Morning Briefings Monday, March 21, 2016

MACRO

Experts want urban policy for faster poverty reduction An urban policy is required for poverty alleviation, while giving a better life to the citizens, a top urbanisation expert said Sunday. The National Urban Policy was drafted back in 2011, but it has not been endorsed by the government yet. "This is 2016, unfortunately we have not seen the approval of the policy," said Prof. Nazrul Islam, honourary chairman of think-tank Centre for Urban Studies, said. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137065

Francophonie envoys stress 'brand image' to expand trade Envoys from Francophonie countries in Dhaka Sunday said needs to build good brand image in French-speaking countries needed to expand foreign trade. "Bangladesh needs to build good image for foreign trade expansion, your country has to decide whether it wants to be identified as a country of cheap labour or a country of high- end goods maker," said Canadian High Commissioner to Dhaka Benoît-Pierre Laramée. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137064

Help build eco-friendly infrastructure: PM Prime Minister sought Sunday cooperation from the country's architects in building infrastructures using local resources keeping in mind the environment and land resource constraint, reports UNB. "I seek your cooperation in building infrastructures suitable for the country using the local resources," she said. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137091

Experts seek public-private coordination to attain SDGs Speakers at a roundtable titled "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Challenges for Bangladesh" on Sunday stressed the need for more coordination among public and private sectors as well as donors' participation to attain the SDGs. They also called for identifying the priority goals, integration of the goals in national planning process, and strengthening the government institutions with good governance to achieve the development targets. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137090

Cabinet body okays deal with UK firm Redline Security, a British security company, is set to get security management responsibility at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) as the cabinet committee on the government purchase approved Sunday its proposal to this effect. The purchase committee meeting was chaired by Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed. Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) will sign a contract with Redline under a two-year project initiated to beef up HSIA security today (Monday). Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137103

Morning Briefings Monday, March 21, 2016

One-way cargoes threaten BD-India coastal shipping MV Harbour-1 of Nipa Paribahan would leave Chittagong Port for the Krishnapatnam Port of India with empty containers, Chittagong Port Authority said today. Shipping circles observed that sailing with at least 150 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers laden with goods on both ways of sailing and arrival would only make the direct coastal service commercially viable. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137093

OVERALL MARKET

Arrest warrants against probe body chief, former SEC man The special tribunal on capital market issued Sunday arrest warrants against the chief of probe body on 1996 stock market scam Amirul Islam Chowdhury and a former executive director of the securities regulator M A Rashid for failing to appear before the tribunal as directed. The tribunal had earlier advised both of them to appear before it on Sunday for cross-examination in the case of Premium Securities, a brokerage firm which was disposed of by owners after 1996. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137101

Stocks end lower on DSE Stocks ended marginally lower Sunday, with falling turnover, as investors were cautious following the recent bank heist and appointment of a new governor in the central bank. Market insiders said most of the investors went on selling spree while some kept observing the market movement as recent heist of US$ 101 million from the (BB) by hackers made investors nervous. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137054

BD National Ins to allocate 17.70 million shares Bangladesh National Insurance Company will allocate 17.70 million ordinary shares among successful applicants after the lottery of initial public offering (IPO) was held Sunday, officials said. The lottery programme was held at 3:00pm at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (lEB) in Dhaka. The IPO result is available on the websites of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) and the company. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137056

BANK

'Restoring BB staff’s morale, recovering $81m top priority’ Restoring the flagging confidence of the heist-haunted central bank's staff is one of three priority tasks the new governor of the Bangladesh Bank announced while taking office Sunday. On top of the dos Fazle Kabir mentioned is retrieving the US$81 million stolen out into the Philippines by cyber thieves from the BB reserves deposited with the US Federal Reserve Bank. He also cited bolstering the cyber-security mechanism as a priority job. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137099

Morning Briefings Monday, March 21, 2016

Tough task The task is challenging and difficult, head of the three-member official probe body on the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist Dr Mohammed Farashuddin said Sunday, as the digital burglary still remained a riddle. He made the remarks to newsmen after the maiden meeting of the committee at finance minister's residence in Hare Road where he said the terms of reference (ToR) of the task were discussed. "It's a very big and risky incident for the country," said the former governor of the central bank at the outset of their probe work after the weekend. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137095

CID targets tracking down of hackers, real beneficiaries The hackers and ultimate beneficiaries of the Bangladesh Bank account heist from the US Fed are the two targets of probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police. With backing from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) the CID officially started Sunday its investigation into the case of US$101-million heist to this end. The FBI will provide necessary assistance, including technological one, to the CID investigators in accordance with the first official discussion between the two law-enforcement agencies held at the CID headquarters in Dhaka Sunday. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137100

New BB governor Fazle Kabir joins office The new governor of Bangladesh Bank Fazle Kabir has started his first day at work this noon, four days after he was appointed governor of the central bank by the government. Kabir returned from New York on Thursday and joined the bank today. His former office Sonali Bank arranged a farewell ceremony in his honor earlier in the morning, at Sonali Bank Ltd at Motijheel in Dhaka. At Bangladesh Bank, he told reporters: “Restoring the confidence of my new colleagues will be one of my main priorities, so that they can work without fear.” Link:http://www.thedailystar.net/business/new-governor-bb-fazle-kabir-joins-office- 1196911

Cyber security top priority: BB chief The new governor of Bangladesh Bank, Fazle Kabir, has vowed to strengthen the regulator's IT security system to prevent a repeat of cyber attacks that robbed the central bank of $101 million from its reserve account. “We are giving priority to initiatives to strengthen the IT security system and create protection against hacking,” Kabir told reporters after taking charge as the new governor yesterday. Link:http://www.thedailystar.net/business/cyber-security-top-priority-bb-chief- 1197199

Western Union, BKB conduct campaign During last Ramadan, Western Union, along with Bangladesh Krishi Bank implemented the wishes of five individuals under a promotion campaign titled "wish come true", said a statement. After a selection process that covered whole Bangladesh, individuals were chosen as winners based on their answersto the question on their biggest wish. The five winners were selected based on the uniqueness, sincerity and warmth of their answers. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137055

Morning Briefings Monday, March 21, 2016

The new geopolynomics of AIIB For the first time Bangladesh is a founding member of a multilateral development bank (MDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), whose majority shareholders are developing countries. AIIB, which was launched on January 16 last, is set to start project lending operation in the second quarter of this year. In my previous write up on AIIB in this column, I focused exclusively on the wider economic implications of this new multilateral institution, which was described by the European Political Strategy Center (EPSC), an in-house think tank of the European Commission, as a "potential economic game changer in multilateral development finance". Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137102

Philippines ‘the dirty money haven’ When mystery hackers launched a stunning raid on Bangladesh's foreign reserves, a plot worthy of a John le Carre spy novel was sparked in the Philippines, exposing the Southeast Asian nation as a dirty money haven. The $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank's American accounts last month was immediately sent via electronic transfer to the Philippines' RCBC bank, with the thieves deliberately targeting their laundering location. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137096

TANNERY INDUSTRIES

Govt won't let raw hide enter Hazaribag from April 01 The government decided on Sunday not to allow entry of raw hide into tanneries in the capital's Hazaribag area from April 01 in a bid to speed up relocation process of the tanneries to Savar and prevent river pollution, officials said. The decision was taken in an inter-ministerial meeting, headed by Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister's Office Abul Kalam Azad, Navy Chief Vice Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed, Water Resources Secretary Dr Zafar Ahmed Khan and Shipping Secretary Ashok Madhav Roy, among others, were present in the meeting. Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137098

STOCKS

DSE News in Brief

United Insurance: As per Regulation 19(1) of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Listing) Regulations, 2015, the Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 27, 2016 at 4:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2015.

KDS Accessories Limited: The Company has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors will be held on March 29, 2016 at 5:00 PM to consider, among others, audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended on December 31, 2015. BATBC: The Company has requested to all Stock Brokerage Houses to provide the name of their margin holders, shareholdings, e-TIN, Telephone, fax numbers and email address as on the Record Date. The company has further requested them to provide the beneficiary name (DP), bank name, bank account number and routing number by March

Morning Briefings Monday, March 21, 2016

31, 2016. Aman Feed Limited: In response to a DSE query, the Company has informed that there is no undisclosed price sensitive information of the Company for recent unusual price hike. Summit Alliance Port Limited: Trading of the shares of the Company will remain suspended on record date today (21.03.2016). Heidelberg Cement Bd: Trading of the shares of the Company will remain suspended on record date today (21.03.2016). Singer Bangladesh: Trading of the shares of the Company will be allowed only in the Spot Market and Block transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from 21.03.2016 to 22.03.2016. Trading of the shares of the Company will remain suspended on record date i.e., 23.03.2016. CMC Kamal: The Company has informed that, they have received Honorable High Court (HC) order dated 16.03.2016 on Company matter No. 265/2015 regarding amalgamation scheme for merger of Alif Unitex Limited with CMC Kamal Textile Mills Limited. The amalgamation shall be effective subject to all permissions, authorizations and consents as may otherwise have to be obtained by either or both of the companies under existing law in general and of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission in particular. Matin Spinning Mills Ltd: The Company has informed that the Board of Directors has decided that production of Melange Unit of the Company will commence from 28 March, 2016. 3rd ICB MF: With reference to their earlier news (disseminated by DSE on 23.02.2016) ICB, the trustee of the fund has further informed that in the unit holders special meeting held on March 16, 2016, the unit holders have given their consent (100% vote based on unit holding) in favor of conversion of the fund from close end to open end (Growth Fund). Link: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/03/21/137061

DISCLAIMER:

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