FE Report :
Industrial and Infrastructure Develo- pment Finance Company (IIDFC) of Bangladesh and India's National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Tuesday joined hands to utilise Indian experience and expertise in developing the country's ailing small and medium enterprises. The IIDFC and NSIC, a focal point of development of SMEs in India, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the company headquarters in the city. The deal is expected to pave the way for setting up of an IT village. Under the agreement, NSIC will extend all cooperation, assistance and expertise to facilitate development of SME's, especially in the engineering, electronics and other non-traditional sectors. Read More

FE Report :
Stock market investors and depository participants (DPs) have demanded extension of a deadline which expires today (Wednesday) set by Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL) on depositing half of the annual beneficiary owners' (BO) account maintenance fee'. Referring to a directive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the CDBL sent letters to the DPs asking them to deposit Tk 150 against per BO account-holders which were opened before or after January 1, 2009. Read More

FE Report :
Standard Chartered Bank signed a microfinance facility agreement Monday with TMSS (Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha), one of the leading MFIs in the country. Under this financing arrangement, Stanchart will disburse Tk. 350 million to TMSS which will be directed towards growth of their microfinance portfolio. Mr. Ahmed A Shah, Managing Director, Origination & Client Coverage of Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh and Prof. Dr. Hosne Ara Begum, Executive Director of TMSS signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations. Read More

FE Report :
The 12th extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and the 11th annual general meeting (AGM) of Mutual Trust Bank Ltd (MTB) were held at Bangabandhu Interna-tional Conference Centre in the city Tuesday. Chairman of the bank Samson H Chowdhury presided over both the meetings, said a press release. Vice Chairman Dr Arif Dowla, Directors MA Rouf, Rashed Chowdhury, and Yasmeen Haque, alternate directors Khwaja Nargis Hossain and Md Nasirullah were present at the meetings. Managing Director and CEO Anis A Khan, Deputy Managing Director and Company Secretary Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, senior MTB officials and a large number of shareholders attended the meetings. Read More

FE Report :
Prime Bank will open its own exchange houses in three UK cities next month, the bank authority revealed Thursday. "Our exchange houses in three major UK cities, namely- London, Birmingham and Manchester would commence their operation in April", Prime Bank Chairman Azam J Chowdhury said at the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) ofthe Bank held in the city. "All the necessary human resources have been hired and all three premises for our UK exchange houses have also been prepared to let them go into operation next month", he added. Read More

FE Report :
Standard Chartered Bank and Transcom Electronics Limited recently signed an agreement for issuing Privilege Card. Under this agreement, Transcom Electronics will issue Standard Chartered Visa-branded Privilege Card to their customers when they make purchase of certain amount. Later on, with every purchase at Transcom Showroom, customer will get Reward Points and the equivalent value will be loaded to their Privilege Card byStandard Chartered Bank. Read More

FE Report Mohammad Mufazzal :
The long delay in holding hearing on the writ petition of United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) has left thousands of investors in deep trouble, as they cannot get back their investment in absence of a final decision from the Supreme Court. According to the investors, earlier the hearing was delayed as the petitioner sought time from the court, but now the hearing cannot start due to some unavoidable reasons concerning the bench. The hearing was likely to be completed by February 7 last. Read More

FE Report :
The shareholders of National Bank Ltd Thursday approved 55 per cent bonus shares for the year ended 31st December, 2009. The approval came at the 27th Annual General Meeting of the bank held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city. Read More

FE Report :
Prime Bank has planned to scale up financing in infrastructures including the capital-intensive power and telecom sectors as part of its efforts to boost industrialisation in the country, its chief executive officer (CEO) said Monday. Risk-averse Bangladeshi private banks usually stay clear of funding big projects, forcing many local investors to seek loans abroad or at a costly term from foreign financial giants operating in the country. Prime Bank Limited CEO Ehsanul Haque said the PBL - the leading private bank in the country -- wants to be an exception as it has planned to bankroll key energy and telecom projects in the coming months through its 'hugely successful' syndication lending arrangements. Read More

FE Report :
Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd hosted the visit of a 27-member team from the Yale School of Management, one of the premier business schools in the world under the globally renowned Yale University, at its state-of-the-art UK MHRA approved Dhaka plant. The visiting members were all graduating MBA students coming from diverse specialties ranging from medical sciences, economics, finance to general management, marketing and international development. The visiting team was given a detailed tour of Square's manufacturing facilities, which included the UK MHRA approved General Plant, the Cephalosporins' Unit, the Small Volume Parenterals' and Opthalmic Unit (SVP&O) and the newly commissioned Insulin Unit. Read More

FE Report :
Turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange hit one month high Monday, crossing Tk10 billion threshold for the first time since February 24, as shares rode on banks despite volatile trading. The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) closed at 5562.37 with a meager rise of 14.14 points or 0.25 per cent, a day after it posted second biggest single-day gain in history. During a fluctuating trading session, the index hit the highest level of 5580.17 when banks flexed their muscles but dropped to 5548.22 after the most weighted share, Grameenphone, declined nearly one per cent on profit taking. Read More

FE Report :
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has relaxed guidelines on subordinated debt allowing more banks to issue such debt instrument to meet capital requirement under Basel-II accord, officials said. Under the amended guidelines, the banks will be allowed to issue the debt instrument, which has composite CAMELS rating at two, issuer rating at least three instead of two and instrument rating at least three instead of two. The central bank issued a circular in this connection Monday and asked chief executives of all scheduled banks to follow the instructions for issuing the debt instrument. Read More

FE Report Jasim Uddin Haroon :
Defying the minimum standards set by the BSTI unscrupulous traders are having heyday selling untreated water in jars labelled purified in urban areas as WASA has failed to ensure its supply to citizens. Numbering between 350 and 400 in the city alone these dishonest sellers were running a brisk business although the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) had certified only 175 companies so far to run the water trade, said an official. They said most of the bottled water suppliers evading value added tax (VAT) and other levies were depriving the government of a large sum of money. Read More

FE Report :
Leading telecom service provider Grameenphone Sunday unleashed three whole new ranges of price packages named Shohoj, Aapon and Bondhu for its pre-paid customers along with a new price plan for its trademark djuice product in the market. The telecom giant- which is already the market leader in terms of subscribers, says that the company is aiming to offer more flexibility to its customers in terms of cost and services though the new price plans and packages. "These new offers have been designed keeping in mind the actual need of our subscribers to offer them more options to choose from", GP Chief Executive Officer Oddvar Hesjedal said at a press conference in the city, adding "We have conducted a comprehensive marketing research for almost two years before bringing out these whole new range of packages". The newest price package from GP has been unveiled at a time when Indian telecom giant Airtel is all set to enter the Bangladeshi telecom scene and the latest entry, insiders say, is expected to bring more price war in the local market. GP authority says that the new price plans are individually targeted at a specific group of subscribers, as each of them come up with their own exclusive offers and services. "The Shohoj package, for example, will cater to users who need to call all networks and would offer the callers a low flat rate of Tk. 0.79 per minute to any operator number", said GP Chief Marketing Officer Arild Kaale, adding, "It would also have the option to send message to any number for Tk. 1.00 per SMS". "The Aapon package, on the other hand, has been designed for callers who have a predominantly GP calling base", said Kaale, "which offers a special day time and a night time tariff of 49 paisa per minute". Read More

FE Report :
Dhaka stocks tumbled more than two per cent to a six-week low Sunday, as market heavyweights Grameenphone slid over 12 per cent and financials bled after banks trimmed portfolios following warnings by the central bank. The third steepest fall since November 2001 saw the benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) losing 124.76 points or 2.26 per cent to close at 5375.07 - the lowest since January 31 when market shed 137.95 points. Dealers said the index nose-dived as the banks got rid of big chunks of their portfolios after they were warned by the Bangladesh Bank to keep their exposure in the capital market to a minimum. Read More

FE Report :
The first two days of the second Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) summit ended Sunday on a note of cross cultural and intellectual exchange for the future. The sustainable banking leaders, who have gathered in Bangladesh to see the work of BRAC at first hand, intend to spend their last day setting goals and an action plan for the future. The bank's leaders, as well as a group of younger future leaders from their member banks, have discussed how they intend to promote their increasingly prominent sustainable business models. They have drawn from the experience of eleven successful banks from a diverse range of countries, including Mibanco from Peru, XacBank from Mongolia, and Danish bank, Merkur. The visiting bank representatives had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the businesses and entrepreneurs that have benefitted from BRAC Bank SME loans as well as BRAC's micro finance loans, to better understand the people and communities that their increasingly popular type of banking reaches. "Seeing the extraordinary difference that BRAC makes is inspiring," says GABV Programme Manager, James Niven. "BRAC is a catalyst for change, just as the other members of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values are. But while together they are already achieving a great deal, we believe we can do much more. The last two days Read More

FE Report :
The central bank resumed the auction of 30-day Bangladesh Bank Bills Monday aiming to mop up excess liquidity from the market, officials said. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) accepted three bids worth Tk 2.55 billion at the auction on the day, resulting in withdrawal of the money from the market, they added. A total of four bidders made their offer worth Tk 2.60 billion for the short-term security. The rate of weighted average yield, generally known as interest rate, of the accepted bids was 2.53 per cent annually, according to the auction result. "It is a temporary measure totally. When the market turns around then the measure may be suspended again," a BB senior official told the FE, adding that the central bank has taken the move to boost the country's money market. Read More

FE Report :
The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) sank to one-month low with the daily turnover suffering heavily Monday, as anxiety seized investors due to the securities regulator's frequent interferences, experts said. The market opened on a negative note and fell almost continuously right until the end of trading. All the major sectors including financials, mutual funds, telecommunication, real estate and energy, except IT, closed down. The benchmark DSE General Index (DGEN) tumbled 116.15 points or 2.07 per cent -- the biggest single-day fall since February 28 -- to close at 5,486.43, which was the lowest since February 7. Read More

FE Report :
The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) has approved 39 'innovative' projects from the government's venture capital facility to boost new entrepreneurship in the country's agriculture and information technology sectors. The projects which include software development, data entry and hatcheries were the first to be approved by the state-owned merchant bank after it was entrusted with the management of the Tk 3.00 billion Equity and Entrepreneurship Fund (EEF) since the beginning of the current fiscal year. The corporation sorted 3,000 applications since it took over the management of the fund and then short-listed 2,126 projects in agriculture and 19 in IT, said Mohammad Iftikhar-uz-zaman, general manager of ICB. Read More

FE Report :
Share trading of the Ocean Containers Limited (OCL), a leading off-dock provider, will begin today (Thursday) under direct listing regulations in both the bourses-Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. This is the first time a company will make debut in the stock market after price discovered through Book Building Method (BBM) introduced March last year. The opening price will be at Tk 145, which is a cut-off price of the scrip determined through the BBM. Its face value is Tk 10 and market lot 100 shares. "Trading of the scrip will begin today in demat (electronic) form through normal trading and settlement system under the 'N' category. There will be no price limit on the scrip applicable for the first five trading days," said CSE in a press release Wednesday. Read More

FE Report :
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wednesday cleared 10 out of 13 members intending to contest Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) board of directors' election. The ten members who have got 'no objection' certification are Rakibur Rahman, Abdul Haq, Ghulam Quader, Dastagir Mohammad Adil, Ahsanul Islam, Mojibur Rahman, Haji Babul Mostaq, MA Momen, Khaja Ghulam Rasul and Sharif Ataur Rahman. Three members - Ahmad Rashid Lali, Ahmed Iqbal Hasan and Anwar Hossain - failed to get clearance from the securities regulator to take part in election. "The commission selected the eligible members by examining their previous records in the stock market and reports of the detective branch," sources said. Read More

Mohammad Mufazzal :
The securities regulator is going to implement the guideline on Initial Public Offering (IPO) as early as possible. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would likely to send the regulation manuscript to press Wednesday for printing it as gazette notification, an official said. The move came after a revised regulation was set by the finance ministry on Initial Public Offering (IPO) on February 25 last based on a proposal sent by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). "As the ministry of finance set the regulation, the SEC needs no public opinion for its implementation," the official said. According to the regulation, a company, which has a paid-up capital of less than Tk. 400 million will not be allowed to go public and at the same time a company having a minimum paid-up capital Tk. 500 million must go public. The ministry of finance has brought about the changes in consultation with the securities regulator, which barred smaller firms from selling stakes to institutional investors in pre-IPO private placements Read More

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman :
State-owned power companies need more time to offload shares as most of them are not yet ready to sell their stakes to the public. The government in an inter-ministerial meeting in January decided to offload shares of 26 companies by June this year and out of the companies, 12 are owned by power, energy and mineral resources ministry. "Share offloading is a complex process and out of the 12 companies only Desco is ready to float shares," said a senior official of the ministry. Desco has already floated 25 per cent of its shares and ready to offload another 25 per cent, he said. "We are going to seek extension of time for offloading share to June next year to give the companies a breathing space," he added. Read More

Munima Sultana :
The second phase of the feasibility study on the country's first metro service in Dhaka city will begin in April. The metro rail will run between the city's Pallabi and Sayedbad area. The first phase of the study titled 'Dhaka Urban Transport Network Development Study (DHUTS)' was completed in February. The year-long study, conducted by the Dhaka Transport Coordination Board (DTCB), has found a 16-km route between northern and southern part feasible for the first metro rail corridor. The study team members said traffic between the two parts of the city is higher than any other areas due to rapid expansion of the city on both sides. Read More

FE Report :
Dhaka stocks saw a modest gain, lifted by banks, amid continued volatile trading Tuesday. The market dipped in the opening hour, losing 48 points but the last-minute buying on banking stocks, which climbed 0.27 per cent, pushed the market up. The benchmark Dhaka Stock Exchange General Index (DGEN) closed at 5,588.00 with a gain of 20.60 points or 0.37 per cent, after marginal rise in the previous session. It hit the lowest level of 5,519.05 and highest level of 5,596.41 during the choppy trading session. The broader DSE All Shares Price Index (DSI) rose 15.42 points or 0.33 per cent to 4,568.21, while the DSE 20 blue chip index surged by 15.37 points or 0.51 per cent to 2,982.45. Read More