatriate workers, which was more than $7 billion this year, by investing and focusing a little more on technical and science education, human resource development and language training. The country needs more skilled technicians, data entry clerks, professional managers, accountants, computer programmers, IT consultants, bio-technicians, architects, designers and corporate lawyers than generalist graduates in literature and social sciences. In a world where knowledge is not only power, but also for sale, and where almost every large company that relies upon remote transactions is starting to hire more cost-effective labor overseas, the stock and quality of human resources has become a key for less developed countries like Bangladesh to participate in the global growth process, and to reduce poverty and attain a better quality of life.

Environment and climate change pose a serious development challenge

Last but not the least, the climate change also poses a major development challenge for Bangladesh. Bangladesh's vulnerability to natural disasters also poses a risk. The recent severe flooding and cyclone are premonitions of future possible catastrophe. According to the United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, one meter rise in sea level would inundate 18% of land area in Bangladesh, directly threatening 11% of the population. Rising sea levels and exposure to climate disasters could result over 70 million people being permanently or temporarily displaced. These impacts are envisaged to raise the country's vulnerability to natural disasters, thus stresses the need for improved disaster preparedness, and risk mitigation and adaptation measures. Development partners need to strongly support the country to undertake a holistic approach to mitigate the effects of climate change and to adapt with the impacts of environmental degradation, and natural disasters.

Conclusion

Ladies and gentlemen, Bangladesh's development challenges are critical and manifolds. To tackle these challenges, the country needs capable and mature political leadership, pro-poor economic agenda, business friendly policies, efficient but smaller bureaucracy, decentralization, strong local governments and opportunities for participation of the poorest. The country also needs to invest more for human resource and skill development so that the country can rise to the challenges of a competitive and globalized world. I personally believe that Bangladesh will realize its goals and become an economically viable country and could even emerge as one of the next eleven fast developing countries as predicted by Goldman Sachs. We are optimistic about Bangladesh's future and stand ready to continue assisting Bangladesh in unlocking its abundant potential, as we tackle the development challenges together in the period ahead.

Thank you.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Speeches/2008/sp2008031.asp

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 03:53 AM

This is the full video of discussion of investment opportunities in BD which was sponsored by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

http://fora.tv/2008/01/24/Untapped_Investment_Opportunities_in_Bangladesh

:okay:

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 04:24 AM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1215656096-clip-214kb.jpg

skydive

July 10th, 2008, 09:27 AM

The real question is, your motivation for always wanting to portray BD in a negative light. This seems to be the sole purpose of your infrequent visits to this subforum.

could not respond yesterday because the forum was unavailable:ohno:, however what i have said is factual and correct. Those $billions in the bank accounts will be wasted and will not benefit the people who need it most.

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 09:54 AM

could not respond yesterday because the forum was unavailable:ohno:, however what i have said is factual and correct. Those $billions in the bank accounts will be wasted and will not benefit the people who need it most.

Read the title of this website and this thread it says "skyscrapercity.com" and "Economy of Bangladesh" this is not the thread to dump your speculative opinions here especially thats not related to the economy of BD. I don't know why you have a habit of bringing up potitics/corruption in EVERY thread in this sub-forum. This is very inappropriate. There are countless other forums on the internet that can cater to your needs, but this is not the place.

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 10:05 AM

Export rises by 15.33 pc during 11 months

DHAKA, Bangladesh, July 9 (BSS) - The country's total exports rose by
15.33 per cent during the 11 months of the last fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of the previous one.

According to a report published by Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) here today, the total export earnings stood at 12,639 million US dollars during the period which is lower than the target of 14,500 million US dollars set for the period.

The export earning in the month of May 2008 was recorded at 1270 million US dollars compared to 1044 million US dollars in May 2007- a rise by 21.59 per cent.

The higher growth of export was possible due to increased exports of knitwear, woven, agricultural products, home textiles, leather, petroleum products, shoes, raw jute, tea, ceramic goods, frozen foods, electronics, terry towels, textile fabrics, and other industrial items, the report said.

Meanwhile, the export price index has increased by 0.69 per cent and the volume of export increased by 14.64 per cent during the period.

The price index of primary products increased by 11.52 per cent and industrial products dropped by 0.09 per cent.

The volume of exports of industrial products increased by 15.13 per cent during the period.

http://www.bssnews.net/index.php?genID=BSS-02-2008-07-09&id=255

skydive

July 10th, 2008, 11:31 AM

^^ will the Bangladeshi slave wage workers benefit with higher wages now and a better standard of living? :nuts:

amar11372

July 10th, 2008, 10:00 PM

Remittance

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1215719995-clip-46kb.jpg

amar11372

July 11th, 2008, 02:08 AM

We drameticaly boosted our ranking in the past few years.

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1215734635-clip-148kb.jpg

Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers EM 20 Index

amar11372

July 12th, 2008, 10:15 PM

Remittances may cross $10b in current fiscal

Siddique Islam

The central bank expects the remittances from abroad to cross US$ 10 billion in the current fiscal as various moves have been taken to help boost the inward flow from different parts of the world where expatriates and workers are mostly concentrated.

"We are expecting that the remittances may cross $10 billion mark by the end of the current fiscal," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday, adding that the remittances will reach the level this fiscal if the existing upward trend continues.

The central bank has already taken a special measure to provide permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with the overseas exchange houses to increase the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, officials said.

"We have granted at least 15 permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with Malaysian overseas exchange houses during the last one month," another BB official said.

The country received a total of $ 75.70 million as remittances from Malaysia during July-May period of fiscal 2007-08, according to the central bank statistics.

A total of $11.84 million was remitted by the Bangladeshi expatriates from Malaysia in fiscal 2006-07, the BB's data showed.

The BB earlier introduced a number of anti-money laundering rules and set new guidelines on inward remittance, which led to a record number of agreements between local banks and foreign exchange houses.

"Both the government and central bank are now trying to bolster the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Greece, Spain and South Korea," he noted.

Besides, the inflow of remittances will come as a continuation to last fiscal's trend and record inflow of $7.939 billion. The growth in 2007-08 was 32.80 per cent over the previous fiscal, they added.

The central bank has, meantime, asked the commercial banks to expedite delivery of remittances to the beneficiaries at the quickest possible time to encourage expatriates to use the banking channel for overseas fund transfers.

It is also allowing the commercial banks to make partnership with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) having branches all over the country for disbursement of the remittances, particularly in the rural areas.

Most of the private commercial banks (PCBs) and state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) are desperately trying to woo remittances from the Middle East, the United Kingdom , Malaysia and Singapore to meet their foreign exchange demands.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=39465

manbil777

July 13th, 2008, 02:30 AM

Remittances may cross $10b in current fiscal

Mashallah excellent news :)

amar11372

July 13th, 2008, 03:29 AM

^^ Hopefully it crosses $10 Billion Dollar mark. All financial forecasters including the Govt takes a conservative estimate but it reality it usually exceeds those forecasts.

manbil777

July 14th, 2008, 12:37 AM

^^ Hopefully it crosses $10 Billion Dollar mark. All financial forecasters including the Govt takes a conservative estimate but it reality it usually exceeds those forecasts.

I think a good portion (at least a third) of all remittances still comes in through Hundi business.

If the speed (more locations and branches ovreseas), reliability and efficiency of Govt. and private Bank remittances could be improved on (especially the reliability by tightening up or eliminating the fly-by-night remittance companies which have gone bust in England for example) then I think the official figure of remittances could be even higher.

TIslam

July 14th, 2008, 12:48 AM

I think a good portion (at least a third) of all remittances still comes in through Hundi business.

If the speed (more locations and branches ovreseas), reliability and efficiency of Govt. and private Bank remittances could be improved on (especially the reliability by tightening up or eliminating the fly-by-night remittance companies which have gone bust in England for example) then I think the official figure of remittances could be even higher.

I fail to see why people continue to use "hundi/hawala". Electronic remittance is so fast and reliable. What is it that these people are trying to hide?

amar11372

July 14th, 2008, 01:08 AM

Goldman Sachs: Bangladesh could become the 22nd largest economy in the world by 2025

If Bangladesh remains on track in economic reforms it could become the 22nd largest economy in the world in the year 2025, less than 20 years from now. The objective of this article is to share the content and lesson of this exciting Goldman Sachs research report with the inquisitive audience of Bangladesh.

In analyzing other countries that might have BRIC-like potential Goldman Sachs focused on demographic profiles which drive much of the research. Without a substantial population, even a successful growth story is unlikely to have a global impact. Hong Kong will never be a global power, nor Luxembourg, despite the very high levels of income and living standards that they have achieved. Goldman Sachs calls this larger developing-country set the Next Eleven (N-11), though whether they will emerge is still an open question for many. This group shows broad representation by region and includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/10/29/d610291502119.htm

amar11372

July 14th, 2008, 01:10 AM

UBS: Bangladesh One of the Top 12 Economy by 2050

But things get more interesting in 2025, when China takes the No. 1 position, followed by the United States, the EU, India, Japan, Brazil and Indonesia. By 2050, India moves into the No. 2 position, behind China. As well, countries such as Pakistan, Mexico and Bangladesh crack the top 12.

His projections use a complex formula that takes into account such things as capital and labour growth. Here, many emerging markets do well in the projections because of the fact that their populations are growing fast and are heavily skewed toward younger workers. Developed economies are suffering from the opposite trend.
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=cee0cd4d-fc88-466a-a2fb-bbdac08298ab

mirzazeehan

July 14th, 2008, 01:40 AM

Great stuff...."ONE OF THE 12 LARGEST ECONOMIES" sounds good:cheers: Now thats what "Sonar Bangla" should be all about,lol

Whiteeclipse

July 14th, 2008, 02:34 AM

Bangladesh exported US$3.3 billion worth of merchandise to the United States in 2006. Bangladesh imports from the U.S. rose 4% to $333 million in 2006.

Bangladesh Exports to U.S.

1. Cotton apparel and household goods …US$2.2 billion (67.5% of Bangladesh to U.S. exports, down 29.2% from 2005)
2. Other textile apparel and household goods … $641.8 million (19.6%, up 5.6%)
3. Fish and shellfish … $192.6 million (5.9%, up 38.4%)
4. Sporting and camping apparel, footwear and gear … $139.1 million (4.3%, up 8.3%)
5. Wool apparel and household goods … $17.3 million (0.5%, down 27.4%)
6. Cloth, fabric and threads (wool and silk) … $11.3 million (0.3%, down 1.6%)
7. Abrasives, belting, boxes, glass … $11.1 million (0.3%, up 26.5%)
8. Toys, sporting goods including guns and bicycles … $8.6 million (0.3%, up 27.2%)
9. Fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides … $7.3 million (0.2%, down 78.9%)
10. Goods returned then re-exported to America … $5.6 million (0.2%, up 623%).

Fastest-Growing Bangladesh Exports to U.S.

1. Non-textile floor and wall tiles … US$58,000 (up 2,880% from 2005)
2. Jewellery including watches and rings … $53,000 (up 1,225%)
3. Goods returned then re-exported to America … $5.6 million (up 623%)
4. Paper products … $114,000 (up 339%)
5. Fruits and preparations including frozen juices … $43,000 (up 291%).

Bangladesh Imports from U.S.

1. Raw cotton … US$39.7 million (11.9% of Bangladesh from U.S. imports, down 6% from 2005)
2. Generators and accessories … $37.8 million (11.4%, up 49.3%)
3. Textile sewing machines … $23.4 million (7%, up 46.5%)
4. Steelmaking materials … $19.2 million (5.8%, up 162.7%)
5. Pulp and woodpulp … $14.6 million (4.4%, up 51.3%)
6. Drilling and oilfield equipment … $14.3 million (4.3%, up 287.1%)
7. Wheat … $11.4 million (3.4%, up 182.5%)
8. Other industrial machines … $9.8 million (3%, up 39.3%)
9. Industrial engines … $9 million (2.7%, up 49.7%)
10. Telecommunications equipment … $8.8 million (2.6%, down 66.3%).

Fastest-Growing Bangladesh Imports from U.S.

1. Other agricultural manufactured products … US$134,000 (up 857% from 2005)
2. Corn … $359,000 (up 716%)
3. Unmanufactured agricultural farming … $1.8 million (up 589%)
4. Marine engine parts … $80,000 (up 567%)
5. Tanks, artillery, missiles, rockets, guns and ammunition … $58,000 (up 480%).

http://import-export.suite101.com/article.cfm/bangladeshs_top_exports_imports

sas

July 14th, 2008, 05:42 AM

The second issue of the AT Capital Weekly was launched yesterday.

Document might be downloaded at:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_13_july_2008.pdf

Those interested can send me a PM with your e-mail address and will add you to the recipient list.

tanzirian

July 15th, 2008, 04:48 AM

Great stuff...."ONE OF THE 12 LARGEST ECONOMIES" sounds good:cheers: Now thats what "Sonar Bangla" should be all about,lol

Sounds great...keep in mind though that this is based on purchasing power parity. I expect though even in actual dollars we should be close to the top 12 by 2050, if Goldman Sachs predictions that we are in the top 22 by 2025 materializes. This all is rather mind-boggling to think about, considering that we were probably the poorest nation in the world in the 1970s...but shouldn't be, because after all we have the 8th largest population.

Also whiteeclipse, thanks for that great breakdown of imports / exports.

amar11372

July 17th, 2008, 11:52 PM

Economy regains growth momentum

Observes MCCI review
Staff Correspondent

The economy has regained the momentum for growth, said Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in its latest analytical publication on the state of the economy in April through June of FY 2007-08.

In the publication titled 'Review of Economic Situation: April-June FY 2007-08', the credit for the growth has been given to higher production in agriculture and industries sectors, increased remittance, higher implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP), improved investment activities and slight decline in inflation rate.

The chamber said the overall performance of the economy has improved in the second half of the last fiscal compared to the first half of the year. "At such a trend, the economy is due to achieve the growth rate of approximately 1.6 percent per quarter, which has been achieved since FY03," said the review.

It said food grains and fisheries production went up by 1.8 percent in the last quarter of FY08 from 1.4 percent in the third quarter, while industrial production increased by 2.5 percent from 2 percent.

Investment activities improved as indicated by higher amount of LCs opened for capital machinery by different sectors. Import of capital machinery, which went down to $371.67 million during January-March 2008, showed an upward trend as higher number of LCs were opened in July-May 2008, according to the review.

It also mentioned that remittance from abroad increased by 50 percent in Q4 from 47.2 percent in Q3 of FY08.

Implementation of the ADP is estimated to reach Tk 8,900 crore in Q4 as opposed to Tk 3,272 crore in Q3. Lastly, and more significantly, the inflation rate came down to 7.44 percent in May from 10.06 percent in March of 2008, the review mentioned.

The MCCI in the review, however, said the business community felt that the failure to improve supply of gas and electricity has been a major lapse on the government's part. Besides, they are also concerned over the process of transition to democracy.

"The large and medium level entrepreneurs feel that the overall business climate and the government's commitment to be business-friendly are proving to be helpful to business confidence. They stated that continuation of stable monetary policy, improved performance of the infrastructures and check on borrowings by the government from the banking sector would prove to be mutually beneficial to the business community and the economy."

"On the other hand, the businessmen in small and micro sectors are found to be less optimistic. Businessmen engaged in poultry farms, food processing, engineering workshops, transportation and packaging and printing complain against lack of policy support from the government and more particularly, against non-availability of electricity and gas. They point out that higher prices of gas and electricity and the law and order situation pose a grim future for small and micro enterprises," it said.

Analysing the price situation, the MCCI in the review said price pressures remained strong in April-June 2008, with the average rate of inflation rising to 9.9 percent from 9.8 percent in the previous quarter. "The point-to-point inflation, however, fell to 7.44 percent in May 2008 from 10.06 percent in March 2008 and 11.59 percent in December 2007."

"Domestic inflation has been in line with higher global oil and agricultural commodity prices. In particular, the increased pass-through of the prices of rice and other food products led to the acceleration in food inflation. The inflation rate in the rural areas remains higher than in the urban areas. The prevailing short-term measures like OMS of food grains at subsidised prices, duty-free import of food grains and edible oil, increasing the import of food grains, lowering of interest rate against import credit of food grains, regular market monitoring, and fixation of maximum retail price for edible oil need to be continued," it observed.

The Bangladesh Bank continued its accommodative monetary policy, it said adding that credit flow to the private sector up to April 2008 increased by 23.1 percent compared to the corresponding period of FY2006-2007. "Credit to the government sector increased by 22.6 percent, while credit to the public sector enterprises declined by 13.3 percent compared to 15.7 percent, 31.5 percent and 6.6 percent increases, respectively, during the corresponding period of FY2006-2007."

"M2 (currency outside banks, demand deposits and term deposits) recorded an increase of 11.2 percent during July-April 2007-2008 against the 11.9 percent increase during July-April 2006-2007, while the more liquid narrow money (M1) grew by 10.4 percent compared to 12.1 percent in the corresponding period last year," it continued.

It said the total liquid asset in the banks was Tk 47,967 crore in April 2008 against Tk 44,841 crore in June 2007. The Central Bank mopped up excess liquidity. In April 2008 excess liquidity was Tk 13,325 crore as against Tk. 14,279 crore in June 2007.

"The disbursement of long-term industrial loans during July-March of the current fiscal year increased by 66.3 percent, which was only 26.0 percent during the corresponding period of FY2006-2007. Disbursement of agricultural credit also registered an increase of 60.6 percent during July-May of FY 2007-2008 compared to the 9.3 percent negative growth of disbursement during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal," said the review.

According to the MCCI publication, the total amount of remittance in July-May of FY08 was $ 7,164 million compared to $ 5,462 million in July-May FY07.

The review also made detailed analysis on service sector, public finance, balance of payments and the foreign exchange market.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=46261

amar11372

July 18th, 2008, 12:26 AM

Higher economic growth thru' credit expansion envisaged

FE Report

The central bank has unveiled Thursday its half-yearly monetary policy which envisaged higher economic growth through continued expansion of credit to the productive sectors while keeping inflationary pressures under control.

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) also sees several downside risks for implementation of the monetary policy that might be a challenging task.

Major downside risks are socio-political instability, power shortages, infrastructure bottlenecks, unfavourable near-term global outlook and higher prices of oil and other commodities in the world market.

The credit growth to the private sector posted a 24.53 per cent increase in May this year over that of the same period last year.

BB Governor Salehuddin Ahmed announced the half-yearly (July-December) policy without any projection for inflation during the period.

The policy aims at ensuring price stability of essentials to sustain high economic growth, providing the economy a cushion against global price hike, financial turbulences and downside risks, and tapping new opportunities.

"The monetary policy aims at ensuring reasonable price stability and providing support to sustainable and high growth as adopted in the macro framework of the current fiscal," the central bank chief said while announcing the sixth monetary policy.

The central bank chief declared the monetary policy for the first half of fiscal 2008-09 (FY09) at the BB headquarters in Dhaka that targets a real gross domestic product (GDP) at 6.5 per cent and an average inflation rate at around 9.0 per cent in FY09.

"The policy announcement is intended to anchor inflation expectations on realistic near-term assessment of growth and price developments," BB governor noted.

Regarding the downside risks, the central bank chief said the productive growth of the economy is crucial but it has been suffering from continuous power shortages, other infrastructure bottlenecks and socio-political disruptions.

He also said it would be important to strengthen the infrastructure and other support services and ensure congenial business climate especially prior to the general election in December 2008.

"Failure to do so would widen the gap between rising aggregate demand and domestic production creating a new challenge for the monetary policy to restrain aggregate demand," the central bank governor observed.

BB governor added that it would be important to take precautions against any unexpected natural calamites along with ensuring timely supply of inputs to the farmers and take measures to minimise domestic vulnerabilities and risks.

The near-term global outlook is bleak and that could create an adverse impact on the country's exports, he said, adding that Bangladesh needs to remain alert regarding its competitiveness of exports particularly in price-sensitive readymade garments (RMG).

Regarding government borrowing from banking system, Mr. Ahmed said reducing the government's dependence on bank borrowing still remains an unsettled issue.

"Alongside promoting government savings instruments especially targeted toward non resident Bangladeshi, adopting fiscal responsibility and debt limitation law by the government to restrict the extent of debt monetisation would contribute toward enhancing the effectiveness of the monetary policy instruments," he noted.

He also said bringing appropriate changes in the government's debt management strategy would be important to improve the balance between short and long term borrowing since any shift in the borrowing pattern has implications for conduction of the monetary policy.

The monetary authorities need to monitor several recent developments such as stock market over-valuation, spike in real estate prices, sharp increase in import letters of credit (L/Cs) for motor cars and high growth in currency in circulation as pointers to strayed use of monetary expansion for which effective measures would be needed to avoid undue build-up of demand pressure, the BB governor added.

The monetary policy will continue the credit flow to private sector to facilitate the country's productive sectors including agriculture and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

"For supporting growth promoting polices, the policy stance would give priority to unhindered flow of private sector credit to the economy's productive sectors with agriculture, SMEs and the rural economy being the prime targets," BB governor added.

In order to avoid the build up of excessive demand pressure, special attention would be given to channeling credit to its intended productive and supply augmenting uses alongside discouraging loan flows to non essential unproductive and speculative uses.

"The growth in private sector credit would be watched carefully and if the situation warrants necessary policy adjustments would be introduced after careful consideration of the causative factors underlying private sector credit growth and its likely consequences," Mr. Ahmed said.

Besides, the central bank may consider new refinancing support lines along with the existing refinancing support for agriculture, SMEs and housing sector aiming to create employment opportunities across the country.

"The existing refinancing support for agriculture, SMEs and housing loans would be continued and new refinancing would be considered for socially desirable and emerging activities such as shipbuilding, renewable energy, effluent treatment in manufacturing establishments and similar other areas," the BB governor added.

Responding to a question, the central bank chief said that the downside risks would be comparatively higher if the BB adopts tight monetary policy, as suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) just two days back.

"We will not take any policy that will hamper the credit flow to the private sector. The credit flow has contributed in achieving 6.2 per cent GDP growth in the last fiscal," he said.

While monetary tightening can bring down inflation, it has unacceptably high cost in terms of foregone output and employment which Bangladesh can ill afford at present in view of its growth-and poverty-reduction imperatives, the BB governor noted.

"This, however, does not negate the importance of avoiding excessive monetary laxity which would harm macroeconomic stability and hence growth and poverty-reduction efforts," he added.

When asked about inflation projection of the monetary policy, BB governor said that the central bank did not have enough data right now to make a projection about the inflation during the period.

"We will consider the matter in the second half yearly policy for January-June period of this fiscal," he added.

He also said the central bank is laying emphasis on the productive sector to minimise the inflationary pressures on the economy to reduce suffering of the people.

According to BB's statistics, the growth of broad money (M2) was 17.5 per cent in May last down from 18.3 per cent in May 2007 while credit to the private sector increased by 24.53 per cent on year-on-year basis in May 2008 compared to 15.6 per cent over the same period in the previous year.

brightside.

July 18th, 2008, 11:19 AM

Bangladesh is really raking in those remittances. Pakistan has under $7 billion worth of remittances at this point.

amar11372

July 18th, 2008, 08:10 PM

Bangladesh is really raking in those remittances. Pakistan has under $7 billion worth of remittances at this point.

:colgate:

Dhakaiya

July 19th, 2008, 09:21 AM

Thanks Brightside! Looks like our sons of the soil have really left their souls in Bangladesh while their bodies are working hard abroad. Lets hope the remmittances keep rolling in!

tanzirian

July 19th, 2008, 09:37 AM

Thanks Brightside! Looks like our sons of the soil have really left their souls in Bangladesh while their bodies are working hard abroad. Lets hope the remmittances keep rolling in!

Let's hope some of that money gets invested in business. Can't count on remittances forever.

amar11372

July 19th, 2008, 10:01 AM

^^ yep into more productive sectors, not just in real estate.

ajprobashi

July 19th, 2008, 06:00 PM

Insh'Allah the revenue of BD exports will surpass the remittances. But I think remittances are creating a foundation for bettering our beloved coutnry. For example one of my aunties asked me to pledge some money for a girl's school in Mymensingh. I'm pledging a significant amount which will help set up that school quickly. Now that school will educate girls and give them a foundation to learn upon the education they receive from that school, and it's mostly from remittances.

dopekhor

July 19th, 2008, 08:19 PM

manbil777

July 19th, 2008, 09:26 PM

thats sexist, why only females? what have the males done wrong?

That's because males don't have babies.

There is a common misunderstanding about this. We're talking in the villages and small towns -- not talking about a Dhaka type situation.

When a girl gets educated -- her fertility level is lowered because of improved socioeconomic perception. She decides to get meaningful employment (probably in a garments factory) and contributes to the workforce and decides to _not_ have as many babies. That's why female education was given priority in all ADP's in Bangladesh. Parents are paid by rice to send their girl children to school. In addition primary and secondary education for girls is free in most areas of Bangladesh.

Also -- according to Banglapedia,

"The speed of decline in fertility in developing countries including Bangladesh today is much more than that observed in developed countries during the demographic transition. Family planning programmes have played a significant role in reducing fertility in developing countries, especially in Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in Bangladesh was about 5%, and the TFR was close to 7. At present, the CPR is about 50% and the TFR has come down to about 3."

(TFR = Total fertility rate)

TFR in Bangladesh is quite low considering our economic condition. In fact it is lower than Pakistan (3.08 compared to Pakistan's 3.58) and pretty similar to India -- because of the vigorous work in the last decade on family planning and education done by various large NGO's. Literacy figures are similar to our neighbors as well. So Bangladesh is no less literate than any other country in the subcontinent.

ajprobashi

July 19th, 2008, 11:31 PM

That's because males don't have babies.

There is a common misunderstanding about this. We're talking in the villages and small towns -- not talking about a Dhaka type situation.

When a girl gets educated -- her fertility level is lowered because of improved socioeconomic perception. She decides to get meaningful employment (probably in a garments factory) and contributes to the workforce and decides to _not_ have as many babies. That's why female education was given priority in all ADP's in Bangladesh. Parents are paid by rice to send their girl children to school. In addition primary and secondary education for girls is free in most areas of Bangladesh.

Also -- according to Banglapedia,

"The speed of decline in fertility in developing countries including Bangladesh today is much more than that observed in developed countries during the demographic transition. Family planning programmes have played a significant role in reducing fertility in developing countries, especially in Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in Bangladesh was about 5%, and the TFR was close to 7. At present, the CPR is about 50% and the TFR has come down to about 3."

(TFR = Total fertility rate)

TFR in Bangladesh is quite low considering our economic condition. In fact it is lower than Pakistan (3.08 compared to Pakistan's 3.58) and pretty similar to India -- because of the vigorous work in the last decade on family planning and education done by various large NGO's. Literacy figures are similar to our neighbors as well. So Bangladesh is no less literate than any other country in the subcontinent.

Insh'Allah we'll do better in the coming future. I believe in the upcoming years, in our lifetime, we can reach 100% literacy rate for our people in Bangladesh.

TIslam

July 20th, 2008, 12:02 AM

That's because males don't have babies.

There is a common misunderstanding about this. We're talking in the villages and small towns -- not talking about a Dhaka type situation.

When a girl gets educated -- her fertility level is lowered because of improved socioeconomic perception. She decides to get meaningful employment (probably in a garments factory) and contributes to the workforce and decides to _not_ have as many babies. That's why female education was given priority in all ADP's in Bangladesh. Parents are paid by rice to send their girl children to school. In addition primary and secondary education for girls is free in most areas of Bangladesh.

Also -- according to Banglapedia,

"The speed of decline in fertility in developing countries including Bangladesh today is much more than that observed in developed countries during the demographic transition. Family planning programmes have played a significant role in reducing fertility in developing countries, especially in Bangladesh. In the early 1970s, the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in Bangladesh was about 5%, and the TFR was close to 7. At present, the CPR is about 50% and the TFR has come down to about 3."

(TFR = Total fertility rate)

TFR in Bangladesh is quite low considering our economic condition. In fact it is lower than Pakistan (3.08 compared to Pakistan's 3.58) and pretty similar to India -- because of the vigorous work in the last decade on family planning and education done by various large NGO's. Literacy figures are similar to our neighbors as well. So Bangladesh is no less literate than any other country in the subcontinent.

It isn't enough to be employed in the garment industry after being educated up to secondary level. As matter of fact, one doesn't even have to be literate to operate a sewing machine. The aim should be higher than that.

TIslam

July 20th, 2008, 12:05 AM

Insh'Allah we'll do better in the coming future. I believe in the upcoming years, in our lifetime, we can reach 100% literacy rate for our people in Bangladesh.

If "future" is a decade from now or even half of that, Bangladesh cannot afford to wait that long. There should be a mentality of and action for, "here and now" otherwise, our neighbors shall surpass us in such numbers that we shall never catch up.

amar11372

July 20th, 2008, 12:12 AM

If "future" is a decade from now or even half of that, Bangladesh cannot afford to wait that long. There should be a mentality of and action for, "here and now" otherwise, our neighbors shall surpass us in such numbers that we shall never catch up.

Well we could take some pointers from Fidel Castro and make college students go teach villagers how to read and write. Thats how Cuba reached full literacy rate without spending much money out of their budget.

TIslam

July 20th, 2008, 01:55 AM

Well we could take some pointers from Fidel Castro and make college students go teach villagers how to read and write. Thats how Cuba reached full literacy rate without spending much money out of their budget.

Didn't Ziaur Rahman try that for a while where he supposedly made it compulsory for each SSC candidate to teach basic literacy to an illiterate? Doesn't look like it went very far, just like making each graduating medical student to spend sometime in a village. Of course, I'm speaking with much knowledge about those but I'm sure it is worth looking into. The key to success probably likes in copying the Castro model to fit Bangladesh environment and continuing consultation with the some Cubans who are experts in the field.

I'm told Sri Lanka also has 99% literacy. If so, dow did they achieve that?

amar11372

July 20th, 2008, 02:37 AM

Didn't Ziaur Rahman try that for a while where he supposedly made it compulsory for each SSC candidate to teach basic literacy to an illiterate? Doesn't look like it went very far, just like making each graduating medical student to spend sometime in a village. Of course, I'm speaking with much knowledge about those but I'm sure it is worth looking into. The key to success probably likes in copying the Castro model to fit Bangladesh environment and continuing consultation with the some Cubans who are experts in the field.

I'm told Sri Lanka also has 99% literacy. If so, dow did they achieve that?

I didn't know Ziaur Rahman tried a similar method method in BD. I am guessing that being such a agricultural dependent country back in the 1980's literacy wasn't that important. Now Castro's model should be given another look but there should definitely be a motivation for college students to do this (maybe compulsory community service credit). Anyways Our literacy rate for people under 18 has already excessed 65% and about to cross 70% by 2010 according to the latest UN Trade & Development report. So something to be optimistic about.

ajprobashi

July 20th, 2008, 06:14 AM

If "future" is a decade from now or even half of that, Bangladesh cannot afford to wait that long. There should be a mentality of and action for, "here and now" otherwise, our neighbors shall surpass us in such numbers that we shall never catch up.

No, it should be less than a decade. I think a good plan would be prospective high school students, who plan to go to college, should volunteer in villages for a certain number of hours by teaching the illiterate. Our neighbors have way too many problems to go far enough for us not to catch up. Just give it several years, the probashis love Bangladesh and we will not let her fall down like the AL-BNP people did.

snoq

July 20th, 2008, 09:00 AM

Citigroup projects economy to grow at 5.7pc in FY '09

The US-based Citigroup has projected Bangladesh's economy to grow at a lower 5.7 per cent in fiscal 2008-09 (FY09) due to slow investment and unfavourable global environment.

The projection is well below the gross domestic product (GDP) growth prediction of 6.5 per cent made for the current fiscal by the country's central bank. "While growth in FY08 has held steady at 6.0 per cent, trends in FY09 could come in a shade lower, at 5.7 per cent," the Citigroup said in a report released recently.

The report also observed that the Anti-Corruption campaign has already resulted in week business sentiment and slow investment.

The Group sees further weakness in consumption and investment on the back of political uncertainty, muted export growth given the poor global environment and higher import due to rising food and fuel prices. While growth in FY10 would be ascertained by how the global scenario pans out, trends are likely to remain at sub-6.0 per cent levels, the Group predicted.

"Although Bangladesh has delivered a steady growth rate over recent years, the current scenario of intensifying political uncertainty, rising prices and week global environment points to growth moderation in the coming year," the report added. The Group also sees political uncertainty as elections draw closer. "As elections draw closer, rising political uncertainty is culminating in growing unrest and poor business sentiment," the report noted.

Earlier in the year, the three largest political parties refused to participate in the elections unless their leaders were released from prison. On the external front, the trade deficit continues to come under pressure as imports rise on the back of higher oil and food prices, while growth in exports remain muted due to a weak global environment. The country's overall trade deficit is expected to rise to US$5.5 billion in FY09 from $3.9 billion in FY 08, the report said.

The report also said higher food and fuel imports coupled with muted export growth are likely to bring the external sector under pressures in the year ahead. Bangladesh Taka (BDT) has remained stable in recent months in spite of deteriorating trade balance due to considerable intervention by the central bank. The Group, however, predicted that the BDT to weaken to Tk 72 against the US dollar in FY09 from Tk 68.9 level currently as the US dollar strengthens and the trade deficit continues to widen.

It also welcomed the government's move to divest shares of several state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the reduction in corporate tax on listed companies that will greatly benefit the depth of the capital markets. About the inflow of direct foreign investment (FDI), the Group did not see any significant rise in FDI until political uncertainties are resolved. However, liberalisation of norms, such as labour laws, and the coal mining policy could further encourage flows, it added.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=40177

amar11372

July 22nd, 2008, 08:13 AM

Special Economic Zone to be set up in Sylhet

SYLHET, Bangladesh, July 21 (BSS)- The Council of Advisers at its regular meeting today approved a package of 12-point development programme for Sylhet region, including setting up a Special Economic Zone and Sylhet Development Authority.

The council in principle okayed the Bangladesh Economic Zone Ordinance-2008 and approved the EPZ Workers' Association and Industrial Relations (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed chaired the meeting held at the local circuit house. Advisers and special assistants to the Chief Adviser attended the meeting.

It was the third meeting of the Council of Advisers held outside Dhaka. Earlier, the council meeting was held in Rangpur and Barisal with a view to taking the government at the doorstep of the people.

After the council meeting, Dr Fakhruddin talked to journalists at the circuit house.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury briefed the journalists about the meeting and 12-point package proposals approved for development of Sylhet.

The 12-point programme includes formation of a special committee or cell for coordination of development of haor areas, extension and modernization of tea industry, setting up a labour court to protect the interest of tea garden labourers and expansion of tourism industry.

It also includes establishing coordinated network at district and divisional levels with expatriate-dominated upazilas, taking special programmes for removing backwardness in education including female education, launching special projects for improvement of communication network and power supply situation.

The programme covers cultivation of fallow land in the region for ensuring food security, setting up a shooting academy at Sylhet Rifles Club and installation of a refueling station at MAG Osmani Airport to upgrade it to an international standard airport.

Cabinet Secretary, Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser and secretaries concerned were present.

http://www.bssnews.net/?genID=BSS-01-2008-07-21&id=255

manbil777

July 22nd, 2008, 09:08 AM

Didn't Ziaur Rahman try that for a while where he supposedly made it compulsory for each SSC candidate to teach basic literacy to an illiterate? Doesn't look like it went very far, just like making each graduating medical student to spend sometime in a village. Of course, I'm speaking with much knowledge about those but I'm sure it is worth looking into. The key to success probably likes in copying the Castro model to fit Bangladesh environment and continuing consultation with the some Cubans who are experts in the field.

I remember I had to educate our orderly/bazaar sardar guy and he picked up basic math and was able to read and write in Bangla. He used to read me the Ittefaq headlines during afternoon tea :).

He didn't pass matriculation but actually went on to get a great position at a Garments place by being a supervisor. I'm proud of him in that he did become literate.

Re: Cuba besides education their Public Medical care system is also worth looking at (easy reference would be the latest SICKO movie by Michael Moore). Link (http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017)

I'm told Sri Lanka also has 99% literacy. If so, dow did they achieve that?

Sri Lanka is interesting in that their population rate of growth and overall population density is way lower than ours. So it was somewhat easier for them. Plus culturally there is a strong inclination to get educated.

TIslam

July 22nd, 2008, 02:43 PM

I remember I had to educate our orderly/bazaar sardar guy and he picked up basic math and was able to read and write in Bangla. He used to read me the Ittefaq headlines during afternoon tea :).

He didn't pass matriculation but actually went on to get a great position at a Garments place by being a supervisor. I'm proud of him in that he did become literate.

Re: Cuba besides education their Public Medical care system is also worth looking at (easy reference would be the latest SICKO movie by Michael Moore). Link (http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/news/article.php?id=10017)

Sri Lanka is interesting in that their population rate of growth and overall population density is way lower than ours. So it was somewhat easier for them. Plus culturally there is a strong inclination to get educated.

My wife often tells me a similar success story. She knew (knows) a gentleman who came into their family as a young man as a errand boy whom she taught to read and write during her pre-SSC days. Today that man is an independent building contractor, married a woman who passed SSC and his son attends St. Joseph's High School. The man, to date, is very loyal to her mother and aunt's family and shows up at every beck and call.

mirzazeehan

July 22nd, 2008, 06:02 PM

thats sexist, why only females? what have the males done wrong?

Since people are generally more willing to spend on education of their sons than their daugthers,it is more important that education of girl's is encouraged throughout the country through such initiatives .That is prolly why they are doing so.

manbil777

July 23rd, 2008, 08:24 AM

My wife often tells me a similar success story. She knew (knows) a gentleman who came into their family as a young man as a errand boy whom she taught to read and write during her pre-SSC days. Today that man is an independent building contractor, married a woman who passed SSC and his son attends St. Joseph's High School. The man, to date, is very loyal to her mother and aunt's family and shows up at every beck and call.

I've heard so many stories like this Towhid Bhai...

Almost every family has a similar success story. My wife's family has a guy like this too. If each one of us middle classers took up this resolve we'd have few poor people left.

Nothing more noble than uplifting a person's life and livelihood permanently.

amar11372

July 24th, 2008, 12:16 AM

Bangladesh GDP rises over 16 pct in '07/08 -govt official

DHAKA, July 23 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) rose more than 16 percent to $79 billion in the fiscal year to June 2008, despite double digit inflation, huge losses by state-run enterprises and natural disasters, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Per capita income also rose 15 percent to $599, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, the government's deputy economic adviser, said.

The total value of the GDP and per capita income for the 2006/07 were $68 billion and $520 respectively.

"Repeated natural calamities, abnormal hikes of import bills and demand-driven upward inflataion were the major challenges during the fiscal year," Islam told reporters.

Through the year the inflation was almost 10 percent due to external price shocks, he said.

Owing to price hikes for imported goods and depreciation in the local currency, overall losses of state-run enterprises jumped 131 percent higher from 2006-07 to reach 53 billion taka ($774 million) in 2007-08.

Total losses incurred by 44 state enterprises were nearly 23 billion taka ($336 million) in 2006-07, said the government's annual economic review released on Wednesday.

Two state-run enterprises in the energy sector alone incurred 73 billion taka ($1.1 billion) losses, about 109 percent more than the previous year.

"Despite all the challenges, we enjoyed an improved external sector with relatively stable exchange rate, positive current account balance and higher foreign exchange reserves at the end of the just-ended fiscal year," Islam said, as he presented the review.

Healthy growth in export earnings, remittances inflow from expatriates, revenue income from the domestic sources, bumper production of boro rice, stable growth of capital market and overall stable growth in manufacturing and service sectors helped the economy to grow moderately, he said.

Bangladesh's more than 5 million expatriate workers sent home a record $7.94 billion in the fiscal year of 2007-08, nearly 33 percent higher than in previous year.

Also, export earnings in July-May, the first 11 months of 2007-08 financial year, grew 15.3 percent to $12.64 billion.

Bangladesh's tax revenues rose nearly 27 percent in the 2007-08 fiscal year from a year earlier to 472 billion taka ($7 billion).

Foreign exchange reserves stood at $6.15 billion at the end of June, 2008, the central bank said.

($1=68.50 taka) (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by Anis Ahmed, David Christian-Edwards)

http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINDHA30937020080723?sp=true

TIslam

July 24th, 2008, 01:19 AM

ajprobashi

July 24th, 2008, 03:12 AM

So, everything isn't doom and gloom after all.

Bangladesh will have it's ups and downs, remember our country is less than 40 years old. It'll take a bit longer for a decent stabalization of the economy. As more and more industries open up the economy will improve.

Dhakaiya

July 26th, 2008, 06:57 AM

Agreed. 40 years is roughly a column in a history encyclopedia. We haven't finsihed writing our history yet.

amar11372

July 26th, 2008, 01:02 PM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1216971840-clip-91kb.jpg

sas

July 28th, 2008, 05:54 AM

This week's issue contains special commentary on the Grameenphone IPO, as well as a focus article on Islamic Banking by Ifty Islam, Managing Partner, AT Capital.

Key themes in this issue are:

Bangladesh:

· With the prospects for the global economy remaining negative, political uncertainty in the run-up to the elections and stretched valuations relative to other equity markets in the region a defensive stance on the DSE is justified.

· The proposed valuation of USD 3.2bn for the Grameenphone IPO appears at the upper end of expectations. The key to its success will likely be foreign investor interest.

· Although we have yet to see the move to book building for IPO pricing, if Grameenphone achieve its price targets then we believe this will encourage other large companies to come to market in addition to other telcos.

· We believe that a move to book building, that had also been anticipated as a likely part of the Grameenphone IPO, will yield more effective and transparent price discovery.

· The monitoring mechanism for the regulators needs to be strengthened and the SEC needs to have its budget, headcount, and IT infrastructure increased substantially.

Global Markets:

· US equity markets ended down by 1.1% last week as the positive news on durable goods, home sales and soft oil prices failed to offset the ongoing unease about the prospects for housing.
· Nerves increased given sharply rising foreclosures, further bank failures and the likelihood of the recessionary pressures intensifying in several European economies.

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_27_july_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

amar11372

August 2nd, 2008, 04:39 AM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1217644470-clip-33kb.jpg

A Study On Achieving Remittances of $30 Billion By 2015

http://www.bei-bd.org/docs/Remittances_Final%20Report_BEI.pdf

amar11372

August 2nd, 2008, 06:52 AM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1217652657-clip-54kb.jpg

Intoxication

August 2nd, 2008, 06:54 AM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1217644470-clip-33kb.jpg

A Study On Achieving Remittances of $30 Billion By 2015

http://www.bei-bd.org/docs/Remittances_Final%20Report_BEI.pdf

Damn! So much Remittances! All I can say is F's sake! :eek::eek::eek: :lol:

amar11372

August 2nd, 2008, 07:27 AM

Damn! So much Remittances! All I can say is F's sake! :eek::eek::eek: :lol:

Yeah just hoping the future actually turns out like the way they predicted. :)

tanzirian

August 2nd, 2008, 12:43 PM

Yeah just hoping the future actually turns out like the way they predicted. :)

It's a dangerous dependence. A couple of days ago several hundred Bangladeshis were expelled for protesting abusive work practices in Kuwait. I just hope these remittances, directly or indirectly, fuel development of local industry that can provide a more stable source of revenue.

TIslam

August 2nd, 2008, 05:52 PM

It's a dangerous dependence. A couple of days ago several hundred Bangladeshis were expelled for protesting abusive work practices in Kuwait. I just hope these remittances, directly or indirectly, fuel development of local industry that can provide a more stable source of revenue.

Couldn't agree more. While the cash cow ought to be milked for as long as it lasts, the emphasis should be on exporting skilled and semi-skilled labour, as well as professionals. And professionals shouldn't be limited to technical fields. Finally, the focus should not be limited to the middle east.

I was heartened to see that some of Bangladesh (broadcast) media is making some effort to highlight and discuss these issues. I watched a discussion/documentary program on Channel-i, the other day, where they interviewed returned expats (professionals), university VCs/professors, business people (some abroad), seeking their ideas as to how trained professionals could be sent for overseas employment. On the other hand, I am yet to come across any such discussion/writeups, in the major newspapers.

amar11372

August 2nd, 2008, 08:05 PM

It's a dangerous dependence. A couple of days ago several hundred Bangladeshis were expelled for protesting abusive work practices in Kuwait. I just hope these remittances, directly or indirectly, fuel development of local industry that can provide a more stable source of revenue.

Though the highly volatile remittances coming from the Gulf region (save maybe Saudi Arabia) may not be a future long-term strategy; remittances from highly developed world namely USA, UK, and Australia where permanent residency is allowed and have higher respect for human right laws, provides a key long-term source of remittance to cushion our macroeconomics. But yeah over-dependence a specific sector be it remittances, export or AID will defintly hurt if it were to suddenly stop.

amar11372

August 2nd, 2008, 09:05 PM

Decision on FTA with India, Pakistan, Lanka likely today
Jasim Uddin Khan

http://www.thedailystar.net/photo/2008/08/03/2008-08-03__b1.jpg

The government will finally take a decision in a meeting today on signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with its neighbouring trading partners India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

All the three countries are keen to ink such a pact in order to expand trade relations in the region.

The crucial meeting, due at the Ministry of Commerce with Finance Adviser MirzaAzizul Islam in the chair, will be represented by the officials from the ministries concerned.

Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) has complied a report on the possible risks for Bangladesh in signing such an agreement. Additionally, Dr Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Dr Ananya Raihan, executive director of D-net, Selima Chowdhury Zahir, research fellow of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and Dr Selim Raihan, associate professor at Dhaka University, have expressed opinions on the FTA to the ministry.

The government will review the opinions and research papers along with another research conducted by The World Bank, prior to taking the policy decision, ministry sources said.

According to the sources, most of the trade experts supported signing of FTA with the neighbouring countries, but suggested adding new products beyond those items already entitled to duty-free facilities under Safta (South Asian Free Trade Agreement).

“The goods which already get duty reduction under Safta should not be considered under the FTA negotiations. The government should bargain for facilities for new products,” Mustafizur Rahman of CPD said.

He said special and deferential treatment (S&D) and relaxed rules of origin could be the important focus for the proposed FTA.

As the country has achieved little from many multilateral and regional deals, the government plans to improve its two-way trade with major trading partners, sources said.

As part of the plan, the government initially eyes an FTA with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"Bangladesh has to consider bilateral free trade agreements with its trading partners as regional agreements, such as Safta, fail to yield expected results," said Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed.

Many countries are now going for bilateral free trade deals, although they have many regional and multilateral trading agreements in place, he added.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=48667

sas

August 3rd, 2008, 05:41 PM

Key themes in this issue are:

Bangladesh:

· Tata's USD 3bn pullout has profound implications for Bangladesh's economic future in terms of underlining the need for both an effective energy policy as well as a clear strategy for regional economic integration especially with India.

· A FDI policy based on attracting foreign companies via heavily discounted gas prices, whether it is from India, Korea or Taiwan, is extremely short sighted.

· The number one economic policy issue facing the country today, namely a solution to the power crisis and the necessary shift away from an addiction to subsidized gas supplies towards the rapid development of our coal reserves, is a critical focus – now.

· Bangladesh should not pin its energy future on unrealistic expectations about future undiscovered gas reserves

· With Underground coal mining method we could recover only 441mn MT of from our five coal deposits while with the best combination of Underground and Opencast Mining the amount could be 1,418mn MT.

· Amid the mutual recriminations between the US, EU, India and China on the breakdown in the Doha round, the reality is that immediate domestic political self-interest, especially in the case of Indian and Chinese farmers, overwhelmed any perceived long-term benefits from reducing global trade barriers further.

· The experience of the collapsed Doha trade talks gives little comfort the world can effectively negotiate an effective agreement on a far more complex and intractable problem, namely climate change.

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_03_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

amar11372

August 4th, 2008, 10:27 PM

Over $5b knitwear exports in FY '08
Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Knitwear exports reached $5.532 billion in the immediate past fiscal year (2007-08), registering a 21.24 percent growth and exceeding the target of $5.465 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

The sector people said sharp rebound in knitwear exports followed by peaceful political environment, currency appreciation against US dollar by major competing countries and aggressive marketing drive helped exceed export targets at the end of the fiscal.

In June exports of knitwear reached $603 million, which is 24 percent up.

Knitwear is the country's largest single export item and together with woven products accounts for more than 75 percent of the country's export earnings.

The surge comes following a relatively weak FY 2006-07 when readymade garment (RMG) exports failed to reach targets partly as a result of prolonged periods of political and industrial unrest.

Political calm and reduction in labour unrest helped pick up exports of the item in September, an exporter said.

Another manufacturer pointed to the success in marketing Bangladeshi products to US buyers, also giving credit to the exploration of new markets such as Poland, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Woven product exports reached $5.168 billion in FY 2007-08.

President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Fazlul Hoque said country's RMG exports would face more competition next year as China raised tax rebate on textile and garments.

President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez said buyers were coming back to Bangladesh to import low priced basic garment items.

“Another thing is that there was no lean period of sweater production for Bangladesh last year. Generally December-March is a lean period, but this year there was no such lean period due to the lengthy winter season,” Parvez said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=48951

amar11372

August 4th, 2008, 10:30 PM

Bangladesh among world's top 15 textile producers

BUSINESS REPORT

With a burgeoning textile industry to boast of, Bangladesh has become one of the top 15 textile producers in the world, a UNIDO report has said.

China has captured the top slot followed by the United States, Italy, Japan, India, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Germany, Korea, the UK, Brazil and Turkey.

India has made it to the top 15 automakers of the world and occupies the fourth position in the leading developing countries' category of motor vehicle manufacturers.

According to the UNIDO International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2008, India ranks 12th in the list of world's top 15 automakers, which is led by Japan followed by the United States and Germany. Other countries making it to list are Mexico, France, Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Iran, Sweden, Brazil, Italy and Indonesia.

In the leading developing countries category, India ranks fourth. The list is topped by Mexico, followed by Korea, Iran.

Brazil holds the fifth position followed by Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina, Thailand, Singapore, China, China (Taiwan Province), Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Columbia.

India also figures among the world's top 15 producers of chemicals and chemical products, electrical machinery and apparatus, basic metals (iron and steel, non-ferrous metals), coke, refined petroleum products, nuclear fuel, non-metallic mineral products (glass and glass products, cement, lime and plaster, ceramic products), machinery and equipment, leather, leather products and footwear and textiles, the report said.

The Yearbook is the 14th issue of UNIDO's annual publication and is based on 2006 data. It follows the International Standard for Industrial Classification that categorises the automobile sector as manufacture of motor vehicles, bodies (coachwork) for motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers and manufacture of parts and accessories of motor vehicles and their engines.

The main purpose of the yearbook is to provide statistical indicators to facilitate international comparisons relating to the manufacturing sector. Countries are listed in two categories of industrialized and developing countries in the publication.

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/08/05/news0891.htm

amar11372

August 5th, 2008, 08:45 PM

Overseas Workers Remitted $829M To Bangladesh In July

Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent

Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Bangladeshis working abroad sent home a record $829 million in July 2008, marking a 46.27 percent growth over the corresponding period the previous year, officials said on Tuesday.

"The monthly remittance figure of July is a new record in the country's history after March, 2008" a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, told AHN, adding that $808 million was remitted in March.

The official also said the bank expects an increase in inward remittances this month prior to the 'Id festival.

In June 2008, remittance were worth $753.58 million, according to BB statistics.

The remittance earnings in the first months of the current fiscal year came as a continuation to last fiscal's trend and record inflow of $7.939 billion. The growth in 2007-08 was 32.38 percent over the previous fiscal year.

The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at $5.82 billion on that day, thanks to a robust growth of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad, they added.

The inflow of remittances continued to rise sharply due to massive growth in manpower export and implementation of the Anti-money Laundering Act that influenced the expatriates to use official channels instead of illegal channels to send money, they added.

More than 564,000 Bangladeshis found jobs in more than 100 countries during the January-July period in 2008. In 2007, 424,200 Bangledeshis held overseas jobs, according to statistics provided by the state-run Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011840686

amar11372

August 5th, 2008, 09:14 PM

Exports hit $14.11b in FY'08 as boom continues in garments

Naim-Ul-Karim

Bangladesh exports posted a 15.87 percent growth in the outgoing fiscal year to a robust US$14.11 billions, spurred by impressive show of garments and an all-time high monthly shipments in June, officials said Tuesday.

The country shipped goods worth around two billion dollars in 2007-8 fiscal than it did in the previous year, as knitwear and woven garments continued to belie expectations while footwear and agri products surpassed targets.

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said the shipment of goods worth $1.47 billions in June - a 20.65 per cent growth over the same period last fiscal-- was also the highest ever recorded in a month.

"It's the biggest monthly export in the country's history," said director general of EPB Md. Khalilur Rahman.

"Exports made a good comeback in the last nine months due to significant recovery by the knitwear and woven garments. Besides, new exports such as agri products, footwear and frozen food have done well," he said.

The EPB said knitwear and woven garments-which comprise some 76 percent of country's total exports- grew around 16 per cent to $10.7 billions, with knitted items growing 21.50 per cent and woven 11 per cent.

Together with textile fabrics, home textile such as bedsheets and terry towel, the country's total exports in garment items crossed more than $11 billions.

Shipments fell by 5.37 per cent in the July-September first quarter as garments exports nose-dived due to protracted impact of the emergency and labour unrest in the garment factories.

Officials said export orders boomed in the later part, as global buyers rushed to Bangladesh due to weak Taka and some external factors such as currency appreciation and wage hikes in China and India-- the country's main competitors in garment trade.

"Despite some odds, garments have done far better than the expectations," president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez said.

"For the first time garment exports have surpassed 10 billion dollars. If we get the right atmosphere and competitive advantages, our export can grow to $18 billions a year by 2011," he said.

Despite an impressive growth, the official data of EPB showed export earning fell short of target by 2.68 per cent.

The government set export target of 14.50 billion in the last fiscal year, which is an increase of 19.07 per cent than the export performance of the previous fiscal.

The EPB data shows garments aside, most of the major export items have fared well despite slowdown of economies in the European Union and the United States, two of the Bangladesh's main export destination.

Frozen food, the second largest export item, grew 3.64 per cent to $534.07 millions, despite its growth was in the negative territory in the first six months of the fiscal.

Footwear has also maintained a hefty pace, recording a 24.76 per cent growth to $169.60 millions in the recent past fiscal.

Pharmaceuticals posted its biggest export in history, after it grew 53.44 per cent to $39.48 millions due to global marketing forays by the local drug companies. Most of the agricultural items such as raw jute, vegetables, tobacco, agro-processed food and tea grew between 14.41 per cent and 147.30 per cent, amid a massive demand for the Bangladeshi goods among the expatriate communities.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=41872

mirzazeehan

August 10th, 2008, 12:20 AM

300 million US dollars Remittance received in first 10 days of fiscal year

Remittance inflow in 1st week of new FY over $ 30 cr
Staff Correspondent

Remittance inflow into the country from abroad amounted to more than 30 crore US dollars during the first week of the fiscal year 2008-09.
According to sources in Bangladesh Bank, during the period from July 01 to July 10 of the current fiscal year, the Bangladeshi nationals working outside the country sent a total of US 30.25 crore dollars as remittance to Bangladesh.
Besides this, letters of credit (L/C) worth US 70.72 crore dollars were opened with banks during the same period of the last month. The letters of credit were opened by businessmen to import goods from outside the country, the sources said.
The remittance was sent to the country through different banking channels including the state-owned banks.
Of the total remittances sent by the Bangladeshi expatriates from abroad during the period mentioned above, about 9.50 crore US dollars reached the country through four government-run banks. The banks are Sonali Bank Limited, Janata Bank Limited, Agrani Bank Limited and Rupali Bank Limited.
The amount of remittance sent to the country through private banking channels was more than US 19.70 crore dollars. A total of 72 lakh US dollars reached the country through foreign banking channels while the local specialised banks brought around 29 lakh US dollars to the country from abroad.
According to Bangladesh Bank sources, the country's remittance earnings exceeded US 793 crore dollars. As a result of significant increase in expatriates-sent money during the period of first ten days of July last, the annual remittance growth rate stood at 33 percent.
Meanwhile, payment of letters of credit of 65 crore US dollars were met during period of first ten days of July last out of the total L/Cs of US 70.72 crore.
Out of the total letters of credit, most of the L/Cs were opened in order to import food grains from foreign countries. Of them, L/Cs of US 2.12 crore were opened for imports of wheat while L/Cs worth 2.47 crore US dollars were opened with a view to purchasing sugar from international market.
In the fiscal year 2007-08, the traders opened L/Cs of total US 2,405 crore dollars to import goods from outside the country.

Source:http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/leading%20news.htm

meghnarmajhi

August 10th, 2008, 10:27 PM

The world's most expensive cities:

2008 - City ---------------------------- 2007 - 2006 - 2005 - 2004 - 2003 - 2002
================================================================================
129 -- Cleveland, United States -------- 118 -- 110 -- 109 --- 98 --- 87 --- —
130 -- Colombo, Sri Lanka -------------- 130 -- 132 -- 132 -- 127 -- 118 --- —
131 -- Monterrey, Mexico --------------- 122 -- 103 -- 115 -- 102 --- 96 -- 38
132 -- Dhaka, Bangladesh --------------- 125 -- 131 -- 127 -- 117 --- 94 --- —
133 -- Pittsburgh, United States ------- 128 -- 113 -- 111 -- 112 --- 88 --- —
133 -- Tunis, Tunisia ------------------ 135 -- 133 -- 126 -- 120 -- 119 --- —
135 -- Winston-Salem, United States ---- 126 -- 124 -- 119 -- 107 --- 93 --- —
136 -- Montevideo, Uruguay ------------- 140 -- 138 -- 140 -- 143 -- 139 --- —

Source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_cities_for_expatriate_employees)

sas

August 11th, 2008, 08:06 AM

Key themes in this issue are:

Bangladesh:

· In this issue we discuss recent news about Middle Eastern interest in investing in BD Real estate.

· We assess potential lessons from a regulatory and finance perspective from developments in real estate financing in both India and Pakistan.

· It is also typically the case, as we highlight below in the case of India and Pakistan, that foreign developers will rarely enter a new and unknown foreign market without a local partner with the necessary localized knowledge of regulations, market dynamics and pricing.

· Clearly the country needs to form a set of regulations that attracts high quality real estate investment that will develop infrastructure and steer away from "hot money" that is speculative in nature and risks exaggerating property cycles.

· Bangladesh needs to develop greater systematic research on both real estate prices and the drivers of the property values. But there is every reason to remain optimistic that the country can attract both overseas financing and redirect local savings.

Global markets:

· A strong week for US stocks with the Dow posting a 3.6% gain. The move was the Dow's second 300-point move this week and the sixth move of at least 200 points in the last ten trading days. The primary driver was the collapse in oil prices in particular and the broader commodity complex in general, offsetting further signs of bad news on the credit crunch.

Special Focus on the Textiles sector

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_10_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

manbil777

August 11th, 2008, 09:49 AM

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_10_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

Excellent article SAS :)

amar11372

August 11th, 2008, 09:50 AM

amar11372

August 12th, 2008, 01:14 AM

Remittance - July

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1218496469-clip-41kb.jpg

amar11372

August 12th, 2008, 01:33 AM

Imports

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1218497560-clip-82kb.jpg

sas

August 12th, 2008, 10:46 AM

Thanks manbil and amar. The objective is to make such information available readily for not only the Bangladeshi audience, but also foreign investors and NRBs.

amar11372

August 15th, 2008, 10:58 PM

http://clip2net.com/clip/m7984/1218833477-clip-126kb.jpg

sas

August 18th, 2008, 06:06 PM

manbil777

August 19th, 2008, 07:31 AM

Key themes in this issue are:

Global markets:

· A shift away from Inflation fears towards heightened concerns about a global recession.

· A collapse in commodity prices which reflects these growth fears but ought to increase the ability of central banks to cut interest rates.

· The underperformance of the BRICs stock markets and the bursting of the Chinese Stock bubble.

· The implications of the Russian intervention in Georgia and the shift in power away from democratic regimes to authoritarian ones

· We also look at DSE valuations versus other equity markets around the world

Bangladesh:

· Turmoil in the RMG sector has dominated the headlines in Bangladesh. Resolution of this issue is critical given the pivotal role the RMG sector plays in the economy

· In our view, the challenge for garment and textile manufacturers is to offer higher wages to compensate higher wages to offset the dramatic rise in food and energy prices in the past 12-18 months in an environment where the global recession has meant substantially diminishing pricing power

· We also discuss some of the amendments to the recent from the recent Cabinet meeting on the Draft Coal Policy

Special Focus

Asset allocation: balancing risk and return in an optimal portfolio

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_18_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

Great rundown of issues. I'll give the PDF a good once-over when I have a free moment.

Happened to catch a program on XM with Ted Koppel (of Nightline fame) and Strobe Talbott on the causes of "The implications of the Russian intervention in Georgia".

Their analysis was spot on in that Russia basically was not happy with,

1) The independence of oil pipelines from Baku flowing through Georgia without touching Russia

2) The freedom of European states to choose their oil source independent of Russia (from satelllite FSU countries like Georgia).

In fact -- the Russians would like to get tens of millions of extra revenue through increased prices for 'black sea crude' uncertainty in the market while they invade Georgia on flimsy pretexts. The invasion(s) also serve to teach these wannabe NATO states a little lesson in humility as well.

All this adds up to one thing -- increased prices for crude which in the long run _will_ affect us big time.

And you guys thought I was spinning up another off-topic post :tongue3:

amar11372

August 24th, 2008, 06:52 AM

Garment exports to hit $25b in 2013

FE Report

Bangladesh's garment exports will hit US$25 billion by 2013 as buyers are impressed with the country's quality products and competitive price, despite its rickety infrastructure and growing shortage of skilled manpower, a top industry chief said.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez said the growth would create an additional 1.4 million new jobs, as the country's over 4000 garment factories have graduated into a world-class standard.

"Our mission is to attain $25 billion export in 2013 and we expect the goal will be achieved although we have lack of skilled man manpower in mid management," the BGMEA chief told a meeting in the city.

Export earnings from the garment sector soared to $10.7 billion in 2007-8 fiscal year-- up over 16 per cent than the previous fiscal-despite the shipment was negative 5.47 percent in the first quarter.

"The growth rate of the industry over the last three years was 64 per cent that makes us confident to set a target of reaching $18 billion by 2010 and $25 billion by 2013," Parvez said.

"Such an expansion will create jobs for approximately 1.4 million people directly in the Ready made garments industry and will subsequently open up opportunities across the different occupations," he said.

Currently, the sector, which makes up 10 per cent of the GDP, employs 2.4 million people which is about 40 per cent of the country's total industrial workforce. Some 85 per cent of the workers are women.

He made the comments while presenting a key-note paper on the Garment and Textile: Its Future and Challenges at a luncheon meeting of Switzerland Bangladesh Business Forum (SBBF).

Elisabeth Bosch Malinen, deputy head of mission of the embassy of Switzerland joined the programme as chief guest.

The BGMEA president said buyers now have confidence in the country's products and price, but the sector faces multi-prong challenges such as rickety infrastructure, a poor image of Bangladesh and growing shortages of skilled mid-managers.

"Each month 600 students become graduate from our institute but this figure is too small than that of the required manpower," he said, adding the skill shortages in the industry has now risen to 25 per cent of the total workforce.

He said the industry's future lies in "two pillars-compliance and eco-friendly environment" and the manufacturers have been striving to narrow the gap between the management and the unions.

The industry also needs uninterrupted supply of gas and power and highways to spur its growth in the near future, he added.

"We will be a true emerging tiger in the Asia and in order to achieve such target we have started to do our homework and sketching the rod map," he added.

He said this sector has been proven as a stable sector and it now needs a private-public partnership and exclusive economic zones for providing a sustainable an infrastructure for the sector.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=43545

mirzazeehan

August 25th, 2008, 01:15 AM

This is the kinda news that makes my day..

Great to see such optimism about the future from our garments owners

Along with the new employment and factories, I wonder how many more towers/malls/restaurants this kinda increased cash flow will bring:nuts: We already got so many projects in the pipeline with present day earnings,lol

Heres to the bright future of an emerging tiger:cheers:

sas

August 25th, 2008, 06:32 PM

Key themes in this issue are:

Bangladesh:

· After a significant losing streak, the DSE appears to have stabilized, for now. There has been discussion between the regulatory authorities and the main institutional players about how best to stop the market falling.

· The issue of whether stock market regulators and central banks can or indeed should control the level of asset prices, both in terms of equities as well as house prices is very topical given the ongoing debate on whether the US Federal Reserve, the ECB and the Bank of England should have acted sooner to deflate the housing bubble.

· The experience of the China, India, Vietnam and many other markets in 2008 suggests that the ability of even central banks with substantial resources to determine the level of stock markets is quite limited.

· Emerging market governance reform has not progressed substantially despite the willingness of policymakers and investors to press for change.

· Governance reformers need to devote more emphasis to driving change through institutional reform of capital markets to complement practical improvements to governance at the corporate level.

· The importance of family owned businesses in Emerging markets should be recognized more explicitly. Without incentives to change, they could continue to act as a major obstacle to reform.

· There are two major areas where reform needs to be prioritized: 1)Enforceability of legal rights - this needs to be strengthened by improving the integrity of the judiciary and the legal system; 2)Accountancy standards - the accuracy of the accounts is the first priority of investors

· Do we need a Bangladesh Sarbanes-Oxley law to ensure honest financial reporting?

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_25_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

snoq

August 26th, 2008, 02:57 PM

"Garment exports to hit $25b in 2013"

I wish I could be more optimistic about $25 billion figure if I were not seen the following news. Knowing full well how US and EU (in some extent) had and have been trying to stop surge of Bangladesh garments (and in broader prospect Bangladesh economic growth), one can only be doubtful about such glossy projection.

US team on labour review mission in Bangladesh

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=43640

The agency said the mission is part of its "assessment and gathering information and to have an overview" of the labour sector programmes in Bangladesh, particularly a review of American government-financed labour projects.

But local officials said the assessment, which is taking the team to almost all the export-oriented manufacturing sectors, could shape up the American government's future stand on Bangladesh's labour rights issues.

Recently the office of the US-trade representative (USTR) brought up the issue during its meeting with the Bangladesh embassy in Washington D.C.
.
.
The USTR has asked the government to complete elections to workers associations in all factories in the EPZs and allow them to seek assistance and support from the US-based labour rights groups such as Solidarity Center.

Lets take a quick look at US policy to contain Bangladesh export -
Earlier this year AFL-CIO and other US trade union employed agents were caught red handed for instigating violence in garments. US had stated containment policy against Bangladesh garments since 1994/95 and tried to push destructive trade union practice in EPZ where workers in some cases get paid more than a mid level govt employee. Then in 2000, US had given permanent shape to its containment policy by excluding Bangladesh from TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2000. In the act, 48 least developed countries of Africa and Caribbean were given tax break on their export. Bangladesh was intentionally excluded even after repeated try. Since then there were repeated threats from US of withdrawing GSP facilities.

Goal of containment policy-
Bangladesh fundamentally has three advantages to become major manufacturing hub – availability of labor, cheap labor cost and lower energy cost. US containment policy is directed to take away that labor cost advantage. And along with unruly environment will sure put off potential investors. And that is the goal of US and its regional strategic ally.

What can GOB and Garments industry do-
1) First of all workers pay has to be raised gradually as BKMEA has already done with 20% pay increase.
2) Find innovative way to cut cost and be more efficient so cost compositeness can be retained.
3) Create training facilities to train from within and outside industry to fulfill demand for mid and high level managers.
4) Highly publicize BKMEA and BGMEA effort which provide food at subsidize price and health benefits provided to garments workers.
5) MOST importantly BKMEA and BGMEA should vigorously and pro actively expose NGO and AFL CIO scheme in Bangladesh
6) Concentrate developing alternative markets other than USA so these types of evil tactics can be avoided. Russia, China and Japan could be increasingly attractive market if right effort and strategy are taken.
.
.
.

TIslam

August 27th, 2008, 03:41 AM

"Garment exports to hit $25b in 2013"

I wish I could be more optimistic about $25 billion figure if I were not seen the following news. Knowing full well how US and EU (in some extent) had and have been trying to stop surge of Bangladesh garments (and in broader prospect Bangladesh economic growth), one can only be doubtful about such glossy projection.

Lets take a quick look at US policy to contain Bangladesh export -
Earlier this year AFL-CIO and other US trade union employed agents were caught red handed for instigating violence in garments. US had stated containment policy against Bangladesh garments since 1994/95 and tried to push destructive trade union practice in EPZ where workers in some cases get paid more than a mid level govt employee. Then in 2000, US had given permanent shape to its containment policy by excluding Bangladesh from TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2000. In the act, 48 least developed countries of Africa and Caribbean were given tax break on their export. Bangladesh was intentionally excluded even after repeated try. Since then there were repeated threats from US of withdrawing GSP facilities.

Goal of containment policy-
Bangladesh fundamentally has three advantages to become major manufacturing hub – availability of labor, cheap labor cost and lower energy cost. US containment policy is directed to take away that labor cost advantage. And along with unruly environment will sure put off potential investors. And that is the goal of US and its regional strategic ally.

What can GOB and Garments industry do-
1) First of all workers pay has to be raised gradually as BKMEA has already done with 20% pay increase.
2) Find innovative way to cut cost and be more efficient so cost compositeness can be retained.
3) Create training facilities to train from within and outside industry to fulfill demand for mid and high level managers.
4) Highly publicize BKMEA and BGMEA effort which provide food at subsidize price and health benefits provided to garments workers.
5) MOST importantly BKMEA and BGMEA should vigorously and pro actively expose NGO and AFL CIO scheme in Bangladesh
6) Concentrate developing alternative markets other than USA so these types of evil tactics can be avoided. Russia, China and Japan could be increasingly attractive market if right effort and strategy are taken.
.
.
.

While it may appear that US has an antagonistic attitude towards Bangladesh commerce and industry, I'm skeptical of anything sinister. For argument's sake, let's assume there exists such policies, I would like to ask why is GoB "asleep at the switch"? This country is run by lobbyists. Shouldn't Bangladesh (be it the government, or vested trade groups like BGMEA) be attempting to negate those policies through lobbying?

While organized labor groups like AFL-CIO, UAW, have lost their teeth here in the country, they must justify their existence through "poking their noses into other peoples affairs" by raising labor issues in other countries. While the GoB may wish to remain polite (PC and all that), bodies the BGMEA, BKMEA ought to take up a vigorous campaign in the US by pointing out the obvious. If US goes around admonishing and preaching about labor standards, that is analogous to the pot calling the kettle black. Today, UAW is powerless to convince foreign auto companies to let their employees unionize, let alone persuade them to set up plants in traditional union states like Michigan. Not a single foreign automobile manufacturer has any assembly operation here. Why? Because they do not want their employees to be members of UAW. How noble of AFL-CIO to shed (crocodile) tears for the hapless garment workers in Bangladesh, never mind the fact they have been unsuccessful thus far, to cajole Walmart to allow its staff to form/join a union! Furthermore, how much clout do they have, how much pressure can they exert on China, when the entire manufacturing capability/capacity of this country has been outsourced to them (China)?:mad2:

amar11372

August 27th, 2008, 05:45 AM

While it may appear that US has an antagonistic attitude towards Bangladesh commerce and industry, I'm skeptical of anything sinister. For argument's sake, let's assume there exists such policies, I would like to ask why is GoB "asleep at the switch"? This country is run by lobbyists. Shouldn't Bangladesh (be it the government, or vested trade groups like BGMEA) be attempting to negate those policies through lobbying?

While organized labor groups like AFL-CIO, UAW, have lost their teeth here in the country, they must justify their existence through "poking their noses into other peoples affairs" by raising labor issues in other countries. While the GoB may wish to remain polite (PC and all that), bodies the BGMEA, BKMEA ought to take up a vigorous campaign in the US by pointing out the obvious. If US goes around admonishing and preaching about labor standards, that is analogous to the pot calling the kettle black. Today, UAW is powerless to convince foreign auto companies to let their employees unionize, let alone persuade them to set up plants in traditional union states like Michigan. Not a single foreign automobile manufacturer has any assembly operation here. Why? Because they do not want their employees to be members of UAW. How noble of AFL-CIO to shed (crocodile) tears for the hapless garment workers in Bangladesh, never mind the fact they have been unsuccessful thus far, to cajole Walmart to allow its staff to form/join a union! Furthermore, how much clout do they have, how much pressure can they exert on China, when the entire manufacturing capability/capacity of this country has been outsourced to them (China)?:mad2:

AFL-CIO has been losing membership (fees) for quite a long time and this trend has been exacerbated by the slowdown in the US. They tried to introduce labor union in China and other developing countries but failed and are now trying in Bangladesh to boost up their revenue to previous levels. I doubt they will succeed in BD as BKMEA and BGMEA are getting too large, now and in the future they wont need to bow down to these sort of pressures coming from foreign labor unions.

mirzazeehan

August 27th, 2008, 05:58 AM

Even if one US trade union or some other country is trying to put down our exports,then I must point out that they are doing a TERRIBLE job...cause as of now,our exports jumping like a kangaroo

amar11372

August 29th, 2008, 10:02 PM

Govt, private sector to float venture capital co soon

Shakhwat Hossain

The government will form a 'venture capital company' in months with private partnership to provide collateral free loans to companies having potentials to emerge as trail blazers, officials said Thursday.

Top finance ministry officials said the first such company in the country's history will have an initial capital of Tk 5.0 billion and will be majority controlled by the government.

"About 51 per cent of the capital of the company will be invested by the governmnet. Private entrepreneurs will invest the rest," said a senior finance ministry offical speaking on condition of annoymity.

The finance ministry has sought opinion on outline and modus operandi of the 'venture capital company' from the central bank and the Securities Exchange Commission, he said.

"We hope after the completition of the necessary consultations, the first venture capital company can go into operation within months," he added.

Venture capital funds are abound in thee western countries where they provide collateral free credits to 'highly potential yet risky enterprises' in exchange for equity in the same.

Many of the top software companies in the United States, India and China have been bankrolled by the venture capital funds in the past one decade.

Finance ministry examined rules and operational methods of successful venture capital funds across the globe, but mainly adopted the Indian experience while preparing the outline.

India has emerged as one of the top magnets for big global venture capital funds after allowing them to operate since 1988.

In the second quarter to June, private venture capital funds have invested US$238 million, a 120 per cent increase over the same period last year, according to Dow Jones newswire.

The move to form a venture capital came after a central bank study found that companies with potentials to emerge as new industrial pathbreakers hardly have any access to credit in the conventional banking system.

The study said limited banking finance is a major constraint to the growth of the country's small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for almost 80 per cent of total employment in manufacturing sector.

Between 1986 and 2006, the country's labour force grew by nearly three per cent annually with SMEs including some non-conventional sectors absorbing the new workers.

Officials said the new company will be a major boost for high-tech, software, agro-based and engineering enterprises who find it hard to raise capital through the conventional banking sources.

In Bangladesh the banks only lend money to 'safe' and "established" companies which can ensure a good return to their investment, said another finance ministry official.

"The companies, which have great potentials to be big global players creating hordes of new jobs but need huge seed money to grow, hardly get any backing from banks or non-banking creditors," he said.

"The new venture company will give top priority to the enterprises which can make it big at home and abroad. Some of them will be trail blazers," he added.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.info/search_index.php?page=detail_news&news_id=44068

sas

September 2nd, 2008, 07:07 AM

Key themes in this issue are:

Bangladesh:

• The decision by Grameenphone to issue BDT 4.25bn (around USD 60mn) of bonds has been welcomed as a potential catalyst to the development of Bangladesh's nascent corporate bond market.
• If there is a clear commitment and partnership among the Bangladesh Bank, SEC, multilateral agencies and the private sector financial market players, there is no reason Bangladesh cannot move towards a vibrant bond market.
• The collapse in Pakistan's equity markets has triggered a panic response from the SEC who put in an artificial floor. The prospects remain extremely bearish.
• Sri Lanka and Pakistan's near 30% inflation rates risk further macro-economic and market instability.

Global Markets:

• US Q2 GDP analysis – despite strong exports, weaker than 3.3% looks.
• China likely to extend lead over India in growth stakes/resilience.
• Convergence technologies and prospects for Telecoms.
• Lessons from Katrina on potential impact of Hurricane Gustav on US.

In this week's Special Focus on the Bond Market we discuss:

• Why Bangladesh Needs a Bond Market: The benefits for both issuers and investors
• International lessons for the development of Bangladesh's Bond Markets
• The corporate debt market in India
• The Malaysian PDS market – Global Competitiveness in Islamic Bonds

You may download a version of the document by clicking the URL below:
http://at-capital.com/images/at/at_capital_weekly_31_aug_2008.pdf

You may send any queries to research@at-capital.com

mirzazeehan

September 3rd, 2008, 11:20 PM

Thanks for the link Sas

amar11372

September 6th, 2008, 06:42 PM

Becoming an Asian Tiger

Friday, September 05, 2008; Posted: 11:10 PM

Quite often we refer to certain countries in Southeast Asia as 'emerging tigers'. Their economics and their progressive economic development are analyzed and extolled for their performance. Such an approach also draws our attention not only to the manner in which such countries identified the weaknesses within their development paradigm but also how such measures to overcome challenges subsequently facilitated foreign direct investment.

In the recent past, we have watched such enthusiasm also about Bangladesh. Despite a generally negative image of the country, resulting out of natural calamities, corruption, poor governance, extremism and lack of a participatory political process, efforts have been undertaken by several external institutions to point out the latent possibilities of Bangladesh. 'Investor Chronicle' from United Kingdom has identified the country as a 'hot emerging market'. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, two United States financial institutions have acknowledged existing detracting factors but have also suggested that Bangladesh could be included among a handful of countries whose economy has potential for absorption of future investment. Such views are particularly welcome given the fact that the country was recently being written off by so-called experts as having no future during the post-MFA era.

The other interesting feature has been the recent acquisition of a license for investment banking by Citigroup. This step has been interpreted as a sign of potential for other multinationals (Shell, B.P., Mobil, HSBC, Citibank, Samsung, Toshiba, Cemex, Singtel and Orascom) also entering the local market despite its perceived limitations.

Many non-resident Bangladeshis who have been associated with financial institutions abroad have watched the possibilities unfold within Bangladesh and have followed these developments with great interest. During the recently concluded NRB Conference and also through separate interventions in the media, they have expressed their desire to actively participate in the future potential economic development process within Bangladesh.

One such example of constructive engagement has been that of Asian Tiger Capital Partners, a group of young expatriate Bangladeshi entrepreneurs experienced in consulting, banking and investment abroad. Mostly of British origin, the stakeholders of the Company, in the presence of the British High Commissioner in Dhaka, recently presented their plans to launch a US Dollar 100 million private equity fund to be invested in Bangladesh. Media reports indicated that this group seriously believes that foreign direct investment in the country could increase tenfold from the current figure of around US Dollar 700 million to US Dollar 7 billion by 2015. In this context, the group also unveiled its first research report on the Bangladesh economy, entitled 'Bangladesh: Growth, Investment, Opportunity', focusing primarily on 14 investment sectors ranging from agriculture to power and pharmaceuticals.

It has been suggested that the initial steps pertaining to this equity fund would probably be in place by September this year. It will be aimed at 'general investment' and will be followed by a 'separate stock market equity fund and an infrastructure fund'. The group is hoping to raise money from global investment institutions and non-resident Bangladeshis. Most interesting! This company believes that given better information and removal of informational asymmetries, top global investors and multinational financial institutions will 'see Bangladesh as Asia's next great untapped investment opportunity'. It is indeed good to see such confidence.

I have always personally described Bangladesh as the 'untapped frontier'. I remember the stark days of 1972, when one had milk only if one had a cow. We have come a long way since then. Today, we are almost self-sufficient in food. We still have problems in several sectors-- energy, water management, fertilizer and different areas of infrastructure. Nevertheless, we are slowly, but steadily moving forward. Rampant corruption and abuse of official power has to a large extent been reduced. Accountability and transparency, as concepts, are being re-introduced within the matrix of governance. The enforcement of draconian measures might have led to some degree of torpor within the business community, but one hopes that this will pass under an elected government.

I am optimistic about our economic future when I see groups like Asian Tiger Capital coming forward to participate in the regeneration of this country's future economic development.

I agree with the need to predicate our success on the basis of an 'economic vision'. "We need to believe in ourselves and also in our ability to seize opportunities in different fields and find solutions to problems. What we requires a change in our mind-set. That is the real catalyst for economic recovery. It has already been demonstrated in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea. We might not right now have cutting edge technology, but we have cheaper alternatives.

What we require is a sustainable economic strategy that will automatically provide us with investment opportunities. The World Bank in its July 2007 Report on Bangladesh has remarked on the need- to shift from agriculture to industry and services, to intensify integration with global markets and to evolve diverse dynamic urban centers. They have also noted that FDI will improve if there is better macroeconomic governance, continued macroeconomic stability and a commercially viable energy sector. To this one can add the need to have in place better infrastructure, larger pool of skilled manpower required for management, information technology and the services sectors, the spirit of innovation and the existence of due process of law. These factors are all inter-related. It is the juxtaposition of all these elements that will spur development and possibly take Bangladesh to the status of a Middle lncome country by 2015.

We have to understand that we have a difficult task ahead in this globalized, competitive world. We have to not only project Bangladesh as a creative economy but also market it as a brand that will not be scoffed at. In this regard, both our Bangladeshi diplomatic Missions as well as our Diaspora have to play key roles. They can help in the creation of an enabling environment. At the same time, to ensure rapid growth, serious measures have to be taken, in a coordinated manner to streamline the regulatory principles and to develop the financial system, both in capital markets and banking.

Asian Tiger Capital and other similar institutions in Bangladesh should be given assistance and access by the responsible authorities in Bangladesh so that their efforts can succeed. We need their presence, connectivity and outreach contacts in areas like-Energy, Non-Energy Infrastructure and alternative energy sources, cold storage facilities. Textiles (weaving mills and dyeing-finishing mills), Outsourcing, Pharmaceuticals (plants with certification for developed markets), Healthcare, Biotechnology, Light and Heavy Engineering, Tourism and Hospitality sectors and Education (both in information technology as well as vocational training).

The report prepared by Asian Tiger Capital has noted that currently several very large FDI proposals (total worth US Dollar 9.7 billion) are pending for decision by the government. These include investment proposals made by the Indian conglomerate Tata, the Abu Dhabi group from UAE, Global Oil and Energy Ltd. from UK, Azimat Corporation from Malaysia and Contech Ltd. There have also been other offers by the steel group Mittal. The significant aspect pertaining to this scenario is the absence of decision making for many years. One can only hope that necessary action will be taken in this regard soon after the next elected government is in place based on transparency and national interest. We have to remember that for a developing country like Bangladesh, increasing the level of FDI is likely to have a direct bearing and 'significant positive impact oil export growth, foreign exchange reserves and the balance of payments. It will also facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology.

Bangladesh needs to grow a 'can-do' attitude and work ethic. It also needs to upgrade its corporate culture and improve its 'bureaucratic processes'. We need to learn and replicate the experience of South Korea, China and Vietnam. We must also open our mental windows and be more focused in our strategic approach. We also have to streamline the underlying market fundamentals so that future flow-in of foreign investment (in the form of preferred stocks and subordinated debt) does not upset the institutional investor base. We have to be cautious so that the commercial banking sector can absorb the expected growth.

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/print.site/news/Stock%20News/1865722/