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The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday proposed that the government should form a committee for monitoring import. The MCCI also placed a set of recommendations on boosting export.
   The chamber observes that the country’s economy is going through a critical juncture and facing serious challenges following unexpected developments in political and foreign trade fronts.
   This came out at a formal interaction of commerce minister Altaf Hussain Chowdhury with businessmen who said that doing business had been difficult when rising inflation is depressing economy.
   ‘We urge for constituting a committee under a leading economist and consisting of the representatives from the Bangladesh Bank, ministry of commerce and trade bodies to monitor import so as to ensure unhindered raw materials and components and save the industry from higher costs caused by exchange rate losses,’ said president of the chamber, Kutubuddin Ahmed.
   Expressing worries over increasing petroleum prices, higher costs of imports as well as rising imports of non-essential products, the MCCI leader said, ‘Higher prices of imported goods contribute to higher inflation rates.’
   ‘Higher imports as well as the inflationary pressure on the Bangladesh currency have led to scarcity of US dollars threatening the entire import programme,’ he said.
   He said that the balance of payments difficulties and the declining terms of trade indicate that without having 40 per cent annual growth in export, the present level of development would not sustain.
   Submitting specific proposals for facilitating export following the export policy, the MCCI proposed that the Bangladesh Bank should introduce a time-bound programme for the commercial banks to offer export credit to the thrust sectors.
   The chamber demanded immediate implementation of duty exemption on spare parts of capital machinery for export oriented industries exemption of value added tax on services related.
   Regretting that Bangladesh missions abroad are not allowing multiple entry visas to foreign investors and importers, the MCCI proposed that importers enjoying good reputation and record should be given such visas for three years.
   The chamber alleged that some shipping lines and freight forwarding agencies operating in Bangladesh collect unreasonable charges.
   The chamber strongly recommended that a taskforce consisting of the representatives of major export related trade bodies should be asked to chalk out a special handling arrangement for the container cargos.
   It proposed that a provision should be made for export of third country products without importing the same into Bangladesh through opening of back-to-back letter of credit from Bangladesh against export L/C.
   On procurement of capital and investment for industries in the backdrop of foreign exchange crisis the chamber campaigned for allowing suppliers credit in private sector.
   Referring to an investigation of the MCCI into reasons of non-availability of dollar in banks, Kutub said the chamber found dollar scarcity widespread.
   ‘The dramatic shift of supply-demand balance has led to depreciation of the value of taka in forex market leading to higher costs of imported goods aggravating the inflationary pressures.’
   Echoing with Kutub in the open floor discussion, Jalmaluddin Ahmed, a former minister, said the government has to contain the rising inflation which affects economy as well as businesses.
   He lamented that the high rates of interests harm the operation and growth of small and medium industries.
   Some speakers stressed a study on the much discussed free trade agreement between India and Bangladesh while Latifur Rahman, former president of the MCCI, said that Bangladesh can pursue for preferential trade access from India providing such to her.
   Brushing aside fears of bad impact on export and economy from the recent countrywide bomb blasts the Commerce Minister observed that the situation is not yet fearful.
   On preferential trade access the minister said Bangladesh is going to place a proposal to WTO in December this year seeking duty-free access for goods of LDC countries into markets of developing and developed countries and hoped that India would give duty-free access to LDCs including Bangladesh.
   Pointing to achievement in increasing food production and literacy rates, Altaf hoped that the country can attain export growth at 40 per cent.

The government has undertaken a move to streamline the activities of the Bangladesh Cooperative Bank Ltd with injecting fresh fund, bringing about changes in its structural setup and stepping up monitoring drive, finance ministry sources told New Age.
   Under the move, the finance ministry has recently proposed that the Bangladesh Bank should sanction Tk 50 crore for the cooperative bank from the central bank’s re-financing scheme, which is meant for aiding state-owned banks with capital shortfall. The credit might be provided against the guarantee of the government, the proposal added.
   Furthermore, the finance ministry has recently formed a six-member committee to recommend the government on ways and means to streamline the bank’s operation countrywide and help it make more contribution to the cooperatives sector.
   Murshid Kuli Khan, executive director of the central bank, has been made the convenor of the committee that includes representatives from finance ministry, rural development and cooperative division and cooperative directorate, according to a circular of the finance ministry, issued on August 3.
   According to the terms of reference, the committee members will recommend the government on how the bank can run its lending programmes more effectively for the development of the country’s agriculture and rural sectors.
   The committee will analyse the entire financial heath of the bank and outline strategy to help it come out of the gloomy situation caused by huge amount of defaulted loans, sources said.
   BB will provide all sorts of secretarial supports to the committee, which has been asked to file its report by October 2.
   The BB stopped providing funds to BCBL since 1990 as the bank failed to repay a huge amount of money it lent from the central bank.
   Earlier, the LGRD ministry urged the finance ministry to inject fresh loans in the BCBL, sources said.

Steel and re-rolling mills owners have urged the government not to allow the Indian Tata Group to produce finished steel products like MS rod and iron bar in their proposed steel plant.
   A joint delegation of the Bangladesh Re-rolling Mills Association (BRMA) and the Bangladesh Steel Mills Owners Association (BSMOA) placed the demand to Industries Minister Matiur Rahman Nizami at his office.
   The steel producers also demanded the supply of natural gas to their plants at a lower rate than that would be proposed to the Indian Tata Group.
   President of the BRMA Ali Hossain and Secretary General Sheikh Masadul Alam Masud led the delegation.
   They, however, said they would welcome the investment of Tata Group in the steel sector if it produces raw materials like sponge iron for the local mills.
   But if the Tata is allowed to produce finished rod and iron products, which is sued in construction sector, it would be damaging for the local steel mills.
   ‘More than one million people are directly and indirectly involved in local steel industries….all of us would be affected if Tata produces MS rod,’ they said.
   After the meeting, the leaders claimed that the Industries Minister had assured them that Tata would not be offered gas supply at a subsidised rate or any lower rate.
   ‘The government will not do any thing in regard to the investment of Tata Group that can hamper the interest of the local industries or the national economy,’ Nizami was quoted to have told the local steel producers.
   The steel and re-rolling mills operators also informed Nizami about their problems regarding import of raw materials.
   They alleged that local steel and re-rolling mills are facing serious problems due to irrational duty structures for the imported raw materials and failure of the PSI companies in properly inspecting the shipped raw materials.
   Irrational duties on import of raw materials as well as failure of the PSI companies to properly inspect the shipment are causing damage to our business, said the re-rolling mills’ operators.
   They said the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) companies did not properly examine their imported raw materials at the stage of shipment.
   As a result, they alleged, the foreign suppliers were shipping stones, silts, dusts and rubbish instead of the ordered scraps. This has made it hard for the mill operators to survive in the competition, they mentioned.
   They also alleged that a section of the customs officials harass the mills operators in releasing the imported raw materials from the ports.
   The steel mill operators also demanded withdrawal of the present system of licensing on the basis of turnover and called for introducing a specific license fee to stop the harassment by the Bangladesh Standard and testing Institute (BSTI).
   Deputy Minister for Industries Abdus Salam Pintu was present at the meeting.

Country’s tourism sector may face a dull business in the upcoming season beginning from mid-September, as an aftermath of August 17 serial bomb blasts, hospitality industry people say.
   The countrywide spate of blowouts has made it difficult for the tourism industry people to assure intending foreign visitors of security during their stay in Bangladesh and project the country’s tourism-friendly images to them.
   ‘It is difficult for us to convince the foreign guests that the situation is now under control and security for them is no problem by now,’ said the manager of a tour operator group.
   Hoteliers earlier reported that many of their confirmed bookings had been cancelled after the incident that forced many others shortened their trips here.
   Although the tourism and civil aviation minister, Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin, assured maximum security for the foreign tourists, the foreigners are hardly willing to make their holidaying trips in Bangladesh.
   The minister told a function in Dhaka on August 22 that the government would ensure security to the holidaymakers.
   According to the statistics of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation a total of 27, 26,000 foreigners visited in 2004 and less then 40 thousands of them were holidaymakers, and the sector accounts for one per cent of the government’s revenue income.
   Tour operators, hoteliers, travel agents and transport service providers, who are preparing for the peak tourism season of September-February period, are in doubts whether they would be able to make good profits this year.
   Zamiul Ahmed Zamil, president of Tourism Development Association of Bangladesh and also managing director of Kushiara Tourism Limited told New Age that they have a total of 38 members and more than half of the member organisations handle foreign tourists.
   ‘We got information that a good number of foreign tourists’ groups, either on business mission or for holidaymaking, are cancelling their bookings for Bangladesh’, said Zamil.
   He said that the blasts also scared the individual tourists, and the industry may loose this kind of tourists also.
   Visitors wants to move freely without any hazards, said Zamil, and it is really difficult to engage extra security force with the visitors.
   Hasan Mansur, managing director of Guide Tours Limited, said that he lost business of a foreign group of 50 persons, who were ready to visit Bandarban in this August.
   ‘However, we could be able to manage this coming tourism season any how if any further incident would not take place in next few months’, said Hasan.
   Motiur Rahman, managing director of Bengal Tours Limited, told New Age that they are giving day to day information of the present situation of the bomb blast incidents to their customers on their inquiry of their security questions.
   He warned that any recurrence of terror incident would be disastrous for the hospitality industry.
   Faridul Haque, president of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh and managing director of Tour Planners limited said that they have some foreign tourists, who are now visiting different places with a sense of insecurity despite support from the local government and security forces.
   Luxury hotels are also counting losses after the bomb incidents.
   Sources at the Sheraton Hotel said that bookings for a good number of rooms as well as convention halls were cancelled after August 17.
   However the hotel management increased security measures in addition to their normal security supervisions.
   Imtiaz Ahmed Siddiqi, marketing manager of Sonargaon Hotel said that they have suffered 5 to 7 per cent loss in business as an impact of bomb occurrence.

Oil prices hit new record highs after crossing $70 a barrel in Asian trading hours on Tuesday, as the powerful Hurricane Katrina, threatened the crude-producing Gulf of Mexico region in the United States.
   With the psychological barrier now breached, some analysts said prices could now aim for the once unthinkable $80 a barrel—a level which economists fear could severely dent consumer demand and curb business activities.
   New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, touched a high of $70.80 and was trading at $69.87 at 2:20pm (0420 GMT), up $3.74, from its close of $66.13 in the US market Friday.
   Share markets across Asia and the Pacific tumbled, with dealers saying the cost of crude had struck a level widely seen as a break point—at which oil costs begin eroding economic growth, weakening currencies, fuelling inflation, and pressuring central banks into raising interest rates.
   Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo, said the market would await the actual impact of the hurricane on production, but he believed $70 oil might not be sustainable, because the US summer holidays were now drawing to a close, reducing gasoline demand.
   ‘Seventy dollars is completely far away from the fundamentals,’ he said. ‘It is quite difficult to sustain.’
   But Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based investment strategist at CFC Seymour Securities, feared that the impact would be longer-lasting as damage to offshore oil rigs and onshore refineries would take time to repair.

Bangladesh IT market moves forward with its domestic IT spending amounting to $235 million in 2004, posting a nine per cent rise compared to the previous year, said a Singapore-based market research study.
   ‘Despite mounting social and political upheavals, the Bangladesh IT market continues to overcome challenges and post solid growth,’ said the study conducted by Springboard Research on Bangladesh IT market.
   It said the IT market in Bangladesh is heavily dependent on hardware, which represents more than 75 per cent of total IT spending. The software market is stifled by the early state of market development and prevalent piracy, which exceeds 90 per cent in the consumer market.
   ‘Amid natural disasters, economic setbacks, political instability and socials unrest, the nascent Bangladesh IT market has managed to keep moving ahead,’ said Dane Anderson, vice-president of the Springboard Research.
   He said: ‘The August bombings are yet another challenge for the market to overcome, but amidst the volatility public programmes, NGO support, multinational vendor investment and a resilient business community are generating the IT market growth.’
   The study said the government sector accounts for over 40 per cent of total spending and NGO investment is a major driver for market expansion. Besides, these two key market segments, the finance and telecommunications industries are vital, collectively these four segments represent over 70 per cent of the country’s total IT spending.
   Personal computers, which represent the largest portion of the market, registered shipments in excess of 135,000 in 2004. The PC market is led by the commercial desktop segment, which represents over 70 per cent total shipments followed by the consumer desktop market with a 26 per cent share.
   Similar to other emerging markets, assembled-PC and small local brands represent roughly 75 per cent of total PC shipments in the country, according to the study.
   ‘The boost provided by NGOs and the World Bank and ADB in Bangladesh is crucial to the continued development of the market. The multimillion-dollar investments from these bodies drive spending in the government, finance, education, and small and medium business market segment, making them particularly important growth catalyst,’ Anderson said.
   The key challenges for the market in the next five years will continue to be social and political uncertainties. Furthermore, lack of IT skills in the country and poor IT education are also growth inhibitors.
   However, low PC penetration (one PC installed for every 232 people in the country), economic growth commonly above five per cent and several government and NGO programmes will continue to push the market forward.
   The Springboard Research has launched a quarterly market tracker to monitor the developments of Asian emerging countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Cambodia and Brunei, on a continuous basis.

Singapore and Malaysia called Tuesday for a joint effort by their business communities to tap opportunities in the global marketplace.
   ‘We have done well individually but if we work together, I am sure Singapore and Malaysia can compete with the rest of the world more effectively,’ Singapore’s trade and industry minister Lim Hng Kiang told a seminar on business opportunities in Malaysia.
   ‘So it is not only about creating new ways of doing businesses in both our countries but also about leveraging on each other’s strengths, expertise and capabilities to move into new markets,’ he said.
   The periodically stormy ties between the two neighbours have improved markedly since they signed a landmark agreement in April to settle a long-running dispute over Singapore’s land reclamation activities.
   The dispute was one of many that have affected relations since Singapore left the Malaysian federation in 1965.
   Signs of a thaw first emerged after the Malaysian prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, succeeded Mahathir Mohamad in 2003.
   The Malaysian trade minister, Rafidah Aziz, whose speech was delivered by Kuala Lumpur’s envoy to the city-state N Parameswaran, also urged businessmen from the two neighbours to work together in pursuit of new export markets.
   ‘While strengthening trade ties in existing markets, Singapore and Malaysia can work together to seek export opportunities in new and emerging markets,’ Rafidah said.
   ‘Malaysia and Singapore-based companies must continue to work together and draw on their combined strengths to become more competitive regionally and globally.
   ‘This is imperative especially in the light of global developments and new opportunities.’
   Malaysia is Singapore’s top trading partner with total trade worth 88.3 billion Singapore dollars ($52.87 billion) in 2004.
   Cross-border investment is also on the rise, including industries like telecommunications which were once deemed too sensitive.

The property and casualty insurance industry, hit hard last year when four separate hurricanes slammed into Florida, now faces as much as $26 billion in claims from Hurricane Katrina’s foray into Louisiana and neighboring Gulf Coast states, according to preliminary risk assessments. AIR Worldwide Corp., a risk modeling firm based in Boston, said late Monday that insured losses could range from $12 billion to $26 billion.
   At the high end, that would make Katrina more expensive than the previous record-setting storm, Hurricane Andrew, which caused some $21 billion in insured losses in 1992 to property in Florida and along the Gulf Coast.
   Another risk modeling firm, Eqecat Inc., which is based in Oakland, Calif., initially estimated damages from Katrina at up to $30 billion, but it lowered its projections twice after the storm struck east of populous New Orleans and was quickly downgraded as it moved inland from a Category 4 hurricane to a Category 2 storm.
   Late Monday, Eqecat’s estimate for damage to homes, businesses, autos and trucks was a range could of $9 billion to $16 billion.
   Eqecat spokesman Thomas Larsen said the storm’s move eastward reduced some of the potential for losses in the New Orleans area. At the same time, he said, ‘it has raised concerns about Biloxi and Gulfport,’ both in Mississippi, as well as other Gulf Coast cities to the east.
   The estimates, which Larsen emphasized were preliminary, do not include possible damage to oil drilling platforms and other oil operations in the Gulf, which produces and refines a significant amount of U.S. fuel.
   Larsen noted that Hurricane Ivan last September caused serious damage to some oil rigs and added: ‘Katrina is to the west of Hurricane Ivan’s path, in an area more densely populated with oil platforms.’
   There were no immediate estimates of damage to oil operations, although Royal Dutch Shell PLC said on its Web site that two of its drilling rigs equipped with tracking devices had ‘drifted off location.’
   AIR Worldwide attributed its higher estimate to Katrina’s size, noting that ‘hurricane-strength winds extended more than 120 miles from the center of the storm and tropical storm-strength winds extended as much as 230 miles from the center.’
   Last year, the four separate hurricanes that slammed Florida and other East Coast states cost insurers nearly $23 billion. The most devastating, Hurricane Charley, racked up insured losses of $7.5 billion last August.
   Major insurance companies — already dealing with the fallout from Katrina in southern Florida, where the storm passed late last week — on Monday began turning their attention to Louisiana and Mississippi.
   The largest property and casualty insurance companies operating in the southern states are State Farm Insurance Cos. of Bloomington, Ill., and Allstate Corp. of Northbrook, Ill.
   Phil Supple, spokesman for State Farm, said the company has teams ready to move into New Orleans and Gulf Coast cities after Katrina passes to begin processing insurance claims.

Bilateral trade and energy issues will likely top the agenda of upcoming talks in Washington between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart George W. Bush, officials said Tuesday.
   Hu will visit Seattle, hold talks with Bush in Washington and give a speech at Yale University during his September 6-8 trip, said He Yafei, director of the North America desk at the foreign ministry.
   Hu will arrive as US concern mounts over China’s economic posture and military build-up and the North Korean nuclear crisis enters a key stage.
   During his stay Hu would try to address long-standing problems in the relationship and underscore China’s ‘peaceful rise’ as a global power, He said.
   But trade and energy would be the main focus.
   ‘It is true the US has a deficit. We are ready to import more goods from the US,’ He said. ‘In recent years, if you look at the numbers, China is the market where the US imports are increasing fastest.
   ‘We hope to buy more US products and we hope that more Chinese products will be purchased by Americans. This is beneficial to both countries and both people.’
   Hu would tell Bush that despite China’s 160 billion dollar trade surplus with the US—as calculated by Washington—the best way to resolve the imbalance was to increase trade, not restrict it or implement protectionist measures, He said.
   China and the United States are currently embroiled in a dispute over growing volumes of Chinese textile shipments that have worsened trade tensions.
   China was also eager to improve cooperation with Washington over energy security, especially after a takeover bid for the US company Unocal by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation was foiled by political concerns.
   ‘Energy cooperation is an important issue in China-US relations, China and the United States are both major energy producers and energy consumers,’ He said.
   ‘We have both surging demand for energy and this is an important area for bilateral cooperation. I’m sure the two leaders will mention this issue.’
   The visit to the US will be Hu’s first since he became president in 2003 and the head of the ruling Communist Party a year earlier.

Motoring fanatic Dennis Lim drives his souped-up, 300-horsepower Subaru WRX sports car to work daily and does not mind paying for his passion, but his carefree gas-guzzling days could be numbered.
   With benchmark crude now hovering close to 70 dollars a barrel and the ceiling on pump prices blown skyward by Hurricane Katrina in the United States, even affluent Asian consumers like Lim are feeling the pinch.
   ‘The impact is actually very hard,’ the 28-year-old Singaporean business executive said after premium petrol prices in Singapore shot up to as high as 1.20 dollars per liter, more than 20 percent higher than six months ago.
   ‘If it keeps on going up, I will really limit my travelling. I will plan my trips,’ said Lim, who sometimes spends almost 500 dollars a month on fuel.
   Asians, rich and poor alike, are already being affected by the monster storm that pounded oil-producing regions in the southern United States Monday.
   Utility and transport firms are planning to raise charges, airlines are likely to jack up fuel surcharges ahead of the year-end holidays, and unions are bracing themselves for strikes, layoffs and factory shutdowns.
   The Indonesian rupiah slipped to as low as 11,800 to the US dollar before finding some traction to recover to 10,800-10,950.
   Indonesia is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but is a net oil importer. Subsidized local oil prices are wreaking havoc on public finances and exerting pressure on the rupiah, but ending subsidies could set off social unrest.
   ‘We will make some adjustments to fuel prices, while protecting the poor,’ President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at a business conference Tuesday. ‘I have every confidence that we will overcome this quagmire.’
   Hope might also come in the form of supply intervention by OPEC, which warned Tuesday that current crude prices do not reflect market fundamentals. Some analysts were also saying the oil price ‘bubble’ will have to burst.
   In Manila, office clerk Ciriaco Toledo, 50, has bought a 112cc Japanese scooter to commute from his home about 30 kilometers (20 miles) outside the capital to his office in the Makati financial district.
   The tiny engine allows Toledo—who earns in a whole month what Singaporean motorist Lim spends on petrol—to spend only a fifth of what he used to pay for the fuel for his beloved old jeep, which he has sold.
   ‘We don’t buy new clothes now and spend all the money on food,’ said the father of two. ‘We only buy clothes on special occasions, like Christmas.’
   Oil prices have been rising almost weekly in the Philippines for more than a month, triggering fare increases, and the leftist labor group May One Movement (KMU) is planning strikes next month against rising pump prices.
   Even in oil-rich Brunei, which is enjoying a windfall from high energy prices but heavily subsidizes local fuel, Energy Minister Yahya Bakar called on people to reduce energy consumption.
   ‘Bruneians from all walks of life must get involved in every aspect of energy conservation,’ the minister said Monday as he announced further oil exploration projects to satisfy world demand for black gold.
   In Australia, national airline Qantas last week increased the fuel levy paid by passengers for the fifth time in barely a year and other airlines have indicated they could do likewise. Petrol prices are also expected to go up.
   In Japan, oil distributors have announced they will raise wholesale petrol prices by about two yen (18 cents) per liter in September, while Japan Airlines (JAL) said it is considering raising domestic air fares early next year.
   Earlier this month, JAL, Asia’s biggest carrier, extended a surcharge on international routes through the end of March.
   In Pakistan, the government has not passed on the impact of rising crude prices to the public.
   India’s government has also held back passing on the spike in international oil prices since June to the domestic market, prompting a warning by the central Reserve Bank that the state’s fiscal burden could increase and investors in public sector oil companies could be hurt.
   In Malaysia, whose national oil company Petronas is enjoying record profits, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak on Monday said the government may raise domestic oil prices if crude costs continue to soar.

China has temporarily scrapped a tax rebate on oil exports that would make it more expensive to ship petroleum products overseas amid record high international crude prices, the government said Tuesday.
   Beijing also said it will reject new contracts for oil refining for the purpose of export from September 1 until the end of this year.
   The cancellation of the 11 percent rebate will take effect on Thursday for a four month period and in effect reduces Chinese exporters’ incentive to ship petrol, the State Administration of Taxation said on its website.
   Products affected are automobile gasoline and airplane fuel as well as naphtha, a cheap diesel oil, as China ships only some 580,000 tonnes of oil products a month.
   By contrast the nation consumed more than 300 million tonnes of oils, or roughly some 50 times more than it exports.
   Such a move would affect supply only minimally since China, as Asia’s second largest economy and the world’s second largest consumer of crude after the United States, closely restricts exports of oil.
   A report by the China Business News also said that Chinese oil major Sinopec, which in August exported a total of 150,000 tonnes, will reduce its exports of oil products to less than 20,000 tonnes in coming months.

The European Union could resume imports of textiles from China next month, the EU trade commissioner said on Monday, allowing blocked shipments into the 25 member states.
   'I make proposals today (Monday) morning to begin proceedings to unblock all the goods that are currently held at customs,' the trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, said in a British television broadcast.
   'I hope member states will cooperate. If they cooperate, I believe we will be able to unblock all the goods currently held at customs by the middle of next month.'
   But retailers said earlier action was vital if many were not to face a serious crisis.
   Some 75 million garments, including sweaters, trousers, blouses, T-shirts, bras and tonnes of flax yarn, are being blocked at customs in European ports, because they exceed an EU quota imposed in June to protect European manufacturers.
   'We are going to pass on the suggestions to the member states in written form,' a senior EU official said in Brussels. 'There will probably be a meeting of (the relevant committee) during the week.'
   Talks taking place in Beijing between EU officials and the Chinese government on their textiles dispute are set to go into a fifth day on Monday.
   'They are still talking and they will continue to talk tomorrow,' the EU official said Sunday, without repeating an earlier description of the talks as 'constructive.'
   Two main solutions appear to be on the table. The first, favoured by Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries, all traditionally free-traders, would consist of raising the permitted level of Chinese textile imports.
   The second, more attractive to France, Italy, Poland and Spain, would allow China to use some of its 2006 quota to export blocked garments into the EU this year.

The delegates from China and the United States began talks Tuesday on soaring Chinese textile exports, one day after European negotiators wrapped up meetings on the same subject.
   The two sides started the fourth round of Sino-US textile talks early in the day in Beijing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
   The US delegation is headed by David Spooner, the special textile negotiator at the US trade representative's office, according to the American embassy in Beijing.
   The talks, scheduled to last just two days, follow a meeting in San Francisco earlier this month at which, negotiators failed to overcome 'fundamental differences' on how to cap the exports, which have worsened trade tensions.
   The US textile industry wants a deal that limits Chinese imports in more than 19 categories of apparel to a 7.5 per cent growth rate per year until 2008.
   On Monday, an EU delegation left Beijing after four days of textile talks, leaving further negotiations to the resident EU mission in the Chinese capital.
   As the delegation was heading home, EU trade chief, Peter Mandelson, vowed to do everything in his power to break a logjam that has left millions of cheap Chinese-made clothes blocked at European ports.
   But the European Union official, urging EU governments to accept proposals to resolve the standoff, also insisted that a longer-term deal to curb the imports remains in place.

Hundreds of anti-globalisation campaigners gathered at Sydney’s Opera House Tuesday to protest against a three-day meeting of international executives, even though the tycoons’ opening dinner was moved to another venue for security
   reasons.
   Some 350 business leaders are in the Australian city for the fifth annual Global CEO Conference organised by billionaire business magazine publisher Steve Forbes, due to be held at the iconic waterfront building.
   Although protest organisers had said they expected the event to be attended by ‘many thousands,’ only several hundred appeared in downtown Sydney before the conference’s opening dinner to be attended by Prime Minister John Howard.
   The dinner was originally scheduled for the Opera House but was changed to the nearby Overseas Passenger Terminal building because of security concerns.
   Undeterred, protestors made their way through the city to the Opera House, dancing and beating drums and carrying banners reading ‘Christians against Greed’ and ‘People Before Profits’.
   ‘The corporate pirates have fled. They are scared of us,’ one protestor told the crowd which included the national students union, members of the Falungong spiritual movement and Christian groups.
   A spokesman for the conference organisers said the change of venue had been planned in advance, even though the Opera House appears as the venue on official Forbes documents.
   Hundreds of police have been deployed to protect the site and horseback officers drove back protestors late Tuesday from the barricades surrounding the cordoned-off area around the building.
   Forbes, who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000, fired the first shots against the protesters at an opening news conference, saying they were failing to embrace the most effective method of ending global poverty—capitalism.
   ‘Don’t just look at the big companies, the Exxons of the world, look at the millions of people striving to start businesses on street corners and in the outbacks of countries like India and China,’ Forbes told reporters.
   ‘That’s where the real dynamism is, that’s where the real progress is being made.
   ‘You don’t see it until success is achieved but that kind of fermentation is where the real fight against poverty takes place each and every day.’

Runaway oil prices and the outcome of next month’s general elections could put the brakes on economic growth in Germany, the BDI industry federation warned on Tuesday.
   ‘It is becoming increasingly difficult to make a growth forecast of one percent this year,’ BDI’s chief economist Reinhard Kudiss told the regional daily Berliner Zeitung in an interview Tuesday.
   ‘If oil prices stay where they are or rise even higher, that could act as a brake on investment and on growth. Oil prices are becoming an additional burden that does not augur well for growth momentum in the coming months,’ the economist warned.
   Oil prices topped a record high of 70 dollars per barrel on Monday.
   German growth in the third quarter will not be much higher than in the second quarter, when it stagnated, BDI predicted.
   The federation has already scaled back its forecast for growth of the eurozone’s biggest economy this year to one percent from an earlier prognosis of 1.5 percent. The government, the Bundesbank and the International Monetary Fund are all also pencilling in German growth of just one percent for this year.

The United Nations on Tuesday launched an 88 million dollar (72 million euro) appeal to help Malawi tackle a food crisis which is threatening a third of the African nation’s people.
   Some 4.2 million Malawians are in dire need of food aid after the worst harvest in more than a decade, fuelled by drought, the UN said.
   The production of maize, the main staple food, has plunged to half what is needed to feed the country, the UN noted.
   Maize prices in some areas of Malawi have risen by 50 percent, making life even tougher for people hit by hunger, aid officials said.
   The funds are needed both to provide emergency relief as well as help small farmers prepare for next year’s harvest, said officials.
   ‘This is a question of giving money now to have a harvest, or at least an improved situation, in March 2006,’ said Elizabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

UPDATES with fresh values, insup European stock markets inched forward on Tuesday after diving the previous day on record oil prices, while London traders returned to their desks following a bank holiday weekend.
   The London FTSE 100 index rose 0.61 percent to 5,259.80 points, the Frankfurt DAX 30 firmed 0.05 percent at 4,814.74 and in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 0.33 percent to 4,375.56 points.
   The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares increased 0.22 per cent at 3,247.09 points. The euro stood at 1.2185 dollars.
   “The markets overall are quite well behaved because the more damage the oil price causes for the airlines and consumer companies, the more earnings it could also create for the oil companies,” ABN Amro analyst Rolf Elgeti said.
   Oil prices burst beyond 70 dollars per barrel on Monday—striking a new record 70.80 dollars in New York—as deadly Hurricane Katrina threatened the crude-producing Gulf of Mexico region in the United States.
   However, US stocks Monday shook off initial losses as the storm’s impact was downgraded and oil prices receded somewhat.
   Investor fears over the global economic outlook have been fuelled by the historic surge in oil prices. Higher energy costs also bite into corporate profits—but traditionally bolster the oil sector.
   In London, BG Group jumped 1.40 percent to 488.75 pence and BP gained 1.07 percent to 616.5 pence. However, in Paris, French oil giant Total eased 0.15 percent to 206.3 euros.
   In Frankfurt trade, meanwhile, insurance stocks bounced back from Monday’s losses, as worries about Katrina’s impact receded. Allianz climbed 0.97 to 104.05 euros while Munich Re rose 0.64 to 91.31 euros.
   Munich Re estimated that Katrina—which devastated the US Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and reportedly left dozens of people dead—could cost the world’s insurers up to 20 billion dollars (16 billion euros).
   Back on Wall Street on Monday, shares in some oil majors and home-improvement chains also went higher on the back of Katrina, but insurers were also hit by fears of a big payout.

Spot trade
   Trading of the shares of the Rupali Bank will also be allowed in spot market from August 31 to 06 September as book closure will start from September 08.
   
   Demat trading
   Demat trading of the shares of the First Guaranteed Mutual Fund, Padma Oil Company Ltd and Aftab Automobiles Ltd will resume from Tuesday as announced earlier.
   
   Audited accounts
   As per audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2004, Maq Paper Industries Ltd and Maq Enterprises Ltd reported net loss of Tk 2.70 crore. The company also reported a negative per share earning of Tk 22.57 in this period. And Maq Enterprises Ltd audited accounts for the year ended 30 June 2005, reported net loss of Tk 2.55 crore. The company also reported a negative per share earning of Tk 10.23 in this period.
   Sources: DSE, CSE

JS body suggests reduction in
interest rates
A parliamentary watchdog today suggested taking initiatives to reduce interest rates on bank loans to encourage the entrepreneurs to set new industrial units for giving a boost to the economy. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Finance at a meeting at Sangsad Bhaban also recommended creating new entrepreneurs and enhancing refinancing facilities by the Bangladesh Bank to facilitate the setting up of new enterprises, meeting sources said. ‘We’ll have to encourage investment and set up new industries to strengthen the economy,’ committee chairman Mushfiqur Rahman told the meeting that reviewed credit disbursement position to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed apprised the meeting that the commercial banks provided loans of Tk 13,372 crore to SMEs sector in 2004 while it was Tk 10,318 crore in the previous year. During the first half of 2005, the sector received a total of Tk 7,261 crore in loan.
— UNB

DSE closes higher
Trading at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed higher Tuesday (Tuesday) with the gainers outnumbering the losers.The DSE All Share Price Index increased by 6.15 points or 0.49 per cent to close at 1238.33 points Tuesday. The DSE-20 Index also rose by 12.67 points or 0.75 per cent to close at 1687.82 points on the day. Of the total 162 issues traded Tuesday, 80 advanced, 55 declined and 27 remained unchanged. Some 2,337,611 shares and debentures worth Tk 30.15 crore changed hands Tuesday.
— UNB

CSE closes higher
Trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) closed higher Tuesday with the gainers dominating the losers. The CSE All Share Price Index increased by 22.97 points or 0.70 per cent to close at 3265.75 points from Monday’s 3242.78 points.The CSE-30 Index also rose by 26.50 points or 0.86 per cent to close at 3097.86 points from Monday’s 3071.36 points. A total of 63 issues traded Tuesday. Of them, 40 gained, 18 declined and five remained unchanged.Some 1,095,003 shares and debentures worth Tk 7.66 crore changed hands against 975,541 shares valued at Tk 6.83 crore on the previous trading day.
— UNB

Google loses ground to Baidu
US Internet search engine company Google, a dazzling success story on Wall Street, is underperforming in China’s booming search engine market, a recent survey has found. Google’s share of China’s Internet search engine market is rapidly being eroded by its Chinese rival Baidu.com Inc, the quasi-government China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) said yesterday. Baidu.com has managed to increase its market share by at least 10 per cent during the past six months in three major Chinese cities Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou which account for the vast majority of China’s Internet population, the survey by CNNIC showed. ‘Google is losing to Baidu.com though the number of Chinese users of Google remains largely unchanged,’ said Lu Weigang, a well-known Internet analyst who headed the CNNIC survey.
— Xinhuanet

Adidas in courtroom tug-of-war over logo
The sportswear giant Adidas launched a lawsuit against three Chinese companies for intellectual property rights violation and seeks 3 million yuan ($370,000) in compensation. The Beijing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court held a hearing on the case Monday. Adidas International BV accused the Fujian-based Aile Clothing and Shoe Company of using a design very much like that of the three-stripe Adidas trademarked logo. The plaintiff found the logo on Aile products, mainly sports shoes and clothing, as well as its promotion materials, in a Beijing market in December 2002, said Huang Hui, an attorney for the Adidas. ‘The logo of the Aile company can be seen as a combination of the trademarked logos of Adidas and Nike,’ said Huang. Aile’s actions have violated the registered trademark rights of Adidas, said Huang. ‘It misleads consumers by using a design similar to Adidas’s logo so as to make high profits,’ said Huang.
— Xinhuanet

Pak-Bangla companies sign MoU
A memorandum of understanding was signed between Siddiquesons Tinplate (Pvt) Ltd, Pakistan and KYCR Coil Industries Ltd, Bangladesh on Sunday at their Chittagong office. Under the understanding, the Pakistani company would export 2000 tonnes of ETP (food grade tinplating) per month to the Bangladeshi company, after converting the TMBP (black plate) supplied by the latter. The supply would gradually be increased to 3000 tonnes per month said a press release. The signing ceremony was attended by the chairman of Siddiquesons Tinplate Pvt Ltd, Abdullah Rafi, the chairman of KYRC Coil Industries, Khalilur Rahman and the director, Yasin Rahman. The commercial secretary of the Pakistan high commission, Roubina Taufiq Shah, was also present on the occasion to formalise the deal officially.
— New Age