ICC-B President Mahbubur Rahman on July 11 stressed building efficiency on new international trade rules and acquiring adequate knowledge from recent developments in global trade to reduce risks and facilitate transactions. Without uniform set of rules to guide banks from different countries, contracting parties will not be able to traverse the maze of different national documentary credit regulations, said the president of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B). As a result, costs of business will go up and international trade will suffer, he added.

Emphasising practising of sound, credible and widely accepted rules in international trade, ICC Bangladesh (ICC-B) President Mahbubur Rahman said, robust expansion of international trade would not materialise without the existence and proper use of such rules. Without a uniform set of rules to guide the banks of different countries, the contracting parties will not be able to easily deal with different national documentary credit regulations, and as a result, costs of business will go up as well as international trade will suffer, he said.

Bangladesh Businesses has been extremely critical at the interference of the international agencies, particularly the IMF, in influencing and trying to impose conditions and dictate terms in every trifle detail of the economic management of a sovereign country.

Top business leaders lashed Wednesday at the international agencies, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for interfering in the country’s economic management and urged the government to ignore their prescriptions. The leaders in a strongly worded joint statement took serious exception to the IMF’s suggestion made in a recent letter to the finance adviser to liberalise trade further and its opposition to the government move to institute a ‘Safeguard Body’ in accordance with the WTO rules. They found the IMF suggestion unwarranted and uncalled for.

Business leaders have criticised the interference of the international agencies, particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and their bid to influence economic management of the country. Top leaders of business and financial sectors yesterday in a joint statement alleged that the agencies were trying to impose conditions and dictate terms in every trifle detail of economic management of a sovereign country.

Twelve top business bodies on Wednesday resented the interference of international agencies, especially the International Monetary Fund, in the economic management of Bangladesh. A joint statement of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and 11 other business bodies urged the government to come out of the vicious cycle of the prescriptions made by the IMF and similar institutions.

Exports grew by 16 per cent to $12.18 billion in the fiscal year 2006-07 to June, posting a slower growth than in the year before. Incomes from export sector figured $10.53 billion in the 2005-06 fiscal, which were up by 22 per cent from the previous year’s total, Export Promotion Bureau data showed on July 30. Lower returns on larger shipment featured the performance of the manufacturing sector in the last fiscal year, while, in contrast, the primary products saw higher growth in earning than in volume. Total export index was up by 16.33 per cent on volume, but price index was down by 0.67 per cent.

Inflation rate on a point-to-point basis in June stood at a 10-year high 9.20 percent, and threatens to reach a double-digit soon due to floods and the upcoming Ramadan. Economists suggest that the government maintain usual trading in the markets instead of trying to improve the price situation by deploying law enforcers. Inflation came down slightly in May but it leapt by 1.15 percentage point to reach the record high in the last month of fiscal year 2006-07. On average, it ran 7.22 percent in June compared with 7.16 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

China, Taiwan and Bangladesh will establish a zipper industry in Comilla Export Processing Zone investing US$ 10 million. This joint venture company, M/s. Shepherd Asia Zipper Limited, will manufacture 3.75 million dozens of Metal zipper and 1.25 million dozens of Nylon zipper annually. The company will create employment opportunity for 132 Bangladeshi and 2 foreign nationals.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said a strong domestic demand, aided by higher incomes and continued high monetary and credit growth, has contributed to rising inflation. In an economic update released on July 31, the bank also took note of the issue of rocketing food and commodity prices in the international market in fuelling inflationary pressures in the economy. “We feel that rising inflation is the outcome of a combination of demand and cost factors,’ the bank’s country director Hua Du told a press briefing. On a point-to-point basis, inflation climbed up to 8.1 per cent in May 2007, from 5.9 per cent in January 2007.

China and India are the new engines of world economic growth, replacing the United States and other developed countries, International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said on July 31. He said China overtook the United States this year to become the biggest contributor to world economic growth. ‘For the first time, the largest contribution to global growth will now be made by China,’ Rato told a business conference in the Philippines.

India, which has emerged as the back-office of the world in recent years, is expected to face stiff competition from countries like China, Malaysia and Singapore even as the global outsourcing industry is pegged to reach a market size of USD 1,430 billion by 2009-end. A survey conducted by global consultancy firm Frost and Sullivan has ranked India as the top destination for shared services and outsourcing (SSO) across various verticals. The country is followed by China, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, Mexico, Czech Republic, Poland, the Philippines and Canada.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22 directed the Dhaka and Chittagong bourses to place five companies under spot trade from July 22 until further instruction. The market watchdog also withdrew financial adjustment facility against trading of B, N and G categories’ securities with effect from July 29.

The visiting high profile Chinese business delegation hoped that Bangladesh-China bilateral trade would reach US$ 5 billion within 2010, if the current pace of trade continues. “Although the bilateral trade heavily tilts to China, the Chinese government has taken several measures to reduce trade gap between the two countries,” the team leader, Wang Chao, assistant commerce minister of China, told a business meeting titled Bangladesh China Business Dialogue at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on July 22.

Dhaka needs to grant New Delhi transit facilities and agree with the large scale investment proposals by the Indian companies to reduce massive trade gap and up bilateral trade between the two countries to $20 billion in five years, said the visiting Indian State Minister for Commerce Joyram Ramesh on July 22. Ramesh also asked Bangladesh to allow India’s access to the New Mooring Terminal, open up the Demagiri-Thegamukh land route and hold equity share in a 1,110 MW power station, which is being set up in Agartala.

National Board of Revenue reran its record of missing revenue target, earning about Tk 4,000 crore less than what it expected in the 2006-07 fiscal year that ended on June 30. The government’s revenue earnings from NBR sources stood close to Tk 37,075 crore against a lofty target of Tk 41,055 crore for the last fiscal year. The amount was 9 per cent more than the previous year’s earnings, but far less than a 21 per cent growth envisaged in the budget. The actual earning fell behind the revised target even.

In a bid to reduce huge trade gap and increase bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh, a joint chamber of commerce and industry between the two countries starts its journey on July 22.07.07. President Dr Iajuddin Ahmed is scheduled to announce the launch of India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) at a function in Dhaka. Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, among others, are also expected to attend the ceremony.

Bangladesh is ranked fifth in terms of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) among 50 least developed countries (LDCs) accounting for 5.9 per cent of the annual FDI flow to the LDCs, a United Nations report said. The report said 56 per cent of total FDI inflow to LDCs goes to the top four LDC countries. In its Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Report 2007 released on July 19 Dhaka simultaneously in other capitals around the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that Bangladesh’s position in terms of per capita FDI inflow was very nominal. The country was ranked 34th among the LDCs in 2005 in terms of FDI flow.

Three British retailers have defended their sourcing operations in Bangladesh after a London newspaper accused their suppliers of mistreating factory workers. Tesco, ASDA and Primark said they would investigate allegations made in The Guardian on July 18 that workers engaged in the garment industries in the country are working up to 80 hours a week for only 4 pence an hour, according to supplymanagement.com.

The World Bank (WB) will finance in expanding the country’s EPZs as a part of forming a special economic zone (SEZ). A six-member high powered delegation of WB discussed about the proposed assistance regarding expansion of the Comilla EPZ with Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) officials in the city on July 17. WB Sr Private Sector Development Specialist of Finance and Private Sector Development Unit (South Asia Region) Eric D Manes proposed for private-public partnership with BEPZA in favour of the EPZs’ expansion during the meeting with BEPZA Executive Chairman Ashraf Abdullah Yussuf.