1. finance
2. bank

April 2015 Tk. 100
BRUISED
BUT NOT
BATTERED
THE RELENTLESS JOURNEY
OF SMALL AND MEDIUM
ENTREPRENEURS
Special Report
3G acting as a
harbinger of change
‘Our concentration of focus should go towards the “unbanked” population’
- Muklesur Rahman, Managing Director, NRB Bank Ltd
April - 2015
CONTENTS
6
from the editor
8
letters to editor
92
word of mouth
78
foreign trade
philippines-bangladesh business council
9
cover story
bruised but not battered
20
interview of the month
-------------
89
travel
holidaying reveries
38
festivity
flowers and special days
33
special report
telecom industry
Cover Photo:
M Ponir Hossain
80
tribute
Lee Kuan Yew
70
decorum
work space
68
creativity
inspiration from writing
66
branding
static kitty
62
money matter
portable wages
74
design
office remade
25
42
blue economy
reviving river toutes
inside out
tale of a local corporate brand
56
24
going green
solar power projects
banking
sluggish implementation of adb
63
29
remittance
expectations pay off
rmg
salt to fresh wounds
82
52
aviation
airline disaster
rebound
7 resume strategies
44
money plan
fdi promises brigher future
32
April - 2015
41
event spotlight
hr adaptaion
CONTENTS
corporate grooming
bangla perfumes
72
ethics
economy and family
46
management
employees in creative roles
48
manpower
skilled human resource
84
gadget
symphony xplorer h20
49
academia
masters of ideation 2015
54
environment
paperless banking
64
marketing
darvinism marketing agency
58
innovation
deal with cern
59
startup
business from google glass
76 hrcareer change
global mobile gaming
86 gaming
FROM
THE
EDITOR
Glimpse of a few
pieces from our
April 2015 issue
H
Historically, Bangladesh followed a development strategy in which private
investment was controlled through a host of regulations involving
investment sanctioning, credit disbursement, import licensing, foreign
exchange allocation, etc. While these regulatory barriers thwarted private
investment in general, the impact fell unevenly on SMEs. This was because
of the relative inability of the SMEs to cope with the regulations compared
to their large-scale counterparts. Thus, the policy regime was largely biased
against the SMEs although, paradoxically, promoting SME development
was a stated objective of successive governments.
As mentioned above, small and medium entrepreneurs have always been
somewhat neglected by the policy makers of this country. But their
resilience to struggle and overcome all odds have created countless
numbers to success stories. That is why we feel that our cover story on
SME sector should show how this sector is neglected, both policy-wise and
for other predicaments. Even after that, SME financing is on the upward
trend, with several financial institutions and other key stakeholders
pledging to help this industry flourish.
Similarly, our interviewee for this month, Muklesur Rahman, MD and CEO
at NRB Bank Ltd, had similar sentiments about our small and medium
entrepreneurs.He expressed his desire to expand banking to the
'unbanked,' he stated in this issue's interview of the month.
Lives are also being changed by our telecom industry, who is trying hard to
instill the uber-popular 3G connectivity to most of the regions of
Bangladesh. As a harbinger of change, gone are the competition days of
voice calls among the telecom service providers. Data service is the name
of the game today, with too many services introduced by the telecom
operators. But sadly, we are also lagging behind in connectivity issues.
Pakistan had their 3G services launched after us, said a high official, but
now they are vying for LTE connectivity, while our companies are fighting
over 3G competitiveness.
These are just some of the main articles of our April 2015 issue. As spring
has been unleashed in its fullest potential, expect lots of humidity and dust
in the coming months, but even that is better than the political heat,
something that is still not sensing any conclusion in the coming days. We
hope to see some respite from all this and experience the magic of the
upcoming Pohela Boishakh and other festivities in the new year. Wishing
our readers and patrons all a heartiest Shubho Noboborsho
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR
The last issue's cover story on the
upcoming challenges of the RMG industry
is something which I believe to be a very
pertinent issue. I seriously do not think
that trying hard to regain the US GSP
status should be in our agenda anymore. I
think we should focus more on maintaning
the European GSP status. There are many
Bangladeshi private sector businessmen
who are excelling in their European
business ventures. This shows our
versatility and this should be prioritised.
We are not a nation who relies on cajoling
other nations into giving us aid anymore.
Write to us at
businesstimes.1@gmail.com,
or send us a note at
www.facebook.com/icebusinesstimes
www.twitter.com/BusinessTimesBD
Be sure to visit our website
for online viewing
at www.icebusinesstimes.net
Hamid Azam, Lalbagh, Dhaka
I really enjoyed the dining review on
Baburchi. I was sick and tired of going
through restaurants which, although are
aesthetically beautiful, do not really offer
soul food. But the restaurants which
people flock to, restaurants like Baburchi,
Xindian and the rest of the Xia-named
restaurants, they are the real
cornerstones of our restaurant industry.
They deserve reviews on their own
accolade.
Fatima Jannat, Dhanmondi
Vol. 5 No. 8
Main articles should be a lot
more in-depth, though I know
no one would want to read so
much, but I think some people
still do
I like the motivational and
innovative articles. We can learn
a lot from them
COMMENTS
Publisher & Editor
Executive Director
Editorial Assistant
April 2015
: Abul Khair
: Nawshin Khair
: Wafiur Rahman
Ahmed Noushad
Designer
: Sk. Yeahhia
Head of Marketing
: Lucky Begum
Assistant Manager Marketing : Farha Tani
Executive, Marketing
: Farhan Nair
Finance & Accounts
: Md. Abdul Alim
Sales & Distribution
: Md. Manik Mollah
Md. Raju Hossain
Published by Abul Khair on behalf of ICE Media Limited, Kushal Centre, Plot 29, Sector 3, Uttara C/A, Dhaka- 1230
and printed at M.K. Printers,189/1, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208
Editorial and Commercial office:
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Editorial Queries: businesstimes.1@gmail.com, wafiur.ibt@gmail.com
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E-mail: businesstimes.1@gmail.com, businesstimes.mkt@gmail.com
COVER STORY
BRUISED
BRUISES
BUT NOT
BATTERED
The SME industry still reels from multiple
constraints. But despite setbacks, the sector
offers immense potential and hope for those
who aim to make it big in life
By Wafiur Rahman
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
9
COVER STORY
S
10
Small and medium sized enterprises
(SMEs) are playing increasingly
important role as engines of
economic growth in many countries
including ours. SMEs provide low
cost employment opportunities and
render flexibility to the economy.
Many of the SMEs are engaged in
export activities suggesting that
they are internationally competitive.
Considering the importance of SME
sector in the economy of Bangladesh
and understanding the constraints
under which such enterprises
operate, it is evident that policies to
support the development and
growth of SMEs are necessary. In the
policy strategies, smooth and
sustainable development of SMEs
all over the country will be
considered as one of the vehicles for
poverty alleviation, and generation
of more employment.
Nearly 11.3 million jobs are
generated
by
non-farm
establishments in Bangladesh, of
which 73 % are created by micro
enterprises. Focusing on the 10+
units, small units constitute 35.2 %
of the employment, followed by
medium and large units comprising
8.8 and 56.0 % respectively. In other
words, SMEs employ 1.3 million
people, constituting 44 % of the total
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
COVER STORY
Official data and
statistics overview
Although there were no exact data of
SMEs available in the country until
2005, when first survey about SMEs
was conducted. It was estimated
that over 30 million people working
in this sector with agriculture the
major areas of SMEs as well as
fishing and cottage industry is also
being focused. Textile is a new entry
for this sector and since 2007 this
sector has taken lead over others
with more than 20 thousand units of
SMEs established to promote jobs
and textile exports of Bangladesh.
The government is also focusing on
this sector with training, guidelines
and financing facilities for growth of
textile. This has been the major
reason behind the Bangladesh rapid
growth and boom in SMEs.
SMEs have a tremendous potential
in
empowering
budding
entrepreneurs and transforming
society in Bangladesh. To target this
sector’s huge potential, BRAC Bank
Ltd introduced SME banking first
time in 2001 and since then 46
SME/Agro Branches, 22 special
centres and 152 branches and
399 SME unit offices were
established in Bangladesh to
support SMEs and untapped
the potential at rapid pace.
In the last ten years BRAC
Bank has become the largest
bank of Bangladesh to support
and finance small and medium
enterprises while worldwide it
is being rank at No 4. However
this bank has the biggest ratio
of defaulters in the country.
Although strict loan policy is
being implemented, but due to
some
unavoidable
circumstance
some
loans
become bad business for the
bank.
For BRAC Bank, Business risk,
high interest rate, high
defaulter
rate,
certain
government policy changes are
the major challenges over the
years. The proposed part of the
report tried to find out some
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
steps could be initiated by BRAC
Bank in order to overcome existing
weakness. The bank need special
training, low interest rate and a
commitment for business success is
needed in Bangladesh to change this
trend.
Role of Bangladesh
Bank
Bangladesh Bank has initiated a
mega step to boost SME sector with
the help of IDA and Asian
Development
Bank
(ADB).
Bangladesh Bank has already
started
many
schemes
and
programmes to flourish this sector.
In all big cities special counters have
been created for SME and new soft
loans were offered to youth from
Taka 50,000 to Taka 50,000,000
(approximately
US$641
–US$641,700) which has given a
new spirit and commitment to
unemployed youth to see this as a
big opportunity for their own
business. It is true that so far the
role of bank has not created a big
difference as the Bangladesh youth
still looking for good salary jobs not
strict loan policy is
being implemented,
but due to some
unavoidable
circumstance some
loans become bad
business for
the bank
for their own business.
Some experts believes that due to
energy crises, law and order
situation in Pakistan, over 30
thousand small and medium units
were shifted to Bangladesh from
Pakistani textile industry which has
created healthy competition and
rapid opportunities for the SMEs in
Bangladesh in last 5 to 7 years.
Besides soft loans, Bangladesh
Bank is also providing guidelines,
risk assessments and training to
selected youth for their new
businesses in this areas
where all basic facilities
are already available to set
up new business.
Major shift in
Policies
regarding SMEs
2010 has been the golden
year in the history of
Bangladesh
for
SMEs
growth when every bank
was asked to focus on
SMEs development with
soft loans and special
counters
at
specific
branches SMEs. Banks
were
asked
by
the
government
to
ease
formalities and conditions
for youth to start their own
business in different cities
to boost economy and
provide
livelihood
to
unemployed youth.
11
COVER STORY
Women entrepreneurs in focus
Under new policy of the
Bangladesh Government, each
bank has been advised to open
special counters for women and
finance the women business
projects
12
In the backdrop of recent recession and global
circumstances, it has become essential to make
women’s development possible and increase share
of women in business activities. With the women
empowerment Bangladesh want to transform its
socio economic conditions at a rapid pace.
Under new policy of the Bangladesh Government,
each bank has been advised to open special
counters for women and finance the women
business
projects
with
Tk
2,500,000
(approximately US$32,000) on easy conditions
and provide them all possible support to set up
new business in their desired localities. Now
banks and financial institution have been putting
highest priority in receiving loan applications
from women small and medium enterprises. The
processing time is also reasonable for women
applicants.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
COVER STORY
Policy makers putting
attention back on SMEs
The present government in the
current
National
Budget
reaffirmed its commitment to
boosting the role of the Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
within the economic periphery of
Bangladesh. In particular, it
aimed to provide VAT exemptions
to firms whose annual turnover
remains below Tk70lakh (Tk7m).
This is a positive initiative, given
SMEs can play an instrumental
role
in
the
economic
transformation of nations.
According to Ashikur Rahman,
Senior Economist at Policy
Research Institute, policymakers
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
must pay attention to the lessons that one can draw from international
experiences. ‘Our research at the PRI suggests that the performance of SMEs in
terms of contribution to GDP, exports and employment is far below those achieved
in the dynamic East Asian economies. A detailed review of cross-country
experiences as well as case studies shows the potential of SMEs for development.
The potential of SMEs in economic development is best demonstrated by the
examples of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and China. SMEs have contributed
admirably to employment, investment, value-addition and exports in these
countries. Importantly, they have played a profound role in helping the emergence
of a modern manufacturing sector in the concerned countries.’
To sum up: what are the main lessons for Bangladesh that one can draw from
international experience? In view of the definitional differences where a small
enterprise in one country is a large enterprise in another, it is difficult to
aggregate all experiences for use in Bangladesh. Nevertheless, there are areas of
experience where the policies and principles are applicable to Bangladesh’s
context. Seen from this angle, several important lessons emerge. These include:
• The production sharing partnership agreements between large and small
enterprises in Japan, Korea and Malaysia suggest a pattern of manufacturing
development that merits serious attention of policy makers in developing
countries including Bangladesh. This partnership has been particularly helpful
in supporting the exports of SMEs.
• SMEs have been a fertile ground for learning and technology transfer,
especially in China and Malaysia through strategic production sharing
agreements with international firms. This is a major finding that has
important policy bearing for Bangladesh. Getting connected to the
international vertical production chains can provide a major impetus to
upgrading SMEs in Bangladesh. This will also allow Bangladesh to entertain a
diversified export base, which is fundamental for creating a resilient economy.
• A range of targeted support programmes (bicycle sector in the case of Taiwan)
could be helpful in developing SMEs. These include programmes for financial
support, technology transfer, skill development, industrial zones, and fiscal
incentives.
• Institutions are very important to foster the growth of SMEs. These include
dedicated government agencies and supportive legal framework. Japan’s
experience is particularly illustrative of how strong institutional support can
guide the development of SMEs.
• Monitoring and evaluation of performance of SMEs is essential. This is
necessary in order to understand the constraints and gear public policy
accordingly. It is also necessary to evaluate if the support programmes are
achieving their intended objectives. Again, Japan’s experience in this regard is
particularly instructive. Updated database on basic structure of SMEs and
performance indicators is necessary to determine how SMEs are performing.
On the whole, the review of international experience with SMEs suggests that
these enterprises have the capacity to boost inclusive development, especially in
labour-intensive low income countries. Nevertheless, this requires sound policy
and institutional support, and is unlikely to occur in an automatic or accidental
manner.
The experience with SMEs in Bangladesh reveals that the country, till date, has
fallen short in exploiting this avenue for fostering economic development.
Moreover, given there is an acute shortage of a proper diagnostic research about
the nature of the sector in Bangladesh and its major constraints, primarily due to
the lack of availability of data, it remains beyond the scope of policymakers to
pinpoint exact policy framework capable of creating supportive conditions for this
sector.
In the absence of such knowledge, a prudent strategy is to meticulously isolate
international experiences, some of which are summarised above, that can in
principle transfer over to the Bangladesh situation.
13
COVER STORY
SME Financing hits
new record
The commercial banks and financial
institutions (FIs) set a new record in
lending to Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) disbursing Tk 1
lakh 910 crore in a single year,
reports BSS. The impressive figure
for 2014 represents a phenomenal
increase in lending from the full
spectrum of finance providers
including
state-owned
banks,
private banks, foreign banks and
non-banking financial institutions.
14
Of the total amount disbursed up to
December 30 last year, banking
sector laid out Tk 98 thousand 32
crore and 95 lakh when the FIs
shared the rest Tk 2 thousand 877
crore and 20 lakh. The annual
growth in SME lending was 13.34 %.
‘The central bank has expanded SME
financing
to
create
new
entrepreneurs and employment
opportunities
in
addition
to
empower women’, Bangladesh Bank
(BB) Governor said earlier when he
was talking about the objective of
accelerating SME financing.
Last year banks provided loans to 5
lakh 41 thousand 41 hundred and
656 entrepreneurs, of which 42
thousand
730
were
women,
according to BB. A BB document
also shows that the SME loan
programme so far created around
1.5 million new employment
opportunities across the country.
‘The banks and FIs increased their
lending programme for SME sector
as advised and encouraged by the
central bank’, said general manager
of SME and Special Programmes
Department Swapan Kumar Roy.
Roy said the quality of SME
financing also improved due to
constant and effective monitoring of
the central bank. He said the loan
recovery
also
increased
phenomenally last year, which stood
64.95 % higher at Tk 69 thousand
172 crore at the end of December.
BB latest data also showed that the
major share of the total disbursed
SME loan goes to business, with
receiving Tk 62 thousand 767 crore
and 18 lakh or 62.20 % of the total
lending to SME. Industrial sector got
the second highest amount of loan
of Tk 30 thousand 246 crore and 20
lakh, which was nearly 30.0 % of the
total disbursement.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
COVER STORY
Challenges so far
Historically, Bangladesh followed a
development strategy in which
private investment was controlled
through a host of regulations
involving investment sanctioning,
credit
disbursement,
import
licensing,
foreign
exchange
allocation,
etc.
While
these
regulatory barriers thwarted private
investment in general, the impact
fell unevenly on SMEs. This was
because of the relative inability of
the SMEs to cope with the
regulations compared to their
large-scale counterparts. Thus, the
policy regime was largely biased
against
the
SMEs
although,
paradoxically,
promoting
SME
development was a stated objective
of successive governments.
Although successive five-year plan
documents
have
mentioned
development of small, medium and
cottage enterprises as priority area,
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
public development expenditure in
this
sector
has
not
been
commensurate with this declared
policy. Thus, in the Fourth Five Year
Plan, the revised public allocation to
this sector was Taka 2,016 million
which was a meager 0.58 % of the
total public development outlay in
the plan. What is even worse, only
about 69 % of this small allocation
were actually invested during the
plan period. In the current Fifth
Five-Year Plan, the share of the
sector in total public development
expenditure has gone down even
further. If the sector has to make
much headway, there is need for
substantial increase in public
investment in the sector particularly
in the area of training, extension,
research, market promotion, etc. A
collaborative
effort
of
the
government
with
business
associations,
non-governmental
organizations NGOs and other
development
partners
is
recommended in such public
outlays.
During the past decade, substantial
reforms have been carried out in the
external
trade
regime
of
Bangladesh. The import procedure
has been greatly eased and
deregulated. Import tariffs have
been lowered and quantitative
restrictions virtually eliminated. All
these have facilitated greater access
of domestic producers to imported
raw materials. This has particularly
benefited SMEs as they were
affected more adversely by the
regulated trade regime.
However, import liberalization has
also exposed domestic producers to
competition from foreign goods. To
ensure a level playing field and to
enable domestic SMEs to compete
effectively with imports, the
following policy concerns need to be
addressed.
15
COVER STORY
Prior Announcement of Policy
Changes: To enable domestic
producers, particularly the SMEs, to
prepare themselves to face external
competition there is need for
adequate
forewarning
about
impending policy direction. This is
particularly true of trade policy
measures. If the government makes
prior
announcements
of
its
impending trade policy changes,
particularly with respect to tariff
schedules, investors will be aware of
the degree of competition they will
be facing with the changes and will
make
adjustments
in
their
investment and production plans
accordingly.
Tariff
Rationalization:
To
encourage domestic production,
there should be adequate gap
between duty on raw materials and
duty on finished products. In fixing
duty on finished products, possible
under-invoicing
and
dumping
should be taken into account, as
otherwise, effective duty rates on
finished goods will turn out to be
lower than that on raw materials in
spite of the higher statutory rate on
the finished item.
Appropriate Tariff Valuation: To
avert
the
problem
of
under-invoicing, a system of tariff
value has been put in place for
certain categories of imports. There
are complaints that these tariff
values are often not in line with the
going world price of these items
which sometimes puts domestic
producers
at
a
relatively
disadvantaged position.
Trade License: Investors are
required to procure trade license
from local government bodies by
paying statutory fees. The process
involves
unnecessary
delays,
harassment and side payments. The
procedure needs to be simplified and
the issuance of the license made
automatic subject to payment of
requisite fees and declaration by the
investor
that
the
proposed
investment is in conformity with the
rules and regulations and zoning
restrictions of the local government
authority.
16
Registration under Factories Act:
According to the Factories Act 1965,
all manufacturing units employing
10 or more workers are required to
be registered with the office of the
Chief Inspector of Factories and
Establishments. The job of the
Factory Inspector is to oversee the
working condition and safety
measures in the factory. In practice,
the regulation has proved to be a
major source of delay, harassment
and unofficial payments for the
investors particularly for those in
the SME sub-sector as the existing
regulations do not differentiate
between different size categories
with respect to safety and working
conditions requirements. To relieve
the investors of these problems the
requirements relating to safety and
working conditions should be
defined separately and realistically
for the SMEs and the discretionary
powers of the Inspector should be
minimized. Registration should be
automatic once the investor has
declared that the requirements have
been complied with.
Clearance from the Department of
Environment: All industries are
also required to obtain a certificate
from
the
Department
of
Environment in respect of proper
arrangement for anti-pollution and
safety measures. Here again, the
requirements should be clearly
stated for the type and size
categories of industry and the
investor should be allowed to go
ahead with investment on the basis
of the undertaking that the
requirements will be complied with.
Registration with Sponsoring
Agency:
Registration
with
sponsoring agencies such as the
Bangladesh Small and Cottage
Industries Corporation (BSCIC),
Board of Investment (BOI) or
Bangladesh Export Processing Zone
Authority (BEPZA) is voluntary
unless an enterprise wants to avail
itself of government incentives. To
keep track of private investment in
various sub-sectors, it would be
useful to make registration with the
sponsoring
agency
mandatory.
However, to relieve the investors of
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
COVER STORY
possible
hassles,
registration
procedure should be simplified
requiring minimum information to
be provided by the investor, and
registration should not be held up
until the proof of investment has
been produced as the current
practice appears to be.
Contract
Enforcement
and
Resolution: This is a constraint,
which is faced by both large and
small firms. Inadequacy in the
system for contract enforcement and
resolution arises from archaic legal
system
where
procedure
of
adjudication is long drawn out and
cumbersome and the system is
corrupt. As a result it is not difficult
to delay a scheduled date for
hearing. SMEs with low sustaining
power often lose out in the long
drawn out court battle.
Collateral Requirements: One of
the main factors that have
hampered flow of institutional
finance into SMEs is banks'
pre-occupation with collateral based
lending. Traditionally banks have
used
fixed
asset
ownership,
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
particularly land ownership as the
basis for judging credit-worthiness.
This puts SMEs at a relative
disadvantage,
as
large
entrepreneurs are often able to get
around the problem because of their
influence and contacts by putting up
collateral of dubious valuation. The
solution to this problem lies in
banks seeking deposit relationship
with owners of SMEs and using cash
flow rather than asset ownership as
the criterion for credit-worthiness.
An expanded credit guarantee
scheme will have to play a vital role
in this regard.
Bureaucracy
and
Corruption:
Because of lack of proper autonomy
and accountability the public sector
financial institutions are beset with
inflexibility, inefficiency, political
interventions and corruption. Since
the performance of the bank officials
is not properly evaluated they lack the
incentive to bring a large number of
suitable borrowers, particularly those
in the SME sector, within the fold of
institutional financing. They adopt a
passive and inflexible attitude
towards the borrowers either to avoid
the risk of making an inappropriate
lending or to force the borrower to
make side payments for more
favorable handling of the loan
application. Until necessary reforms
in the public financial institutions are
carried out, the SMEs will continue to
bear the brunt of this institutional
malice.
Major Findings: Over the years,
various studies have been conducted
to identify constraints encountered
by entrepreneurs in the industrial
sector. A summary of the ranking of
the problems from selected studies
over the 1988-98 period is presented
in this section. The subsectors
include: Steel Furniture, Small Metal
Works and Light Engineering,
Electrical Small Goods, Plastic
Products, Specialized Handloom,
Bakeries, Textile Dyeing and
Printing, and Footwear. Electricity,
credit, and law and order are
respectively the three top ranked
problems followed by legal barriers,
excess competition, and dearth of
technical assistance.
17
COVER STORY
In conclusion
A well developed SME sector is a
pre-requisite to attaining higher
growth of large-scale industry and
the services sector as well.
According to a CIDA report, quoted
by a national daily in its issue on
August 1, 2010, there are about 6.0
million SMEs in Bangladesh, which
contribute about 50 % of the
country's
industrial
output,
employing about 80 % of its
industrial labour force. SMEs are
labour intensive and also need less
capital. They are also significant
contributors to backward linkage to
heavy industries. About 60 to 65 %
of SMEs are located outside the
metropolitan areas of Dhaka and
Chittagong, having easy access to
labour and more conducive physical
environment. Business costs are
thus low in these areas. Therefore,
SMEs grow overtime and contribute
to enterprise creation, private
entrepreneurship development and
employment generation.
18
While the overall contribution of
SMEs to the national economy is
easily recognized, opinions differ on
the extent of the contribution of this
sector. Various categories of SMEs
together contribute 80 to 85 % of
industrial employment and 25 % of
total civilian employment. Apart
from employment generation, SMEs
also contribute significantly to the
creation of value added in
manufacturing activity. Figures
quoted by different sources ADB
(2002), WB (2003), Planning
Commission (2008) and BIDS (1998)
on value added contributions of the
SMEs are closely similar, varying
between 45-50 % of the total
manufacturing value added.
Despite their pre-eminence, SMEs
have not been able to grow to their
full potential in the country due to
various constraints, such as the lack
of medium and long-term credit,
limited
access
to
market
opportunities, technology, expertise
and information, lack of suitable
incentives, inefficient and limited
About 60 to 65 % of
SMEs are located
outside the metropolitan
areas of Dhaka and
Chittagong, having easy
access to labour and
more conducive physical
environment
outreach of government services,
and weak capacity among SME
entrepreneurs
in
managing
functional areas of business.
Implementation of employment and
income generation and poverty
reduction
programmes
and
strategies has been a systematic and
continuous effort in Bangladesh.
Rapid and sustainable growth of
SMEs is undoubtedly an important
vehicle for accelerating national
economic growth, which is an
indispensable condition for raising
employment and reducing poverty in
the economy.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
Our concentration of
focus should go towards
the “unbanked” population’
Muklesur Rahman, Managing Director of NRB Bank Ltd,
talks about his perspective on banking tidbits,
next area of focus and more
By Wafiur Rahman
Photos by Din M Shibly
20
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
Muklesur Rahman is a veteran banker with more than 29 years' experience in reputed local and foreign banks. Prior to
joining NRB Bank, he served various senior management positions in various local and global banks. Commencing a
career with United Commercial Bank in 1984, he gradually moved up the ladder by serving top global banks such as
Standard Chartered, ANZ Grindlays, Citi NA in various senior management capacities leading large teams in areas
spanning branch management, retail, SME, operations, distribution, compliance, foreign trade, project management, etc.
In his long career, he has successfully led some large projects including a mammoth core banking system migration at
Eastern Bank where he led from the front as the Chairman of the Steering Committee of the project. He has attended
numerous leadership, management development and learning programs at home and abroad and instilled international
best practices in all entities he has served. He has brought numerous local and international accolades both for himself
and for the organizations he worked.
What is your opinion
about the current state of
Bangladeshi banking
sector?
Presently, there are 56 banks
operating in Bangladesh – some
state-owned, some private or foreign
banks – with a combined amount of
over 8000 branches across the
country. Recently the state-owned
banks faced the financial scam of
Hall-Mark and Bismillah Group,
which showed a lack of governance,
transparency and accountability. On
the other hand, most of the private
commercial banks in our country
have government structure and
follow
the
operational/risk
management
guidelines
of
Bangladesh Bank in terms of
prudential and management norms.
The policies and guidelines provided
by
Bangladesh
Bank
are
well-formulated
and
are
of
international standard. In order to
strengthen the capital framework of
banks, they have already put Basel
II in place and are already in the
process of implementing Basel III,
which was introduced in 2013 by
Bank for International Standard
(BIS) in Basel, Switzerland. The
private commercial banks of
Bangladesh contribute significantly
towards the development of the
economy of the country. Specifically,
the growth in private sector
industries and businesses and the
private
commercial
banks’
contributions are remarkable. But
under the present scenario of the
country, all the banks are having
challenges in their growth of
businesses. We are assuming that
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
mostly the SME industry of the
country started facing disruption in
their businesses, which may affect
the loan portfolio of the banking
sector.
What do you think are the
biggest opportunities and
challenges faced by the
4th generation banks
such as NRB Bank Ltd?
Actually the timing of the beginning
of the operation of these banks was
not smooth, given the turmoil since
2013. Specifically, the investors are
going slow and were in a stage of
‘wait and watch’. On the other hand,
the deposit/lending rate of interest
are in competition, which resulted in
high cost of deposit and less rate of
interest in lending. Thus, the spread
between interest rate of deposit and
lending is a challenge. Furthermore,
these banks have to be very careful
while lending to the borrowers, to
keep their loan portfolio in good
health. And in this case, borrower
selection is the most important part.
We are the only bank among 4th
generation banks who are operating
under
Centralised
Process
Management (CPM) by support
functions like operation/service
delivery
unit,
credit
risk
management unit, information
technology unit, human resource
and facility management unit,
finance, internal control and
compliance – all these with
segmental business unit like retail
banking, SME banking, corporate
banking, treasury and investment
banking. We are progressive but not
aggressive in lending. We started
our banking operation in 4th August
2013. Till 2014 we made the
platform. This year we started
focusing on doing business. We
have already launched our retail and
SME banking product suits along
with debit/global debit card, credit
card, internet banking and call
center. We invested in technology
and people, which are the key part to
make the bank in a sustainable
position as well as doing lending
carefully. We always believe in
sustainable growth. Presently, the
challenges we are facing like less
appetite of borrowing from the good
borrowers.
On the other hand, there are three
‘NRB’ tagged banks which creates
confusion among the customers and
in the banking industry. Our
opportunities
are
providing
tailor-made products, standard
service quality and developing
entrepreneurship.
Do you feel that the
market is oversaturated
with too many banks
these days?
We are a country of 160 million
people. Having 56 banks in the
country seems acceptable but our
concentration of focus should go
towards the ‘unbanked’ population,
who do not have access to finance.
Our present governor of Bangladesh
Bank always emphasise in these
areas. But we are all trying to
concentrate our banking operations
in Chittagong and Dhaka, all while
sharing big and medium level
corporate customers. We should
concentrate on other parts of the
21
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
country, by giving focus on
entrepreneurship development and
also providing support to young and
women entrepreneurs.
What are your main areas
of focusing? Do you have
any plans on providing
assistance to small and
medium entrepreneurs?
How important do you
think is the role of
Non-Resident
Bangladeshis in the
growth of Bangladesh
economy, and also that of
Bangladeshi migrant
workers?
Our focusing area is, as mentioned
above,
entrepreneurship
development, and also to bring
Non-resident Bangladesh (NRB)
investment in the country. We have
already launched SME banking with
of bundle of product suits, and also
launched Bangladesh International,
which includes all types of retail and
investment products for NRBs. Very
soon we are going to UK, Italy,
Malaysia and UAE for NRB Bank
road shows to gather attraction for
our products and create awareness
among NRBs. We are also promoting
to our customers several alternate
channels like internet banking, etc.
There are over 10 million NRBs
across the globe. In the last five
years, there has been significant
increase in foreign direct investment
(FDI), deducing their contribution to
the economy. Definitely they are
important, but we have to facilitate
them by bringing their money and
investing those in profitable
venture.
Given the level of high
competency in corporate
culture today, do you
think graduates should
consider a career in
banking today?
With a youth population of over 4.5
22
crore, aged between 20 to 35, it is
not possible for the government to
accommodate all of them in
government services. We have all
seen that job creation has been done
by the private sector, the last decade
witness lots of progress in that
regard. Their contribution in the
national economy and GDP stands
out.
I think graduates should consider a
career in banking. With over 56
banks and 8000 branches across the
country, we are progressing to an
age of digitisation, where we need
more competent employees. We have
approximately 200 employees, out
of whom 80% are below the age of
40. Banking has changed, with lots
of innovative products and services,
which have also attained global
standards.
Has the role of
government's financial
bodies played an
important part in helping
new banks to proceed
forward? What incentives
have they provided in this
regard?
Definitely the regulators such as
Bangladesh Bank provide extensive
support. They have also allowed lots
of changes such as mobile banking,
electronic banking transfers, all of
which are revolutionary. Without
them it would not be possible. I
believe they should allow for a more
level-playing ground for all the
banks, with consideration to the
state and condition of each banks.
As far as challenges are concerned,
the income tax rate of 42.5% is quite
a burden. With probable tax
incentives and 25% tax holidays for
banks who are eligible for such
rewards, it can be a desirable
incentive for us.
In almost 2 years of
operations, do you think
NRB Bank Ltd has
succeeded in maintaining
their vision/mission?
Our vision is to be the leading
dedicated financial institution for
NRBs to invest in Bangladesh and
for Bangladeshi individuals and
corporate to access international
markets. Our mission is be the
preferred provider of targeted
financial services as a conduit for
investment to and from Bangladesh
for our Bangladeshi communities
both
domestically
and
internationally, to accelerate the
industrialisation of Bangladesh. We
will strengthen these relationships
by providing the right solutions that
combine professionalism, expertise
and financial strength.
We have a vision for investment in
people and technology, and thus far,
I think we have succeeded in
maintaining our vision and mission.
How important is CSR in
your banking policies?
Although it is an important venture
for all banks, I think it is a burden
which should be considered by
regulators. To have a fund of Tk. 400
crore from capital is quite a
daunting task, instead, it should be
taken from profit percentages. I hope
the policy makers will consider this
in future.
Where do you see the
future of your bank a
decade from now?
As per our vision, we want to
maintain our global standard in
banking, all while contributing to
the development of the economy.
Bringing NRBs for local investment
is also in our agenda, we want to
bridge
both
the
local
and
international Bangladeshis together.
Contribution towards the growth of
the SME industry will always
remain a priority, and most
importantly, our initiative to make
banking for all is every-growing in
determination. Just like our brand
promise, we are not just another
bank.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
S
BANKING
Some
88
projects
saw
no
expenditure while in some 92
projects there was zero real progress
in the Revised Annual Development
Programme (RADP) of the last fiscal
year (2013-14), although its
implementation rate fared better
with 95 per cent success rate. This
was revealed at an implementation
progress review report of the ADP for
fiscal year 2013-14 submitted before
the National Economic Council
(NEC) meeting held on March 10 in
the capital, with NEC chairperson
and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in
the chair. The Implementation
Monitoring and Evaluation Division
(IMED) of the Planning Ministry
submitted the report.
Analyzing the report, it was found
that the revised ADP allocation
against these 88 projects in FY14
was Tk 34.01 crore of which TK 0.66
crore were released. This was also
0.05 per cent of the overall revised
ADP allocation for the last fiscal
year. The report cited delay in
invitation of tender bids for the
newly included projects, non
responsive of the tenders, non
availability of project loans, delay in
release of funds, non acquisition of
land, problems relating to cases,
revision of the DPP, delay in approval
of the RDPP, delay in striking
agreements with the donors and
nominal allocation as some of the
notable reasons for having zero
implementation progress during the
period.
An IMED official said such trend
indicates that the concerned
Ministries and Divisions do not give
due
importance
towards
24
implementing all the projects under
the ADP. He said concentrated efforts
are needed from all concerned for
ensuring proper implementation of
the development projects under the
ADP through utmost utilisation of
the country’s resources.
The IMED report also showed that
during the FY 14, a total of 92
projects
witnessed
zero
real
progress, or no infrastructural work,
although Tk 21.78 crore were
expended against these projects. Out
of these 180 projects that witnessed
zero financial progress or zero real
progress, Tk 1 lakh was earmarked
against each of some 52 projects in
FY 14, but they saw new progress.
According to the IMED, about Tk
56,913.45 crore was spent in the
last fiscal year out of the revised
ADP allocation of TK 60,000 crore,
raising the implementation rate to
95 per cent. Of the amount, Tk
38,116.20 crore was spent from the
government exchequer which was
98 per cent of the overall revised
allocation in local resources. On the
other hand, some Tk 18,797.25 crore
was spent from the project
assistance part which was also 89
per cent of revised allocation from
the project assistance part. The
report said out of the total number
of 1366 projects in the revised ADP
of last year, the financial progress of
756 projects and the real progress of
some 781 projects were laudable.
Besides, the financial progress of
some 327 projects and the real
progress of some 257 projects were
satisfactory, the financial progress
of some 81 projects while the real
progress of some 116 projects were
somewhat satisfactory, the financial
progress of some 63 projects and the
real progress of some 71 projects
were not satisfactory while there
was not much expenditure (4 per
cent) against 51 projects throughout
the last year, and not enough
physical works (4 per cent) during
the period in 49 projects. In the last
fiscal year, some 298 projects were
kept for completion by June 2014,
but the overall number of completed
projects totalled 233. Of these, the
project duration increased against
189 projects while the project cost
increased against 86 projects.
DEVELOPMENT
IMED report reveals
THUS
sluggish implementation
of ADP
FAR
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
BLUE ECONOMY
WATERWORLDS
Dredging on to
revive river routes
T
ICE BusinessTimes
Transportation of goods through the
country's inland waterways has
declined in the last two decades, due
to the shrinking of the river routes
and loss of navigability across the
country. In the past, trade hubs had
developed along the major river routes
of the country, as traders found it
easier and cheaper to transport goods
through the waterways.
April 2015
25
BLUE ECONOMY
However, the sector has not evolved
in the last 40 years, because of
continued neglect by policy makers.
The inland waterways suffered a
gradual decline, not only because of
loss of navigability, but also because
of deteriorating service quality and
safety standards.
What was once a mighty 24,000 kms
of navigable river routes, has now
come down to 6,000 kms only, that
too in monsoon when the rivers are
in full form. In the dry season, the
length of navigable river route
shrinks to 3,800 kms, making it
difficult for to navigate passenger
and
freight
vessels,
said
Samsuddoha Khondaker, chairman
of Bangladesh Inland Waterways
Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Against this backdrop, BIWTA has
initiated a number of major projects,
under
the
capital
dredging
programme, to restore the 65 river
routes across the country, he added.
Regarding the cost of dredging, the
chairman said, ‘The estimated cost
26
of dredging along the 65 river routes
has been fixed to Tk. 11,982 crore.
Dredging the river routes will be
completed in several phases.
Seventy% of the country’s total
freight movement is through the
rivers. The government wants to
increase this to 80%. Also, it wants
to increase the share of passenger
movement, through waterways, to
60%, from the present 40%,’ the
BIWTA chairman said.
According to several traders,
Chittagong Port handles the major
share of containers reaching
Bangladesh, of which, 70 per cent
are known to originate from or are
destined for the Dhaka-Narayanganj
region. Of this, a major volume is
transported by road; and less than
10 per cent by rail. The existing
Dhaka-Chittagong
and
Dhaka-Mongla
highways
are
already bursting in the seams with
traffic.
At
their
current
capacity—and even after developing
the Dhaka-Chittagong highway into
a four-lane one—it is not expected
that these highways will be able to
handle the increasing container
traffic. This is due to paucity of
container carriers, over-congestion
of traffic on highways, restrictive
road curves, and inadequate bearing
capacity of bridges.
Of the 65 river route projects, the 12
river routes will be dredged at a cost
of Tk 508.46 crore, and the project is
likely to be completed in June 2015,
while 53 river routes will be dredged
in two phases—the first phase
comprising 24 routes and the second
comprising the rest, Khondaker said.
‘The twenty-four river routes, out of
53, are now being dredged at a cost
of Tk 1,873.64 crore, while the
remaining 29 river routes will be
dredged in the second phase, at a
cost of Tk 9,600 crore. Dredging the
24 river routes would be completed
by June 2018,’ the BIWTA chairman
added. The dredging would facilitate
movement of cargo and passenger
vessels, round-the-year, on the 65
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
BLUE ECONOMY
river routes, the BIWTA chairman
said. He added that excessive
silting—causing rivers to die—is an
outcome of lack of coordination
between the local governments and
the Bangladesh Water Development
Board.
Dredging activities are being led by
chief engineer of the BIWTA’s
dredging department, MA Motin,
with
the
assistance
of
superintendent engineer of BIWTA,
Rakibul Islam Talukder, and
executive engineers Tariqul Hasan
and Saidur Rahman. A total of 18
dredgers of the BIWTA have been
deployed for the task.
As has been planned, a total of
3,453 lakh cubic metres of silt will
be removed, under the project to
dredge all the 65 river routes. It has
been estimated that 316 lakh cubic
metres of silt will be removed from
the first 12 river routes, 1,014 lakh
cubic metres of silt will be removed
by dredging the next 24 river routes,
and 2,123 lakh cubic metres of silt
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
will be removed from the final 29
river routes, under the project, the
chief engineer said. About 22 per
cent of the dredging work have been
completed, under the ‘Dredging on
12 important river routes’ project
initiated in October 2011, MA Motin
said.
The 12 river routes are: DhakaTaltala-Dohuri- Zazira- MadaripurKabirajpur- Chowdhurihat on the
Ichhamati, Padma and the Arial
Khan in Dhaka, Munshiganj,
Madaripur
and
Shariatpur;
Laharhat-Veduria on the Arial Khan
and the Tentulia in Barisal and
Bhola; Shaheberhat- TungibariLaharhat on the Tentulia in Barisal;
Sadarghat-Berulia on the Turag in
Dhaka; Paturia-Baghabari on the
Jamuna in Manikganj, Shirajganj
and
Pabna;
Demra-Ghorashal-Palash on the
Shitalakhya
in
Dhaka
and
Narsingdi;
DhakaRamcharMadaripur on the Arial Khan in
Dhaka and Madaripur;
Dhaka-Shariatpur on the Padma in
Dhaka, Chandpur and Shariatpur
districts; Chandpur- NandirbazarShikarpur-Hularhat on the Dakatia,
Meghna and the Shandhya in
Barisal and Pirojpur; HularhatCharchapli- Gopalganj on the
Kaliganga, the Saildaha and
Modhumati
in
Pirojpur
and
Gopalganj
districts;
Narayanganj-Daudkandi on the
Shitalakhya, the Meghna and the
Gumti,
flowing
through
Narayanganj and Comilla; and
Dhaka-Sureswar-Angaria-Madaripur
on the Padma, Dupaldia canal and
Arial Khan in Dhaka, Shariatpur and
Madaripur districts.
Meanwhile, only 3 per cent of the
dredging has been completed in the
24 river routes, out of 53 river
routes, he said, adding that the
project will be completed in June
2018. The 24 river routes are:
Dhaka-Munshiganj-Gajaria-Chandp
ur-Chittagong,
Chittagong-Cox’s
Bazar- St Martins Isl and-Teknaf,
27
BLUE ECONOMY
Chandpur- Char- Prakash- HijlaBarisal, Chandpur- Muladi- Barisal,
GhasikhaliBarisalKaliganjChandpur- Aricha, Bhairab BazarLipsha- Chhatak-Sylhet, GaglajorMohonganj,
Lawargar-Durlovpur,
Chitri-Nabinagar-Kuti
Bazar,
Narsingdi
-Katiadi,
NarsingdiMarichakandiSalimganjBancharampur- Homna, DaudkandiHomna- Ramkrishnapur, ChandpurIchuliFaridganj,
BarisalJhalakathi- Barguna- Patharghata,
KhulnaGajirhatBardiaManikdha, Nandibazar- Madaripur,
Dilalpur- Ghoradigha- ChamraghatNilkiAtparaNetrokona,
Manumukh- Moulvi Bazar, MirpurSavar, Sripur-Bhola KheyaghatGangapur- Bhola, ChawkighataKaliganj,
Patuakhali-Mirzaganj,
Hosnabad- Torki- Fasiatala, and
Dalar Char- Baliakandi- BoalmariKasiani. The dredging of the second
phase, comprising 29 river routes, is
likely to begin from July this year,
and is scheduled to complete the
28
work in June 2025.
However, the BIWTA has now
employed most of its resources to
reopen the Mongla-Ghashiakhali
channel.
‘Considering
the
importance of the channel and this
being a priority project of the Prime
Minister, we have deployed 14
dredgers and around 30 excavators,
to dredge the Mongla-Ghashiakhali
channel. The channel is very
important for carrying goods and
plying of cargo vessels to Mongla
port and other destinations,’ Motin
said.
Maintenance dredging is increasing
every year due to huge silts being
carried during monsoon from the
upstream, the chief engineer said,
adding, ‘We have to carry out
maintenance dredging of 60-70 lakh
cubic metres, every year, in 10 ferry
routes. Besides, it is needed to carry
out maintenance dredging on the
remaining waterways, to keep the
river routes navigable. We think that
the volume of maintenance dredging
will increase to 200-250 lakh cubic
metres, within two years.’
Abu Naser Khan, chairman of
Poribesh Bachao Andolan (POBA),
said, ‘It's absolutely essential to
restore the navigability of the
country’s rivers. Our rivers are
drying due to the lack of proper
management.
Taking
this
opportunity,
a
section
of
unscrupulous people is occupying
the rivers, putting the environment
in grave danger.’
Transportation costs via waterways
is much less than the other modes,
he said, adding that the government
should clean the river beds through
proper dredging, to facilitate
transportation thorough waterways.
Tauhidul Anwar, former member of
the Joint River Commission (JRC),
told The Independent that the rivers
are losing navigability, due to heavy
siltation every year. ‘Carrying goods
through river routes is cheaper and
safe. The demand for using
waterways is increasing day by day,
due to several reasons. But, many
river routes have already become
unusable. If the authorities fail to
restore the navigability of the river
routes, many more routes will
disappear soon,’ he said.
According to a study conducted by
the World Bank, in 2007, titled
‘Revival of inland water transport:
Options and strategies’, around 12.3
per cent of the rural population in
Bangladesh
use
water-based
transport as the only mode of
communication. Besides, the study
also suggested that the unit cost of
using waterways is significantly
lower than road or railways, with
road freight charges at Tk. 4.5 per
tonne and per km, while it is only
Tk. 0.98, per tonne and per km via
the waterways.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
RMG
SALT TO
FRESH
WOUNDS
Falling euro adds
to woes of
RMG exporters
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
29
RMG
Bangladesh’s textile and clothing
exporters, still reeling from the
impact of continuing political unrest
in the country, now say they are
facing a second shock wave: the
freefall of the euro, reports
Just-style, a news portal. Industry
lobbyists and analysts fear the
decline in value of the European
single currency will cut exporters’
profit margins, weakening their
ability to compete in the 19
countries using the euro. Analysts
say that Bangladeshi exporters may
have to resort to currency hedging
and market diversification to
maximise sales and returns, the
report said.
Data from the Bangladesh Bank,
indicates that the value of the euro
against the Bangladesh taka (BDT)
has fallen by 17 per cent since July
1, 2014. The euro was trading at Tk
88.20 against Euro on February 26.
This shift is of special concern to
Bangladesh’s clothing sector as the
euro-area is the country’s biggest
trading
partner,
representing
three-quarters
of
its
annual
merchandise shipments (of all kinds
of goods). ‘This (euro fall) is having
serious repercussions. It’s like a
double whammy,’ Md Atiqul Islam,
president of the Bangladesh
Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters Association (BGMEA),
told just-style, regretting that it has
coincided with political unrest that
30
has - among other things - seen
transport blocked on Bangladesh
roads.
‘If this [euro] trend continues, we’ll
lose out to our competing countries,’
he said, adding that the ‘political
turmoil will have a negative impact
in the long run. Buyers have stopped
visiting Bangladesh. They say ‘you
come to us for meetings’,’ he added.
AKM Salim Osman, president of
the
Bangladesh
Knitwear
Manufacturers
and
Exporters
Association (BKMEA), has similar
concerns. He said both problems
are dragging down orders, forcing
knitters to curtail production in the
past two months by 40 per cent.
The problems are all the more
galling
because
they
are
preventing Bangladesh companies
from ‘benefitting from the price fall
of oil and cotton in the
international market. People are
not buying raw materials,’ he told
just-style.
Zahid Hussain, lead economist of
The World Bank in Dhaka, agreed
that the depreciation of the euro will
have an ‘adverse’ impact on the
profits of exporters who export to
the eurozone: ‘Prices are fixed in the
euro and so exporters will get less
taka against the same amount of the
euro,’ he said, adding that the
impact will be determined by ‘how
long the euro remains weak.’ Abul
Basher, a research fellow with
state-backed
think-tank
the
Bangladesh
Institute
of
Development Studies, suggested
that businesses should opt for
hedging against the volatility of
exchange rates, where they can.
Another tactic Basher argued, is to
diversify into other markets. ‘Two of
the three largest economies of the
world are located in Asia: India and
China together account for about 45
per cent of the world’s population,
pointing to a huge potential as
destination
markets
for
Bangladesh,’ he told Just-style.
While the European Central Bank’s
(ECB) policy of quantitative easing
has depreciated the euro. Hussain
said there might be a silver lining if
ECB bond purchases achieve their
objective
of
stimulating
the
eurozone economy. ‘In that case, the
adverse effects on profit may be
counteracted by positive demand
effects,’ he said.
In the seven months to January,
Bangladesh earned US$14.40 billion
from exports of woven and knitted
garments, the government’s Export
Promotion Bureau said. There are a
few bright spots.
Dhaka-based
apparel maker Ananta Group, which
made $165m last year in overseas
sales, has emerged unscathed by the
euro’s plunge, even if more than 60
per cent of its products are destined
for Europe, because it prices product
in US dollars. ‘We’re exporting in
dollars even to Europe, so the euro
[slide] does not affect us,’ Sharif
Zahir, the company’s managing
director, told just-style.
But Basher warned that even the
exporters, who receive export
income in the euro-area in US
dollars, will ‘now face the pressure
to reduce the price of their exports’
given retailers sell in euro and it has
depreciated against the USD as well.
Meanwhile, four leading business
bodies including the BGMEA and
BKMEA are said to have filed court
orders at the weekend seeking
restrictions on the hartal and
blockades that have persisted in the
country since the first week of
January.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
EVENT SPOTLIGHT
ADAPTATION
IS THE KEY
HR managers must change
with the needs of time
Human resource managers will have
to cope with changing scenarios to
attract talented people, groom them
and meet the company's expectations to drive growth, analysts said
recently. Several changes are taking
place in the workplace around the
world, said Peter Wilson, secretary
general of the World Federation of
People Management Associations
(WFPMA), a US-based global
network of professionals in people
management.
‘More and more women are joining
the workforce. So, a male dominant
workforce will have to make way for
them. Besides, five different generations are working in the same
company in the developed world
because of increasing longevity -while this might be three in case of
Bangladesh. So different generations might have different mentalities. HR managers will have to act as
a broker in these situations,’ said
32
the expert at the opening ceremony
of the fourth BSHRM International
HR Conference at Bangabandhu
International Conference Centre in
Dhaka.
The programme was hosted by
Bangladesh Society for Human
Resource Management (BSHRM),
which promotes the growth of
human resource professionals in the
country. With the fast-paced
advancement of technology, people
are working 24/7 and are picking up
information all the time that might
be helpful for the companies, said
Wilson. ‘So, work life balance is a
very important issue. HR managers
would have to keep this in mind.’
The Australian said HR managers
need to understand the expectations
of modern workers. ‘They also have
to embrace global best practices to
ensure the best workplace for best
outcomes for the company.’ Out of
the world's seven billion people, four
billion are working, said Wilson.
‘But in the coming decades, many
jobs will disappear. So, workers will
have to be trained and educated so
they can cope with any change in the
future.’
During a business session of the
daylong conference, Mehboobur
Rahman, founder president of
BSHRM, said HR directors should sit
in the board room of every organisation as they are the backbone of
every company. He said the demand
for talented people is growing in the
country, but there is a dearth of
supply. ‘There might be some
problem with the HR managers in
terms of practice and mindset. We
have a huge population and the
people of the country can be trained
easily.’
‘You need to educate and energise
the people and enlighten the workplace,’ he said. Prof Anwar Hossain,
vice chancellor of Southeast University, who moderated the session,
said,
‘Although
technological
advancements are happening, HR
managers would have to have a
humane face. Otherwise, they will
not survive.’
Noor Ali, managing director of
Unique Group, called for setting up
institutions to equip people with
skills to cater to the needs of the
industries. Jalalul Azim, managing
director of Pragati Life Insurance
Company, said the role of HR
managers is vital in order to attract
talented people. HR managers will
have to embrace technological
innovation, he added. ‘Otherwise,
they will not be able to compete.
With the advent of technology, the
typical nine-to-five working hours
are not attractive to talented people.
They want flexible working hours
and they want to work without
coming to office.’ Sabur Khan, chairman of Daffodil International
University, called for reforms in the
educational system in order to
prepare graduates for the challenges
they face when they enter the job
market.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
SPECIAL REPORT
HARBINGER OF
CHANGE
How 3G is reshaping the telecom
industry's trajectory
By Ahmed Sharif
ICE BusinessTimes
In June 2014, Airtel, one of the mobile
phone service providersin Bangladesh, launched
their ‘Mobile TV’ services. Company officials said
that subscribers can watch TV channels, video
channels, movies and even exclusive videos of
Manchester United. The launching of the service
through a ceremony with Airtel’s Chief Operating
Officer attending just gave the indication of the
importance of the service and how competitive the
telecom industry has become since the introduction
of the technology phenomena called 3G.Though
important, such ceremonies were regular at all
mobile phone operator offices.Mobile video is no
longer an exclusive thing in Bangladesh. Within a
very short time, services have jumped from being
concepts to reality. After just over one year of
inauguration of 3G, to assess the impact of such
changes, it needs to be understood where the
changes happed and how.
April 2015
33
SPECIAL REPORT
3G Lifestyle
The biggest change brought by 3G is
in people’s lifestyle. ‘A smartphone
with a mobile connection is more
than just a phone; its part of one’s
lifestyle,’ said one official working
in the industry. Apps are at the heart
of today’s smart-phones. An app
may be able to provide information
of various types, but that may be
used very differently by different
individuals. A same app may attract
a woman with its beauty or culinary
sections, while on the other hand, it
may attract a journalist or a
politician with its news section.
Some of these apps may be so slow
to download in 2G system that
consumers would get tired. Websites
took an age to download, which
restricted their potential to attract
people and also kept convenience
out of people’s reach. Because of
superior speed of 3G, operators can
now offer a lot of new attractive
benefits to consumers. 3G has
opened a new level of opportunities
for such apps. In fact, some industry
people predict all big companies and
brands having their own apps,
which they would promote more
34
than anything else.
Another aspect of communication
that had been heavily influenced by
3G is mobile video calling. Because
of the existence of a substantial
Bangladeshi population in other
countries, this service was embraced
by a big chunk of the population.
‘There is at least one family member
in every family or in their extended
family who is studying in a foreign
country. Not only that, there was a
time when people used to travel to
other countries once every five
years, which has now increased to
once every year. This higher mobility
among the people has created a
different kind of demand for mobile
services,’ said one official.
The use of social media is another
aspect that has seen a boom since
the introduction of 3G. There is an
increased amount of data sharing
among the people which were not
possible in the 2G days. Photo and
video sharing has become a daily
phenomenon. Such sharing has also
pushed the boundaries of journalism
with live streaming video and what
not.
There is a debate as to what extent
3G services can possibly be
developed in Bangladesh. ‘Using a
mobile is a thing that people are
always fascinated about. Can you
show a single housemaid today
who can’t operate a mobile phone?
They can’t yet operate a smart
phone, but they can probably
understand what happens when a
coloured picture is pushed. I don’t
think its impossible to think that
they would surprise you if they get
a couple of days with a
smart-phone. Because this doesn’t
require a person to learn ABCD or
rocket science,’ said one official
working in the industry. He
recognized the fact that a lot of
traditional minded, but educated
people cannot even save a number
or type an SMS on a mobile phone. A
lot of such people are also not
interested to learn new tricks. So,
using a mobile phone has less to do
with
a
person’s
educational
qualification and more to do with
embracing new things. The new
generation has the thirst to get new
things or to experience new things,
whether they come from the higher
economic order or lower.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
SPECIAL REPORT
Implementation and
Competition
Hand-in-Hand
From its inception, the cost of 3G services was discussed very frequently. Even
though some of that cost was to be borne by the operators, others were to be
borne by the consumers. The consumer-end cost revolved around handsets
while adopting the technology for the time. Operators think that one of the
major barriers of 3G was the price of 3G compatible handsets. At the initial
state, less than 10% handsets in the Bangladeshi market were 3G compatible.
This was overcome by some handset manufacturers who have started to come
up with handsets cheap enough for most people. The service aspect of price
control was achieved through already existing competitiveness in the mobile
phone sector.
Service providers provide their services according to the capabilities of handset
manufacturers. This is closely linked to people’s purchasing power as well as
how tech savvy they are. Thus the price point of mobile handsets and the
availability of such handsets become crucial. A mobile service provider, while
thinking of a service, calculates the highest possible spending by a consumer
behind a handset which would be a prerequisite for that particular service. The
service provider looks for handsets in the market at that price point. If such
handsets are not available, then co-operation with handset makers becomes a
new proposition.Sometimes there are formal agreements among companies to
come up with joint marketing plans. The fact of the matter is, this is no longer
an industry where one can succeed alone. There was a time when the industry
was only dependent on voice calls. And voice calls could be done with any
mobile handset; even the most primitive ones. ‘You can’t think of devices
separately from the telecom industry. Device wasn’t a concern once. But now
its no longer just a device,’ said one official.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Some of the industry players
think that implementation of 3G
in Bangladesh was perhaps a bit
late. They have cited examples
of Nepal and Myanmar. Nepal
has embraced 3G before
Bangladesh even though it was
much
more
difficult
to
implement it there because of
hilly terrain. ‘Pakistan has
launched 3G after Bangladesh.
Yet, they are already going for
LTE,’ said one official working
in the industry. After 3G, the
emergence of 4G and later
technologies would be more like
logical changes. But the change
from 2G to 3G was like a giant
leap forward. Industry people
think that after a proper
implementation of 3G in
Bangladesh, a further upgrade
would arrive much quicker than
many people may think.
3G has made the market even
more competitive. ‘During the
2G days, competition was in
voice calls only. Now data
services are within the realms of
competition,’ said one official.
‘Just imagine the day when 3G
was being promoted for the first
time. One of the operators said
‘3G’, another said ‘3.5G’, yet
another said ‘3.9G’. From the
very first day of 3G, the effort
was on to gain a competitive
advantage,’
said
another
official. Every single day, the
technology pages of newspapers
contain some sort of offers from
telecom
service
providers.
Previously, during the days of
2G, differentiation was created
only with price and usage offers,
but now along with price, offer
dynamisms have come up
strongly, as there is lesser strain
on net speed.Industry players
see even more competitiveness
in the market in the coming
days.
35
SPECIAL REPORT
Big ‘G’
There is a lot about technology
beyond its commercial feasibility.
It’s a global phenomenon that
cannot be ignored just because it
does not show itself well on
spreadsheets. The cost of lagging
behind would be a lot more than
implementing it. ‘If we remain only
feasibility-concerned,
then
our
country can never change,’ said one
official. The role of the government
here is the most crucial. As they are
the ones who need to think where
they want technology to play its role
for the overall development of the
country.They need to decide how
many sectors they want covered by
technology. As long as the
government does not get involved,
the real impact of technology would
remain behind curtains.
Licensing and renewals are some of
the big decisions in the mobile
industry. In fact, these are so big with
such investment requirements, that
these are not even in the realms of the
local representatives of the telecom
36
operators. These investment decisions
are discussed by the group-level
representatives of the companies.
They
maintain
contact
with
government representatives, that is,
Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory
Commission (BTRC). Upgrading to the
next level of technology would require
operators to understand the required
amount of investment, the readiness
of the market to adopt new technology
and their willingness to pay for it, the
possible impact on revenue streams,
etc. Companies need to develop
products based on the next level of
technology that would help people in
their day to day lives, thereby giving
them value and generating revenue
for the companies. And ultimately
how much the people would pay for
the services and whether that would
be enough to cover the cost of
investment, would indicate towards
the justification of the promotion to
the next level.
Industry concerned say that the cost
increase between 2G and 3G was not
that much, which means the
industry had benefited from cost
point of view, which ultimately
helped the consumers. ‘You can
compare the cost of services before
and after 3G. The operators have
provided the services almost at the
rate of 2G. I doubt how many
countries in the world provide 3G
services at this cost. And in terms of
voice call rate, we are already the
cheapest country in the world,’ said
one official. He thinks that the local
regulatory bodies did a good job.
They have helped a healthy
competition in the market. He thinks
that if the regulators relax some of
the rules and reduce licensing fees
somewhat, the end users would be
able to avail the services at a
cheaper rate. Operators would also
want the lowest cost on their part,
as that increases profit for the
companies and the companies are
here to do business.But probably the
regulators have done their own
calculations and have also thought
about the country. He does not think
that the regulators would do
something that would go against the
interests of the country.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
SPECIAL REPORT
No Promise for
Jobseekers
The impact of 3G on employment in
the telecom sector was not huge, as
stated by industry officials. They
think that the maturity of the
industry had more to do with the
lesser number of new recruitment
happening in the sector. A young
industry needs people of all types,
while a mature industry goes on
developing experienced people.
‘There was a time when huge
recruitment happened in the sector.
But this is a highly automated sector
where relatively less technical staff
are required. Because of market
saturation, industry players have
looked towards more automation,
which probably had an impact on
the job market. But this has nothing
to do with 3G, which was
implemented
through
capacity
building of the existing pool of
human resources,’ said one official.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Success-Failure
From the operators’ perspective, it
would require a long study to
understand the impact of 3G on the
companies’ business and financial
statements. Today, it is also not
possible to calculate the exact
impact of the services on the society,
as this would require a much longer
time to reveal. It is very easy for
someone for downplay the impact of
a high-tech mobile phone with a
high-speed connection as it is only
going to provide small benefits in
day to day life. But the collective
impact of these small benefits would
be huge in the coming days. The
impact of 3G on the education
system cannot be measured in
financial terms. Availability of
information has helped education
and changed people’s viewpoint
overnight. The confidence of
individuals in reaching their aims
has increased significantly with the
availability of technology. These are
going to help as building blocks of
the society in the days to come.
The pace of change in this era of
technology is tremendous. As one of
the officials in the industry
mentioned, ‘If you thought about
something just six months back, its
already happening today.’ It is not
that we have to invent new kinds of
services all the time. Sometimes, it
is even possible to import and idea
from another country and simply try
it out in this market. Copying ideas
are much easier today because the
platform
can
support
the
implementation of the ideas.
According
to
the
operators,
regulators are already thinking
about 4G, and it can arrive any time
soon enough. It all now depends on
the assessment of the regulators.
37
Photo: Ashraf Apu
FESTIVITY
FLOWERS
AND SPECIAL DAYS
Business thrives thrice in Spring
Photo: Ashraf Apu
By Rezvi Newaz
38
It is growing and growing without much notice in a crowded city of Dhaka, the central
point of many activities in Bangladesh. The business with flowers is turning into an
industry with a lot of promises for domestic market and for exports.
And the month of February has a tremendous role in helping the flower industry to
flourish. The Pahela Falgun (the beginning of the spring), the Valentine’s Day and the
International Mother Language Day on February 21 are the days in February that sees
jump in sales of flower, especially windfall profit made by sellers.
On February 9, 2015, a boy was selling a stick of flower for Tk 15 in front of DCC market
in Gulshan. ‘I will charge Tk 80 for this piece on the Valentine’s Day,’ he said with a
broad smile on his face, when we asked him about the prospect of sales on special
days.
Shahbag has emerged as major hub of flower trading – both wholesale and retail – in
view of its proximity with Dhaka University campus, central Shaheed Minar and
banking on the higher demand for flower on special days. Khamarbari is another point
of wholesale trading with flower and foliage. Thousands of people are involved in the
value chain.
Bangladeshi people started showing respect to the valiant sons of the soil who
sacrificed their lives for the cause of mother language in 1952 with flowers and never
stopped afterwards. Thousands of mourners came in processions with wreaths to offer
them at the altar of the Shaheed Minar (the monument for martyrs) at zero hour and
afterwards on February 21.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
FESTIVITY
round the year but they always
target the special days like 31
December, Valentine’s Day, national
days and the religious festivals and
important
days.
The
annual
turnover of the flower industry is no
less than Tk 500 crore, according to
Mr Rahim.
His farmland is in Godkhali, the
country’s flower hub located in
Jessore. Flowers are grown in some
other pockets such as Birulia of
Savar in Dhaka. Flower cultivation
is now being extended to hilly
districts of Chittagong and Cox’s
Bazar. Altogether the floriculture is
extended to at least 20 districts as
commercial basis.
I had the opportunity to see a local
wholesale market in Godkhali last
year two days before the Valentine’s
Day, when US ambassador Dan
Mozena visited Godkhali and
Panisara
of
Jhikorgachha.
Thousands of acres of land are used
for flower cultivation. In the early
morning, hundreds of people were
seen carrying flowers from the
nearby villages. Wholesalers collect
flowers and foliage from the
farmers, and they load them on
trucks to be send to Dhaka and some
other destinations all over the
country.
Ambassador
Mozena
promised that the US government
would help build a specialised cold
storage in Godkhali in the coming
days.
However, when asked, Sher Ali, the
pioneer of floriculture in Jessore and
founder president of Godkhali
Flower Cultivators and Flower
Traders Welfare Samity, said they
were yet to know any development
regarding the cold storage. He
expressed confidence that Godkhali
would make Bangladesh proud of its
achievement.
The flower trade has changed the
fortune of Towhidul Islam who has
been in the trade for 15 years. From
a mediocre start he became a
wholesaler in Khamarbari. Currently
his average profit margin is 40-50%.
Fates of many like him are related
with the Valentine's Day and other
important days that could be used
for promotion of flower industry in
Bangladesh.
Photo: Ashraf Apu
In recent decades, the people started
cerebrating Pahela Falgun, if not like
Pahela Baishakh, but in the manner
that shows its own festivity with
colourful flowers being used by
women and bouquet and flower
sticks presented to dear ones. The
decoration with flowers increases its
business.
However, the biggest charm of the
month February to the youths is
February 14 or the Valentine’s Day.
Young people take great enthusiasm
to present flowers to their loved
ones. This celebration is a recent
introduction in this part of the world
and getting popularity day by day.
A large quantity of flowers is made
available in the market across the
country for a brisk business. The
flowers of high demand on the
Valentine's Day are rose, gladiolus,
gerbera and tuberose. The president
of Bangladesh Flower Society Mr
Abdur Rahim told ICE Business
Times that on the two days (Pahela
Falgun and Valentine’s Day) flower
trade increased manifold compared
to normal days.
Traders say they produce flowers
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
39
Photo: M Ponir Hossain
FESTIVITY
What else is in the
offering?
The run up to Pohela Falgun and
Valentine’s Day is filled with all things
mushy, red and heart-shaped. As
nothing sells better than emotions,
V-Day has also become a booming
business. But in an age where
e-versions of everything is preferred,
we wondered if gift stores across the
city have been clocking in the same
sales. The result, curiously, is that
these special days, especially
Valentine’s Day, sell better and bigger.
A walk in to any of the many novelty
stores across the city sees them
covered in a blanket of red. From
velvet-covered props to cushions to
wall hangings to heart-shaped
confetti, stores cater to the
imaginative minds of the besotted
and love-struck.
Teddy bears, the poster animal for
cute and cuddly, come in a variety of
merchandise
–
snowglobes,
keepsakes, key chains, greeting
cards, etc. With advertisements
centred around celebrating the day
40
and a miscellany of deals and
packages for people looking for a
getaway, the focus on February 14
has been rather intensive over the
past few years.
Says Mahbubul Alam, a 25-year old
software employee, “For Valentine’s
Day, we buy stuff like photo frames,
mugs with messages written on
them, etc. It’s like a memory to
celebrate love and what we have.
Sometimes you cannot express your
feelings by yourself, so we gift each
other to celebrate love. Which is
what makes shopping at these
stores pretty cool.”
Considering that we’re still a
country that’s nascent to online
retail, it also probably explains
why gift shopping has definitely
not seen a decline, feels Asif Ali, a
manager of Hallmark’s at New
Market for the past 10 years.
“There has never been a decrease.
In fact, the number of cards sold
goes up during the week preceding
Valentine’s Day. The musical cards
are the most popular cards right
now,” he shares.
For many, the gesture of gifting also
stems from the watching their
favourite stars do so on the big
screen. From shots of them shopping
at stores like Archies, to dramatic
dialogues inspired from love tokens,
Asif says stores can thank film
culture for their sales. “I feel it is
okay to give cute things that express
your love, and one certainly does not
need a particular day for it. But
these days, it’s like a ritual where
people give gifts because others are
doing so or they find it interesting
when celebrities do it on television
or in films.’
Greeting card companies actually
have teams of copywriters dedicated
to writing these awww... inspiring
messages.
Over
years,
these
companies have managed to stay in
touch with these rapidly changing
trends. Plus the art of 3D
presentation seems to beat the
digital any day. From pop-up cards
to scented cards to musical cards, an
e-card slightly fades in comparison,
making physical store owners quite
the happy lot.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
CORPORATE GROOMING
Flowery
CONTENT
Why floral perfumes
are best for spring
season
My Burberry
Versace bright
Crystal Absolu
Balmain Extatic
Intense Gold Edition
Dolce &
Gabbana Dolce
ICE BusinessTimes
Gucci Flora
Garden Collection
April 2015
Boucheron Place
Vendome Elixir
Especially Escada Elixir
Probably the most popular fragrance
category, floral perfumes aren’t just for
young girls or grannies. Most floral scents
will be romantic and feminine, but
depending on the ingredients they can be soft
(subtle whiffs and powdery notes), fresh (like
newly cut flowers) or intense (with hints of fruit
and sweet spices). Common floral notes include
jasmine, rose, gardenia, and iris. A floral fragrance
can either smell like a mixed bouquet or a single
scent, and is a great way to inject a bit of summer
sunshine into your day.
If you like your fragrances floral then you're in good
company. Floral fragrances are by far the most popular
perfume category and one of the first perfume
categories to have been created. Feminine, sensual and
fresh, floral fragrances are the best beauty shortcut to
feeling super summery. With spring currently in the
offing and summer on the horizon we've got to thinking
about the best floral fragrances for the season ahead.
From complex blends of various flowers to single flower
fragrances, there's sure to be a floral fragrance for you.
The great thing about the scents below is that these are
not too flowery or sweet to overbear your senses, as
they contain the perfect balance of aromas to keep
everyone asking what you are wearing. The perfect
mixes, normally the hardest to find, are the ones that
breathe life back into your skin and endure your
various activities throughout your busy day. We will
take a look at the 7 best floral perfumes for women and
see if your favorites made the list.
The following floral perfumes can be found at
Perfume World. Available at 10 branches in
Bangladesh, they are the best perfumes you can gift
your loved ones, be it Pohela Boishakh or any other
spring/summer occasion. Go and take a breath. See if
they enchant your senses or not.
41
INSIDE OUT
The tale of a local
corporate brand and
how it transformed
itself with the needs
of today’s market
By Wafiur Rahman
CHANGING WITH TIMES:
THE FUTURE IS
BRIGHT
P
42
People do many things to shape their
future. As it is unpredictable, it is best
to embrace it, cultivate what is
forthcoming (all while releasing your
trepidation), preparing yourself for
hurdles, challenging yourself and all
the other necessary motivational tools
needed to succeed. That is the
inspiration
that
drove
the
transformational success story of
Super Star Group Ltd (SSG). This is
merely not fancy words that they used
on their annual calendar, but
something that they adhere to
professionally as well. As Aftab
Mahmud Khurshid, Group CMO and
Head of Business Development at SSG
rightfully points out, ‘a calendar
portrays your corporate identity.’
For a company that has been in
business for more than 20 years, SSG
has been through a lot. In order to
change with the needs of time, they
have gone through a process of
revamping themselves and reach for
the next level. ‘It was a timely
decision by the management,’ says
Aftab, ‘‘In order for SSG to transform
itself to a corporate brand, it needed a
facelift,’ Aftab surmised. ‘That is why
we changed our vision, mission and
values. As a contemporary corporate
brand to live with; we need to
emphasize on one voice philosophy in
all our communications. As long as all
this is instilled through our
employees,
our
products,
our
customers and our communications, it
will be possible for us to stick to our
brand promise consistently. To
communicate visually, verbally and
virtually we follow a single brand
strategy in all our actions as a modern
company to make our future better
and brighter in all aspects. This is also
vital to develop our image and help us
to become a good corporate citizen.
We need to remember that our brand
is our culture and our culture will
shape our future.’
Despite their sustained foothold in the
market, Aftab was modest about SSG’s
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
INSIDE OUT
new initiatives. ‘We are very new
here, with a new marketing
division,’ he said, ‘but new
additions add new values to
everything. Local companies, as we
have
seen,
are
mostly
sales-oriented, not focusing on
quality management, proper HR or
proper policy/procedures. The total
corporate mindset is still missing
among local companies, which is
necessary to run professionally.’
But Aftab also has solutions right
up his sleeves. ‘In order to overcome
this, we have to maintain our future
growth potential. Critical success
factors include hiring good people,
allowing them to work properly and
professionally. Most importantly,
patience is needed to prosper.
Nothing changes overnight. Quality
product, people and service will
always result in automatic growth.
As long as there is support from top
management, who have strategic
positive
thinking.
Professional
decentralisation is also a must.
Sadly, most companies are still
‘one-man shows’. This needs to be
changed. Authority needs to be
delegated.’
He also pinpointed on the areas
where local companies are lagging
behind,
in
terms
of
communications. ‘We are lagging
behind time. Most of our companies
think that advertising and public
relations can conduct branding. But
these two elements are meager
attributes for brand communication.
A more holistic approach is needed.
It should not be confined to just
advertising.
Rather,
creative
communication and cross-selling
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
concept is a must, with an
Omni-channel media strategy. As
times are changing, coordination
between marketing and digital/cyber
marketing is also integral to a
company’s marketing success. I
believe that brand marketing is a
continuous creative engineering and
strategic business science.’
Given his extensive experience in
the world of branding and
marketing, Aftab holds words of
wisdom for the next generation
corporates and entrepreneurs. ‘They
have to think about strategy and
planning appropriately. The pace
should be fast, otherwise we will lag
behind modern countries even more.
They can effectively use the media
to their advantage, whereas we still
cannot. This is the era of
information marketing, so the
proper blending of quality product,
innovation and marketing is
essential for success. It is another
misconception here that marketing
is cost, but both marketing and
innovation
are
long
term
investments. If you have a good
product, sales revenue is the last
part of marketing. Extensive
research and development are keys
to success in innovation. Only
through proper marketing can you
earn revenue, secure businesses,
step ahead of the competition.
Otherwise you will be out of sight
and further out of the mind of the
customers. Sales alone cannot
propel that drive.’
‘Brand marketing is chemistry
between intuition and market
information, where sometimes you
have to follow your gut feelings.
People should consider marketing
insight for taking decisions. Based
on that, the right segment for the
right product can be identified and
eventually your future will be
bright.’
The vision of SSG is to be the most
contemporary conglomerate locally
and globally. Their mission is to
provide innovative products and
solutions that offer customers
delight. Their values are being bold,
responsive,
innovative,
global,
human, tech-savvy and bright.
‘Because we believe our future is
bright,’ Aftab adds. ‘As per our
vision, we will be a local
conglomerate with a foothold in the
global marketplace. Our plans for
expansion are underway. If you
follow our logo, it indicates that our
future is on the way up.’
43
MONEY PLAN
RESPITE IN
THE MIDST OF TURMOIL
FDI holds the promise of a brighter future
Increasing global integration and
trade
internationalisation
are
economic
trends
certain
to
characterise the world economy to
an even greater degree in the future.
Bangladesh is well-positioned to
take advantage of these trends,
including in attracting foreign direct
investment (FDI).
FDI involves capital provided by a
foreign investor, either directly or
through a related enterprise, where
the investor is directly involved in
44
the management of the established
enterprise.
For
a
developing
economy in transition from an
agricultural to a more modern base,
such as the Bangladeshi economy,
FDI offers considerable scope to
strengthen
domestic
economic
conditions to the benefit of the
country and betterment of its people.
Recognising its benefits, many
countries offer FDI incentives
including tax concessions, tax
holidays, accelerated depreciation
on plants and machinery, export
subsidies and import entitlements.
Such strategies, including the
establishment of special economic
zones and lucrative incentive
packages, are likewise important for
Bangladesh.
FDI can have a positive impact in
several ways. It enables the building
up of physical capital, creates
employment
opportunities
and
develops production capacity. FDI
enhances local labour skills through
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
MONEY PLAN
technology
transfer
and
management knowhow. In turn, the
domestic economy becomes better
able to integrate globally to take
advantage of emerging economic
opportunities at the international
level.
In addition, as unemployed people
gain employment due to FDI, the
standard of living increases along
with purchasing power, providing
impetus for the business cycle to
move
faster.
This
gain
is
compounded by the development of
local support industries and
institutions.
Simultaneously,
transport
facilities
and
infrastructure,
communications
systems and education stand to
benefit. Increased competition in the
local market meanwhile can reduce
the price of commodities, as gross
domestic product rises.
In recent years Bangladesh has
experienced a surge in FDI. Foreign
investors
were
attracted
by
abundant resources, skilled and
cheap labour, effective monetary
and fiscal policy, infrastructure
improvements
and
long-term
strategic planning. From an FDI
inflow of $0.7 billion in 2009,
effective government policy has
encouraged FDI inflow to rise to
$1.6 billion in 2013. The key areas
of activity in attracting FDI have
included trade and exchange rate
liberalisation, current account
convertibility and an emphasis on
private sector-led development.
The infrastructure and services
sectors have been opened to
private investment, domestic and
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
foreign alike. It is foreseeable that
with the more open trade policy
associated with the presence of
foreign firms, the Bangladeshi
economy stands to experience
broad
technological
and
productivity gains.
It is envisaged that the private
sector will play an increasingly
active role in infrastructure and
human
resource
development
programmes. With this goal in mind,
government policy reforms in recent
years have endeavoured to create a
more open and competitive climate
for both foreign and domestic
investors. The Board of Investment
(BoI) has an important role in
creating a favourable investment
climate. Established in 1989 with a
mandate to encourage investment in
the
private
sector,
identify
hindrances to investment and
provide necessary facility and
assistance in the establishment of
industrial units, the BoI offers
investors a wide range of services
including
promotion,
support,
advice and aftercare.
Coupled with the activities of the
BoI, generous private investment
opportunities
under
the
government's liberalised industrial
policy
and
export-oriented,
private-sector-led economic growth
strategy have strengthened ties with
developed countries. It can yield cost
advantages in the form of the
positive externalities resulting from
technology transfer. Recent growth
experience,
meanwhile,
has
validated the decision to pursue
higher
national
education
expenditure in order to make the
domestic
labour
force
more
competitive. This strategy has in
turn substantially increased the
number of potential investors and
source of investments in key sectors,
including
manufacturing,
telecommunication, energy and gas.
FDI is fast becoming a significant
source of financing for domestic
investment in Bangladesh. To
maintain competitive strength in
attracting FDI, it is important to
continue to promote the country's
natural economic assets including
its strategic geographic location
with respect to global trade, its
convenient access to international
sea and air routes and its low-cost
workforce. In addition, domestic
purchasing power for FDI products
in a country of 160 million people is
not negligible.
Under
continued
careful
management and encouragement,
Bangladesh
stands
to
gain
substantially from FDI in the years
to come. With the benchmark
strategies in place, there is little
reason
to
doubt
that
FDI
performance in contributing to
national development will be very
satisfactory.
45
MANAGEMENT
EGALITARIAN
FOR ALL
W
46
Employees in creative roles deserve
strong managers as well
What if the nature of the employee's job is to be creative and innovative? This
requires that an employee be willing to take risks and make mistakes. Should you
still manage that employee closely? Should you still tell him what to do and how
to do it? Should you still monitor, measure and document? Won't that inhibit the
employee's creativity and innovation? Won't that make the employee less likely to
take the necessary risks and make the necessary mistakes?
First, don't conflate reinventing the wheel with innovation. The wheel has already
been invented. You do nobody any favors by keeping them in the dark about it.
Real innovation builds on what has already been invented. Real innovation takes
the next step. So if you want to promote innovation, you need to make sure the
employee understands the state of the art. Spell out all that has already been
invented, so the employee has real stepping-stones from which to launch.
Second, if the employee's job is to be creative, the biggest favor you can do
for that employee is be very clear about what is not within the
employee's discretion. Spell out all the guidelines and
specifications. Make it clear that any creativity must occur
within those parameters.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
MANAGEMENT
What if you want the employee to be
creative in the most freeform way?
You don't want to hold the employee
back in any way? No guidelines. No
parameters. Really? That's a very
rare assignment. Like... Jackson
Pollock rare.
But maybe you have that very rare
assignment. OK. Is there a time
limit? Or will you pay the employee
to brainstorm ad infinitum? How
will you know when the employee is
‘done’? How will you recognize a
finished ‘result’?
Third, if you want an employee to
feel free to take risks and make
mistakes, then what you need to do
is spell that out as a concrete
assignment: ‘I want you to go take
risks and make mistakes.’ Maybe
you need to tell the employee how
many risks to take and how many
mistakes. Maybe not. But you have
to find a way to create a space in
which risk taking and mistakes are
safe---maybe a padded room. And
you have to find a way to create a
timeframe. And if you want to be
kind, you should find a way to
define some parameters.
What some firms do, when creativity
and innovation are real business
drivers, is they define a percentage
of time and set it aside for creativity.
Let's say 20%. They tell people, ‘We
want you to use 20% of your time on
projects that are not your official
tasks and responsibilities... Use that
time to pursue your own creative
projects.’ That kind of allowance
usually comes with a caveat, ‘By the
way, whatever you invent during
that time is our property.’ Or if they
are very smart, ‘Whatever you
invent during that time is 75% our
property.’ Of course, some people
will use that time to invent. Others
won't.
Fourth,
there
are
numerous
management tools designed to get
employees to take risks, make
mistakes, be creative, and innovate.
Maybe you pose a set of questions?
Or challenges? Fill a room with toys.
Or finger paint. Or clay. Or music.
Incense? You get the idea.
Fifth, what most managers do with
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
‘creatives’ working on a creative
assignment is they provide rough
guidelines for a rough draft. They
set a deadline for a rough draft.
Then they let the creatives do their
thing. Once the manager has a
rough draft, the manager works with
the creative employee(s) to come up
with a plan for moving the rough
draft to a final draft.
Here's a corollary of the managing
creativity question: Sometimes a
manager
doesn't
have
clear
expectations---a clear goal with
clear
guidelines---just
yet.
Sometimes a manager doesn't know,
at the outset of a project exactly
what success will look like. The
manager doesn't know what she is
looking for... yet. Maybe this is a
project
of
first
impression.
Sometimes the manager needs an
employee to ‘take a crack at it’ so the
manager has something to look at.
Then the manager has a better idea
of what the final product should be.
This is a case where managers end
up using employees to work out the
early stages of the manager's own
creative process. Sometimes this can
be very frustrating for the employee
because the employee works hard on
a project that feels very creative only
to have the manager send the
employee back to the drawing board
several times until the manager
finally takes over the project and
totally reworks it. The employee
feels like all of his own work has
been for nothing and/or the manager
has hijacked the project. What is a
manager to do in this situation?
Be very clear and very honest with
the employee from the outset of the
assignment. Explain to the employee
that you don't have a clear goal with
clear guidelines: ‘I don't know what
success will look like. I don't know
what I'm looking for. What I really
need is for you to 'take a crack at it'
so I have something to look at. Let
me be clear. This is really my project
and I'm asking you to help me
jump-start my own creative process. I
am really asking you to come up with
a very rough draft. I will probably
send you back to the drawing board
several times. Then at some point I'll
take over the project and totally
rework it. This is still a very
important project to me. This
assignment is very important and
very difficult. Do you think you are up
for it?’ By saying this, you are
spelling out your expectations as best
you can. If there are parameters you
do know about, try to articulate them.
And don't forget to attach a deadline
on the first very rough draft... and
every time you send the employee
back to the drawing board.
47
MANPOWER
THE
NEED
FOR
MORE
Skilled human resources
is the need of the hour,
experts suggest
Management experts and corporate personalities
have stressed on need-based education system in
Bangladesh to build up skilled human resource in
the country to face challenges posed by business
houses. ‘Over the last two decades, the definitive
term ‘industrial relations’ itself has evolved in
‘employee relations’, and hence ‘workplace
relations’,’ said Peter Wilson, Chairman of the
Australian Human Resource Institute, while
delivering key note address at the 4th International
Conference of Bangladesh Society for Human
Resources
Management
(BSHRM)
at
the
48
Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC),
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the city recently.
Chaired by Prof Anwar Hossain, Vice Chancellor of the South
East University, among others, Md Noor Ali, Managing Director
of Unique Group, Md Jalalul Azim, Managing Director of Pragati
Life Insurance, Prof MA Rashid, CEO of Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital
and Research Institute, and Mehbubur Rehman, Founder
president of BSHRM took part in the session. ‘Industrial
relations is still used as a sub-descriptor within the modern field
of workplace relations. From the perspective of the human
resources profession, ‘industrial relations’ relates to legislative
practice issues with industrial employment laws,’ he added.
‘The various components of development — health, education,
environment, employment, manpower development, and
science and technology — are not new. What is new is their
combination in a unified approach to development policy
making and planning that focuses on the role of human beings
as both a critical input to and the ultimate beneficiaries of, the
development process,’ Wilson elaborated. Md Noor Ali said in
Bangladesh, development programmes touch on virtually all
aspects of human resource development, but the integrated
approach has not yet been generally adopted. ‘There has been a
tendency to emphasise either economic considerationsdominated or social welfare-dominated strategy. But what is
needed is a human capital approach or the human needs
approach.’
He said human resources division of any corporate house is the
hearth of business that helps maintain coordination among
different section of the organisation. So, there is no alternative
to building up leadership among the human resources division,
he added. Prof MA Rashid said human resource development is
dealt with sectorally in separate sections of national planning
documents and typically implemented by several agencies.
A central goal of development should be there to effect an
equitable distribution of human resources development
opportunities and benefits, he said adding, ‘At the same time,
priority should be given to those population groups which could
benefit most from such opportunities by virtue of either the
urgency of their needs or their ability to put them to best use,
not only for themselves but for the development of priority
sectors.’
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
ACADEMIA
CONCEPT IS
THE KEY
Mutual Trust Bank NSU Yes!
Presents Masters of
Ideation 2015
Photo: Titu Zakaria
Mutual Trust Bank presents Masters
of Ideation 2015 – the battle for
supremacy, organized by North
South
University
Young
Entrepreneurs Society (NSU YES!),
has completed its third season this
year with its recently held grand
finale.
Success
for
this
inter-university competition was
already in the bag and NSU YES! has
once again organized their major
event without any major setbacks.
Masters
of
Ideation
is
an
inter-university business strategy
based case solving competition
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
where competitors from different
university nationwide compete
against each other. 48 teams from
different university participated out
of which 1 team with their extreme
talent, utmost dedication and hard
work won the title of ‘Master of
Ideation’ along with prize money of
BDT 1, 35,000. The champion team
not only won the title and the
biggest prize money ever offered in
any inter-university competition,
but were also offered internship
from Masters of Ideation’s strategic
partner, Reckitt Benkiser. The first
runner up and second runner up
received a prize money of BDT
85,000 and BDT 60,000 respectively
and were also offered an internship
from Mutual Trust Bank.
NSU
YES!
has
successfully
organized their signature event and
now they are all set to organize their
next major events Ad Maker
Bangladesh and NSUers Meet
Corporate
Icons.
Ad
maker
Bangladesh, initiated back in 2009,
is the biggest and the most
prestigious
inter-university
competition. Ad Maker Bangladesh
49
ACADEMIA
is a television commercial and
integrated marketing campaign
making competition where students
from different universities show
their talent of marketing to the
entire nation.
Another in-house event of NSU YES!
Is NSUers Meet Corporate Icons.
NSUers Meet Corporate Icons is an
event only for North South
University students where they get
the rare opportunity and privilege to
meet the corporate icons from
different business fields. Corporate
icons take some time out from their
busy schedule and conduct a
seminar
inside
North
South
University to enlighten North South
University’s students about the
corporate world. They share their
experiences and struggles that they
have faced in their field and tells the
students how to survive is this
extremely competitive corporate
world. NSUers Meet Corporate Icons
is an exclusive event again
organized my NSU YES! as this
event provides an opportunity for
the students to know about the
corporate world beforehand.
This year’s Masters of Ideation
started off with 36 teams in the
first round. The First round,
comprised of solving a business
case, tested the contestants for
basic Case analysis abilities and
perceptual capabilities.
In the Second round, the teams
faced an even more complex case
that tested their in-depth analytical
abilities and critical thinking
abilities. Teams were hard pushed to
solve the overly complex case that
they faced in the second round. Of
the twenty teams that made it
through the second round, only
eight teams displayed the necessary
skills to pass through round 2.
Round 3, the Ideation Round, had a
unique flavor in it, being the first of
its kind in Bangladesh. Here, the
qualifying eight teams faced the
challenge of applying all the
knowledge acquired in the previous
rounds, in a real-life situation. The
teams were given a simulated
market environment and given an
analysis of the market preferences.
Then, they were asked to design
their product based on the consumer
preferences and market pricing, after
which they had to sell it to the
consumers. This round presented
unique difficulties and challenges to
the participants, and was probably
the most entertaining round of the
season.
The Grand Finale of Masters of
Ideation 2015, organized by NSU
Young Entrepreneur’s Society (YES!)
was held on Monday, 2nd March
2015. The Final presentations
kicked off in style, with teams
hailing from reputed Universities
including Institute of Business
Administration (IBA), North South
University
(NSU),
Bangladesh
University of Professionals (BUP)
and Jahangirnagar University.
The Panel of Judges included reputed
personalities
from
renowned
Organizations. The panel of Judges
included Mr. Sami Al Hafiz (Mutual
Trust Bank), Saad Jashim (British
American Tobacco), Zaheen Islam
(Reckitt-Benckiser), and Shadman
Sadekin (Unilever Bangladesh).
They expressed their satisfaction
and content at having been able to
judge some of the brightest minds in
Photo: Titu Zakaria
50
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
ACADEMIA
the Undergraduate business arena.
The teams started off with their
presentations at 8 P.M., and
continued till 10:30 P.M. within this
span of time, the five teams faced off
in a stunning display of talent and
skill that cemented their worth of
being Finalists of one of the greatest
events of the Undergraduate
business arena.
Team Potter
Hailing from Institute of Business
Administration (IBA), Team Potter
Started the show-off with a brilliant
display of stunning slides, in-depth
knowledge
and
excellent
presentation skills. Among the
many interesting insights that they
provided into the matter, some of the
more notable ones were providing
an extensive seven- year strategy
aimed at capturing market share
and providing more extensive
recreational facilities such as
Surfing and tourist fishing.
Team Orkid
Although Team Orkid (hailing from
Jahangirnagar University) showed
great promise and talent, their lack
of experience became apparent
through their lack of confidence in
front of the judges. However, the
fact that they have been able to
reach the final round of Masters of
Ideation is proof of their talents
and potential. Surely, the business
arena will see more of this team in
the near future.
Arctic Cube
North South University has been
proud to produce many exceptional
teams in recent years. Arctic Cube
has earned the right to count
themselves among this esteemed list
of elites. Everything about this team
has been an absolute delight. Their
exemplary
presentation
skills
grabbed the judges’ attention from
the very start. They presented a
detailed insight into the case they
were presented with, leaving very
few loopholes for judges to
scrutinize. Not only that- their
presentation slides were simply
beautiful. The video that they
presented showcased exemplary
amounts
of
creativity,
professionalism and IT skills.
Meraki
Hailing from Bangladesh University
of Professionals (BUP), team Meraki
consists of fresh undergraduates
seeking to make their mark in the
world of Undergraduate business
competitions. What stood out
among them was their unwavering
confidence in the face of intense
pressure, among other things. The
slides were simple and easy to
understand- just enough to make
their presentation all the more
interesting. It was evident from their
presentation that, they had put a lot
of thought and research into it. The
promo Ad that they designed had all
the markings of a true piece of art.
Meraki were also confident in
deterring all of the judges’
arguments, showing that they had
indeed come well prepared.
Wait for it
Institute of Business Administration
(IBA) is renowned all over the nation
for producing talent, and team ‘wait
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
for it’ is a glaring example of just
that. They had the perfect
combination
of
creativity,
professionalism, insight and skill to
take them through any obstacle that
presents itself, and that is precisely
what has made them one of the best
teams in this season of ‘Masters of
Ideation’. The way in which they
presented the case was simply a
beauty to behold- unflinching
confidence, excellent representation
of facts and aesthetically pleasing
presentation slides. By the end of
their session, nobody had any
doubts as to the fact that team ‘Wait
for it’ had definitely done their
homework. Their approach to the
problem was simplistic, effective
and had potentially far-reaching
implications without a doubt.
The top 5 teams faced off in the most
anticipated event of the year for the
title of ‘Master of Ideation’. After a
hard-fought battle of more than two
hours, the eminent judges- all from
reputed National and Multinational
Organizations- finally came to the
decision of which teams to name the
Winners (Team ‘Wait for It’ from
IBA), Runners Up (Team ‘Arctic Cube’
from NSU) and the Second Runners
Up (Team ‘Meraki’ from BUP).
Team ‘Wait for It’ consisted of
Ahmed Tashfiq Rafsan, Abreshmee
Adeeba Haque and Sami Tahsin.
Team ‘Arctic Cube’ consisted of Faria
Mowla, Md. Nakibur Rahman and
Safirul Karim.
Team ‘Meraki’ consisted of Rabita
Jahan
Priyota,
Shahnewaz
Mahmood and Rushnan Aritree
Arpa.
This event was presented by Mutual
Trust Bank, the Title sponsor for the
event. Reckitt Benckiser is the
strategic partner for this endeavor.
The English Print Media partner for
Masters of Ideation 2015 was ‘The
Daily Star’. The Bangla print Media
partner was ‘The Daily Ittefaq’,
Radio partner was ‘Radio Foorti’,
online
news
partner
was
‘bdnews24.com’, live broadcasting
partner was WebTV, study abroad
partner was TPNL, and the lifestyle
partner was ‘Amber Lifestyle’.
51
REBOUND
MAKING A
COMEBACK
7 resume strategies for the
long-term unemployed
While economic
recovery indicators like a
declining unemployment
rate are often celebrated,
they don’t show the whole
picture. For many
long-term unemployed,
finding a job becomes a
bleaker prospect the longer
they’re out of work. A
September 2014 report from
Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies (BIDS)
found that people who are
long-term unemployed
(defined as being without a
job for six months or more),
have a 20% to 40% lower
probability of being employed
one to two years in the future.
But as the economy adds more
jobs, that means more
opportunities for employment. If
you've been out of the office for
more than six months, you
should make some tweaks to your
resume to increase your chances.
52
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
REBOUND
If you’ve been out of work for a
while, create a small business,
suggests management consultant
John Paul Engel, founder of
Knowledge
Capital
Consulting.
Determine which of your skills and
expertise are salable to others and
market yourself for hire. You may do
consulting or sales work as an
independent contractor, for example.
‘You have to be truthful about the
work you’re doing, but this can help
bridge a gap and bring in some
income,’ he says.
volunteer work to show that you’ve
remained active in a work
environment. Also, use your time off
to improve your skills, learn new
technology, or get an industry
certification and document it on
your resume—even if your effort is
still a work-in-progress, suggests
career coach and resume writer
Cheryl E. Palmer.
‘Certifications have become very
common in many fields. Being able
to show that you have recent
training in your field can definitely
be a plus. It demonstrates that you
are staying current,’ Palmer says.
3. Skip the
chronological format
6. Customize your
resume for each job
Traditional resume formats that
present your experience based on
the chronological order of your jobs
can shine a white-hot spotlight on
the gaps. Quillen suggests a hybrid
resume that ditches clunky objective
statements and, instead, includes an
upfront summary of the job you’re
seeking with some bullet points that
highlight
key
strengths
and
accomplishments.
‘You might have nine or 10 bullet
points that really summarize who
you are and what your strengths
are—I’m an HR professional and
looking to do X, Y, and Z, and here
are my strengths—so that it takes
up about the top third of the resume,
then the rest is chronological,’ he
suggests.
Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all
resumes. Customizing your resume
is as easy as highlighting sections
and changing them, but few people
create tailored resumes for the jobs
they’re pursuing, he says. If you’re
going after a job in sales, think
about that company and that
specific job and highlight areas of
your past experience that are most
relevant, maybe reordering bullet
points or skills presentation to make
you the most perfect candidate you
can be, he says. A caveat: Multiple
versions and making changes
means you need to relentlessly
proofread
your
resume.
Grammatical errors and typos can
get you nixed pretty quickly, Quillen
adds.
4. Focus on Results
Not Tasks
7. Send it to everyone
you know
2. Create a job
1. Explain the absence
Instead of trying to hide a big gap on
your resume, explain it, says veteran
human resources director Daniel
Quillen, author of The Perfect
Resume. Either in your resume or on
your cover letter, address the fact
that you’ve had a large employment
gap and give it some context. This is
especially helpful if you left the
workforce to care for children or if
you were part of a large layoff.
‘That’s important because it helps
me understand that he or she wasn’t
laid off for performance. If they were
just in the wrong place at the wrong
time, or they were one of the last
ones in, so they were the first ones
out, that knowledge helps me erase
that gap as an issue,’ Quillen says.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Engel says you should scour your
resume
for
opportunities
to
‘eliminate the risk of hiring you.’
Each segment of your resume
should focus on the results you’ve
achieved for your employer. Too
many resumes focus on tasks, he
says. To stand out, focus on the
results you generated.
5. Show how you’ve
kept current
List contract, temporary or even
Once you have a good resume, send
it to everyone you know who might
be in a position to pass it along,
Quillen says. You might think that
everyone knows what you do or that
you’re out of work, but that’s often
not the case or they may not think of
referring you, he adds. Later, if a
contact uncovers a lead, you can
send an updated, customized
resume. But get the word out by
distributing your resume. You never
know from where a great job lead
can come, Quillen says.
53
ENVIRONMENT
GOING
GREEN
Bangladesh Bank plans
B
on making banking
sector paperless
Bangladesh Bank has planned
making the country’s banking sector
paperless, which will be a big step
forward
towards
green
transformation of the financial
sector. ‘We are committed to
implementing a full scale IT based
paperless banking operation in due
course,’ BB Governor Atiur Rahman
said, adding that a separate
department has been established at
the central bank to address the
green issues in a broader manner.
54
The
governor
made
the
announcement while launching the
Energy
Efficiency
Engagement
Event.
Observing
that
transforming
financial sector more eco-friendly is
indispensible for ensuring an
environmentally
sustainable
economic growth, he put green
banking at the front of the forecourt
of the agenda for large scale green
transformation and said - ‘No doubt,
green banking is a catalyst for green
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
ENVIRONMENT
‘This initiative reflects a clear
commitment of DANIDA and NCCI
activities towards green
transformation and green growth of
Bangladesh’
growth’. Atiur, who drove green
banking in the country banking
sector, appreciated Nordic Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (NCCI)
and
Danish
International
Development Agency (DANIDA) for
establishing the Energy Efficiency
secretariat in Bangladesh.
‘This initiative reflects a clear
commitment of DANIDA and NCCI
activities
towards
green
transformation and green growth of
Bangladesh,’ he said. The governor
also highlighted the different
initiatives of the central bank to
make the country’s banking and
eventually the financially sector
environmentally more responsible.
‘Bangladesh
Bank
has
been
providing a range of policy and
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
financing support to banks and FIs
(financial
institutions)
for
mainstreaming green banking into
the core banking practices. These
endeavors have been enhanced in
the last couple of years,’ the
governor said. He said so 47 green
products have been included in the
BB refinance scheme of which 23 are
green energy.
‘Shifting the investment from
fossil-fuel to green energy is the
only way for transforming economic
growth paths. Assessment of
environmental risks above the
threshold limit is a must,’ he
observed.
The governor said Bangladesh
maintained more than 6.0 per cent
real GDP growth over the last 10
years, which is poised to increase in
the years ahead. To continue this
growth momentum, it has been
estimated that energy consumption
should grow at the rate of at least 10
per cent. He said we understood
most of the lenders are not familiar
with Energy Efficiency Technology
and
approaches
and
require
technical support to appraise and
manage loans for Energy Efficiency
projects. ‘In this scenario, we do
expect the Energy Efficiency
secretariat will look into these
challenges for converting them into
opportunities which will indeed give
impetus
to
the
green
transformation, green growth of
Bangladesh economy,’ the governor
said.
Denmark Ambassador Hanne Fugl
Eskjaer, Head of Petroleum and
Mineral Resources and Engineering
Department, BUET Dr. Mohammad
Tamim, ABB Solutions in Energy
Efficiency Country Manager Rajarshi
Banerjee, Danida Senior Advisor
Stephan Skare Enevoldsen and NCCI
President Shamim Ul Huq also
spoke on the occasion.
55
GOING GREEN
NOT SO SUNNY
FOR NOW
Turmoil takes steam off solar
\power projects
56
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
GOING GREEN
T
The much-applauded solar power
programme took a hit in January due
to the ongoing political unrest, with
the installation of solar home
systems dropping by around 5
percent from the previous month.
Last month, some 44,302 units of
solar home systems were installed
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
across the country, down from
46,569 in December last year. The
installation is now on a decreasing
trend due to the disruption in supply
chain brought about by the non-stop
countrywide blockade from January
6, said Mahmood Malik, chief
executive
of
Infrastructure
Development Company Ltd. Idcol
provides grants and soft loans to
villagers through its 47 partners to
install the home systems in off-grid
areas.
Most partner organisations cannot
bring components of the units to
remote areas amid fear of arson and
vandalism of delivery vans, he said.
Besides, people in rural areas are
now less interested in buying such
units as the prolonged political
unrest has eroded their earnings,
said Munawar Misbah Moin,
managing director of Rahimafrooz
Renewable Energy Ltd. The company
takes the solar home systems to
rural areas under the Idcol
programme through Rural Services
Foundation,
a
non-profit
organisation of Rahimafrooz Group.
‘The worst thing is that the
installment overdue is substantially
increasing -- this will have a
negative impact going forward.’ The
ongoing political instability has
already
drained
consumer
confidence, said Ruhul Quddus, a
renewable energy analyst. ‘People,
especially in rural areas, are
struggling to meet their basic
necessities. So, they are reluctant to
spend money on non-basic items
like solar power.’
The import of low-quality and cheap
Chinese products by traders in old
Dhaka is another reason for the
decline in installation of Idcol's
home systems in recent times, he
said.
‘Many people are now buying solar
home
systems
from
Nawabpur-based traders in old
Dhaka as they are offering much
lower prices,’ Quddus added. As of
January, more than 3.49 million
units have been installed with
support from the World Bank and
other
development
partners,
according to Idcol, the implementing
agency.
As a result, around 20 million
people are benefitting from solar
electricity for lighting, watching TV,
charging mobile phones and using
other low-load appliances. The
programme for installing solar home
systems in Bangladesh has the
fastest penetration rate in the world,
according to WB.
Idcol started financing the home
systems in January 2003 with
support from WB and Global
Environment Facility. The initial
target was to finance 50,000 units
by June 2008, which was achieved
three years ahead of schedule and
with $2 million less than the
projected cost, it said. The next
target too was met ahead of
schedule, in June 2011, owing much
to the easy credit facility, subsidies,
technical support and quality
equipment. Idcol, the state-owned
non-bank financial institution, has
now set a target of financing six
million such systems by 2017.
Presently, 68 percent of the total
population (including renewable
energy) has access to electricity.
The per capita electricity generation is
348 kilowatt per hour, which is very
low compared to other developing
countries, according to the website of
the Power Division. To make electricity
available for all by 2021, the
government wants to enhance
electricity generation to 24,000MW,
10 percent of which would come from
renewable energy.
57
INNOVATION
ONE STEP
AT A
TIME
B
Bangladesh inks deal
with CERN to boost science,
technology
Bangladesh has moved one major
step closer towards the advanced
science and technology through
signing
an
international
co-operation agreement with CERN,
the European organisation for
nuclear research, in Geneva.
M Shameem Ahsan, ambassador
and Permanent Representative of
Bangladesh in Geneva, Switzerland
signed
the
instrument
of
cooperation on behalf of Bangladesh
government with Dr Rolf Heuer,
director general of CERN, according
to a press release of External
Publicity Wing of Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Dhaka.
Since the ‘Vision 2021’ of Prime
Minister Sheikh
Hasina had
articulated the aspirations of her
government for advancement in the
field of science and technology for
the benefit of the people, this
58
cooperation with CERN was yet
another milestone towards that
goal, the ambassador stated at the
time of signing the deal.
The director general of CERN also
remembered his recent successful
visit to Bangladesh and praised the
efforts
of
the
Bangladesh
government for taking the benefits
of science and technology to the
doorstep of the people.
He assured the support of CERN in
this effort and hoped that the
teachers, students and researchers
of Bangladesh would be immensely
benefited
from
this
formal
cooperation.
CERN will conduct a high-level short
school on advanced particle and
quantum
physics
at
Dhaka
University from 15 to 18 December
2014. Eminent professors from
CERN, Belgium and India will be
conducting the lessons.
As the pioneering institute for
research of fundamental physics in
the world, CERN has recently
attracted the global attention for its
discovery of Higg’s Boson - the
‘God’s Particle’. CERN- the largest
research laboratory in the world and
the center of excellence for research
in fundamental and quantum
physics, has the long tradition of
establishing
international
co-operation in research and
training and promoting contacts
among scientists and professionals
and
interchange
with
other
laboratories and institutes around
the world. It also offers advanced
training
for
researchers
and
professionals of different countries.
For the countries like Bangladesh,
CERN
provides
the
unique
opportunity for the much needed
technology transfer, education and
training
for
the
researchers,
scholars, academics and students.
Most importantly, CERN offers
different programs for students and
researchers
from
developing
countries in the form of internship,
summer and other specialised
schools which are open to all.
Cooperation between Bangladesh
and CERN will facilitate opportunity
of research in experimental and
theoretical particle physics and
related aspects of technologies for
particle
accelerators,
particle
detectors
and
information
technology.
Inventions
and
discoveries of CERN are playing a
major role in the fight against
deadly diseases like cancer.
Bangladesh will be greatly benefited
from this cooperation with CERN
especially
the
universities,
institutes,
organisations,
academics, professionals and the
students of Bangladesh will have
much to gain. And, it’s expected that
the institutions and individuals will
take initiatives to achieve their own
excellence through this newly
created opportunity.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
STARTUP
BUILDING A
BUSINESS FROM
GOOGLE GLASS
A
How Augmedix can
change the face
of Health IT
Augmedix was part of the Innovation Showcase
at the Innovation Xtreme event hosted by
Startup Dhaka. SD Asia knew about Augmedix
and what the company was doing for some time
and finally got in touch with the founder and
CEO of Augmedix Ian Shakil. Augmedix
currently makes a Google Glass App that allows
doctors to take care of their documentation
more efficiently and focus more on their
patients.
What is Augmedix? What does
the company do?
We are working to tackle the biggest pain point
in all of healthcare right now. There’s a fact that
doctors spend a third or more of their day typing
away on the computer, on their electronic health
records. And not do what they were taught at
med school to do, which is carry health records
right in front of them. Doctors hate having to
turn their backs and feed the beast, as I say.
And patients don’t like it either when they look
at the doctor’s back. The system finds this to be
a very painful problem from an efficiency
standpoint. Augmedix steps in and resolves this
problem. When doctors wear Google Glass and
use our service. Doctors don’t spend a third of
their day in front of the computer anymore, they
spend closer to 1% of a day.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
59
STARTUP
What is your
background?
My background was originally in
biomedical engineering and medical
devices. Right out of undergrad, I
worked at a company called
Edwards Life sciences for a good
four years in various engineering
and business roles. I left industry to
go get my MBA at Stanford. This
was a really fateful decision for me.
At Stanford, I met my co-founder
Pelu and several other folks who
ended up coming to work for us here
at Augmedix. When I graduated
from Stanford back in 2012, I
started working in startups. I
worked at this very cool wearable
company called MC10.
I was really happy and I thought
that’s what I was going to do. But a
60
googler let me try on a very early
prototype of Google Glass. The
experience really blew my mind and
I saw so many opportunities in the
world of healthcare with the glass.
Being that I’ve been in healthcare
for so many years that I decided
‘Hey, this is amazing. I got this once
in a lifetime opportunity. I’m going
to drop everything and leave my job
at MC10.’ That’s how I started
Augmedix. Soon after Pelu, who I
met at Stanford where he was a
medical student, decided to join me,
we founded Augmedix in late 2012.
How does the app
work?
We’re able to take the audio-visual
stream from the doctor’s perspective.
From the conversation between a
doctor and a patient, structured data
is extracted to populate the electronic
health record in real time so the doctor
doesn’t have to do it himself. We’re
also able to serve the doctor
information on demand. So the doctor
can say his queries out loud and the
information is shown on the heads-up
display. He doesn’t have to fetch and
distract himself to look that up.
You studied and
worked in the US. How
come the company set
up an office in
Bangladesh?
I’m Bangladeshi. I’m actually half
Bangladeshi
and
half
Irish-American. I have a whole
bunch of family back in Bangladesh.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
STARTUP
I’ve always thought in my career I
would be mostly based in the US and
coming back to Bangladesh to visit.
I never thought I’d actually be doing
business in Bangladesh. But
through a series of luck and
coincidences, we’re now definitely
doing business in Bangladesh.
Almost half of our employees of the
nearly 100 employees we have are
based in our Dhaka office. Our
Dhaka office is growing rapidly. A
year from now, we’ll have more
people in our Dhaka office than our
San Francisco headquarters.
We were established in Dhaka
because I had some personal
connections.
I
knew
some
developers and some business
people in Bangladesh. In the early
days of Augmedix, we were
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
desperately looking for engineering
talent to take a risk and join
fledgling startup that was yet to be
proven. We couldn’t break the bank.
It just so happened that we decided
to take an even bigger risk on top of
any of the risks we’ve taken and do
a big chunk of our R&D and
software in Bangladesh and not in
San Francisco.
It turned out that the experiment
showed wonderful results. We were
successful in building an incredible
prototype. Ultimately, we decided to
invest and see further. Now, the vast
majority of our software engineers
and tech team are in Bangladesh,
not San Francisco. There are all
kinds of advantages for our startup
to put its tech team in Bangladesh.
Obviously, it’s much cheaper and
more affordable for startups and not
pay Silicon Valley wages. Also,
Silicon Valley is so competitive. With
Google, Facebook, Twitter and all
the rest, it’s really difficult for
startups to compete for talent in
Silicon Valley. It’s challenging on
some levels. So Bangladesh is super
attractive and there are so many
talented and energetic people. It’s
turned out to be a wonderful
competitive advantage for us. And
we’re investing even more.
Now it turns out we’re going beyond
tech people. We’re also hiring
non-tech people: administrative
people, finance people, to work at
our back office; which is a
significant back office. All in all,
Bangladesh is a key part of our
strategy and our business model.
How did you raise the
initial investment
money?
Raising money, especially the first
money is always difficult. Finding
those first believers is a magical
thing. You get to prove yourself,
especially if you’re a first time
entrepreneur like me. I took a
advantage of a lot resources to help
get us started. We were part of an
incubator called the Stanford
Venture Studio and later at another
incubator called Rock Health.
These incubators gave us space,
resources, a little bit of money and a
lot of credibility and that paved the
way for us to get more substantial
angel
investors
involved
in
Augmedix. Some of our Angel
Investors are actually based in
Bangladesh. After our angels got
involved and we showed success, we
were able to get institutional
venture capital firms to invest in us.
So today, we’re very much funded by
two large prestigious Silicon Valley
venture capitalists: DCM and
Emergence.
And
interestingly
enough, I know now that these firms
are very interested in Bangladesh in
general. So their experience in
dealing with Augmedix, it’s opening
a whole new world of possibilities
for them.
How does Augmedix
handle the challenges
of having two key
offices that are
situated on opposite
sides of the globe?
There are profound challenges. I
would say the key ingredient to
make it work is sound and sturdy
leadership on both sides. People in
Bangladesh understand the crazy
world of startups, the crazy world of
working with western norms. The
leadership in Bangladesh needs to
be
especially
focused
on
documentation,
prioritization,
planning. More so than the normal
case of over communicating in every
respect. There needs to be a huge
amount of trust on all sides in order
to make it work. If these ingredients
are not in place, I would not
recommend trying to do what
Augmedix are doing with dispersed
global teams.
61
MONEY MATTER
PORTABLE
WAGES
D
Salary disbursement through mobile
banking gains popularity
Disbursement of salaries these days
is not as tedious as it used to be till
some time ago. Take Rita Begum, a
garments worker, for instance.
Earlier she had to stand in a queue
for hours to draw her monthly
salary. But now, she receives her
salary on her mobile phone, which
makes life easier for her. ‘This
system is so convenient. We can
easily send money to our families
using the phone, as the salary is
deposited in our mobile account.
Earlier, when we received salary in
cash, we spent it quickly, but now
the money remains in our account
and we spend it only when
necessary,’ says Rita, echoing
thousands
of
similar
such
recipients. The system has become
popular after it was incorporated as
62
Mobile Financial Services (MFS) by
Bangladesh Bank. Though the P-to-P
(Person To Person) service was once
used only to transact money, now it
is used to disburse salaries.
Former
Bangladesh
Garment
Manufacturers
and
Exporters
Association (BGMEA) president
Abdus Salam Murshedy said mobile
financial services makes salary
disbursement easier, saves time, and
reduces the tension of the workers.
The system also reduces companies’
time and money.
He explained that organisations
earlier needed several employees for
disbursing salaries, but now banks
can send money to the employees’
accounts directly. This is a very easy,
speedy and safe system, and is
growing popular. According to the
Bangladesh Bank’s (BB’s) statistics,
the practice of disbursing workers’
salaries using mobile financial
service
is
rising.
Salary
disbursement through the B-to-P
(Business To Person) system has
increased by 18.9% in January 2015
as compared to December 2014.
According to the BB, the volume of
salary disbursement using the
mobile banking channel was Tk. 76.
93 crore in January 2015, but was
Tk. 64.70 crore in December 2014.
Bangladesh
Telecommunication
Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
chairman Sunil Kanti Bose said
mobile banking makes the lives of
people easier. ‘It is becoming
popular by the day. We encourage
innovation, which would make our
activities more convenient and save
time,’ he added.
According to the central bank, both
the numbers of daily average
transactions and the number of total
transactions have increased in
January 2015 compared to December
2014. The number of total
registrations was 74,47,355 in
December 2014, which reached
82,068,551 in January.
The number of daily average
transactions reached 27,35,618,
which was 24,82,452 in December
2014.
The BB data also shows that the
number of average transactions has
increased by 8.15% in January 2015
as compared to December 2014. The
average daily transactions were
349.43 crore in December 2014,
which reached 377.92 crore in
January 2015.
According to the central bank, the
flow of inward remittances through
mobile phones, however, has
decreased by 5 per cent. The country
received Tk 2.85 crore remittances
through mobile phones in January
2015, which was Tk. 3 crore in
December 2014. The number of active
accounts has also decreased. The
number of active mobile phone was
121.54 lakh in December 2014. It fell
to 110.53 lakh in January 2015,
which is 9.06 per cent lower.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
REMITTANCE
EXPECTATIONS
PAY OFF
Flow of remittance
likely to increase
from next year
Remittance inflow into Bangladesh
can be expected to receive a
significant boost from next year,
with the government’s success in
convincing the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia (KSA) to reopen its labour
market to Bangladeshi manpower
set to coincide with an uptake in
manpower exports to Qatar ahead of
the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Saudi
Arabia recently agreed to reopen
their market for Bangladesh after six
years. The kingdom halted its
manpower import from Bangladesh
in 2008 over anomalies in
recruitment
process
and
involvement of workers in illegal
activities there. Despite that, it
remained the number 1 destination
for Bangladeshi migrants abroad, as
well as source of remittances.
But expert say primarily the KSA
will take female household workers,
with little impact on the remittance
flow. But they said, it will put a
positive impact on the remittance
flow if the market is open for male
workers and everything happens as
per commitment. In 2014 the total
remittance was $14942. 57 million
while it was $10717.73 million in
2009 and $3177.63 million in 2003,
as per the Bureau of Manpower,
Employment and Training (BMET)
information. Bangladesh earns
highest remittance from the KSA. In
2013-14 the amount was $3118.8
million and $829.4 million in
2012-13.
Labour and employment minister
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Khandker Mosharraf Hossain said
that the government would be able
to send 200,000 to 250,000 people
to KSA this year and the number
might be increased in the coming
years based on demand. On
February 10, the government signed
an agreement with Saudi Arabia
over sending Bangladeshi workers
to the Gulf country under 12
categories. The recruitment agencies
will carry all the costs of the
labourers.
Moreover, on March 2 after a visit to
Qatar, Khandker Mosharraf Hossain
said Qatar will recruit 150,000 more
workers from Bangladesh this year
without migration fee. When
contacted,
additional
director,
research of Center for Policy
Dialogue (CPD) Khandaker Golam
Moazzem said it will be a matter of
hope if the workers can go smoothly
with lower migration cost. ‘If we are
able to send manpower in large
volume to Saudi Arabia, the
Bangladesh labour market will be
established anew. And of course it
will have a positive impact on the
country’s remittance flow,’ he said.
The workers will able to send money
back more quickly as migration cost
will be very low as per the
agreement, he said. ‘I think the
concerned ministry will look into
matter that more people can go with
less migration cost,’ he added.
As per BMET information till
January 2015, total overseas
employment was 9171139. Of it, a
total of 4,09253 people went abroad
for jobs in 2013 and 607796 people
in 2012 and 568062 in 2011.
Founding Chair of Refugee and
Migratory Movements Research Unit
(RMMRU) Tasneem Siddiqui said ‘I
think it wouldn’t put any impact on
the remittance flow considering the
present circumstances as the
manpower market of KSA is open
only for female Bangladeshi
workers. The market for male is yet
to open. It will must put a positive
impact only when the market is open
for the male workers,’
she added.
As per the agreement between KSA
and Bangladesh, the KSA will take
only household workers primarily
and then later they will take worker
in 12 categories. The highest
2640538 people went to the KSA
from 1976 to January 2015 while
2329555 went to UAE and 955335
to Oman, among other manpower
destination.
63
MARKETING
grow or
Marketing agency
Darwinism
By Jamil Ahmed
64
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
MARKETING
Truth be told, we live and die by our
to-do lists. That may sound like an
oxymoron, but it's a representative
of the fluid mindset needed to start
and grow a successful agency. The
moment that you become too rigid or
start holding on to one way of
thinking is your wake -up call that
something needs to shift. You
cannot be at the forefront of creative
thinking if you are antiquated in
your business approach - at least,
not for very long.
When
defining
your
value
proposition, it's important to be
clear on your sweet spot without
making that definition so specific
that it limits your opportunities as
the market shifts and changes. Do
you specialize in Social Media,
Influencer Engagement or Digital
Marketing? The core offering might
be the same but the areas where you
expand will differ based on how you
choose to position your work. Your
passion must lie in creating
engaging experiences. Because we
did not tightly define whom those
experiences are for or how they come
to life, we've seen our business grow
from mainly consumer programs to
include
B2B
and
internal
campaigns,
opening
up
new
business categories. Had we written
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
that business plan when we started,
we might have unwittingly cut
ourselves
off
from
these
opportunities that have helped fuel
our continued growth.
Many agencies keep legacy services or
departments simply because they
were part of the initial vision. Maybe
those services were critical to getting
the business off the ground, or won
the agency its first accolades.
Certainly no one relishes the idea of
letting staff go. But allowing one area
of your company to limp along while
the rest creates a set of even larger
issues can cripple your ability to
evolve, including draining resources,
lowering morale and taking focus
away from the more productive
endeavors. These decisions should
never be taken lightly, but when the
handwriting is on the wall they
should be handled humanely and
decisively. Honor the opportunities
gained and lessons learned, allowing
them to inform the next phase.
The best way to ensure evolution is
to cultivate a mindset from the
beginning
that
expects
and
welcomes growth, rather than
viewing it as something forced upon
you when things aren't working
anymore. This means staying
connected to the wider world,
looking for ways to motivate and
challenge your team, and remaining
hungry and curious. One of our
favorite ways to stay inspired is
inviting people who run larger,
non-competitive agencies over for
lunch and a chat. We ply them with
delicious treats and shamelessly
pick their brains on what they have
learned during different phases of
their business and we ask them for
an honest assessment of our
challenges and opportunities. We
also give equal weight and measure
to the perspective of our internal
teams. We are blessed with a staff of
highly engaged and motivated
people who we send on inspirational
missions - events, conferences and
activations - across the country to
gather insights and inspiration to
help inform our work.
Growing isn't just about getting
bigger, unless that's truly your goal.
It can take a range of forms - from
the types of clients you work with to
how you build your teams to the
way you execute a campaign.
Regardless of how you define it,
make growth a part of your mission
or risk becoming extinct.
Jamil Ahmed is a marketing guru
and currently runs an agency that
deals with content marketing
65
BRANDING
STATIC
Hello Kitty, children’s favourite brand,
threatened from Disney’s Frozen
M
66
Middle age is proving to be a little
awkward for Hello Kitty. The
Japanese cartoon character, an icon
of cuteness, is celebrating her 40th
birthday with events around the
world. Over the decades she has
helped owner Sanrio become a
global success story, with the
Tokyo-based company licensing the
image of Kitty-chan’s expressionless
face to makers of clothing, toys, and
other consumer products. All told,
there are now some 50,000 Hello
Kitty products worldwide.
Lately, though, Sanrio’s cash kitten
has proven no match for Princess
Anna and Olaf the Snowman. The
popularity of the Walt Disney
animated movie Frozen has hit
Sanrio, especially in the U.S., where
children who once might have asked
their parents for Hello Kitty
merchandise are instead favoring
products with the Disney characters.
The Frozen effect is one reason
Sanrio’s stock price is down 28% this
year, compared with a 2% increase
for the benchmark Topix index.
The stock may have a lot more room
to fall. After the end of trading on
the first week of November on the
Tokyo stock exchange, Sanrio
announced its operating profit for
the six months that ended in
September was 8.5 billion yen
($76.4 million), down 13.2% from
the same period a year earlier and
lower than the forecast of 9.1 billion
yen. Sales were also disappointing:
35.5 billion yen, compared with a
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
BRANDING
THE
BACK-TO-SCHOOL
SEASON IN THE
U.S., THE FIRST
SINCE THE DEBUT
OF FROZEN,
CONTRIBUTED TO
THE
DISAPPOINTING
RESULTS. IT WAS
HARD TO
RECOVER FROM
THE LOST SALES
OF HELLO KITTY
BACKPACKS,
PENCIL CASES,
AND LUNCH
BAGS.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
forecast of 36.4 billion yen. Sanrio
now expects full-year operating
profit of 19.3 billion yen, lower than
the 22 billion yen it had previously
forecasted. The company also
lowered its forecast for net earnings
to 13.2 billion yen, down from 14.4
billion yen it had been expecting.
The back-to-school season in the
U.S., the first since the debut of
Frozen,
contributed
to
the
disappointing results. It was hard to
recover from the lost sales of Hello
Kitty backpacks, pencil cases, and
lunch bags. Disney’s hit movie
‘likely weighed on sales of Hello
Kitty and other of Sanrio’s character
merchandise,’ Credit Suisse analyst
Masashi Mori wrote in a report
published on Oct. 29.
Hello Kitty may have difficulty
keeping up with the Disney
characters, but she was the star
attraction on Oct. 30 in Hollywood,
where Hello Kitty Con opened at the
Geffen Contemporary at MOCA
(Museum of Contemporary Art) in
the Little Tokyo section of Los
Angeles. The show, which will
continue until Sunday, is the ‘first
ever official Hello Kitty Convention
in the world,’ according to Sanrio.
As part of the festivities, Sanrio
teamed up with MakerBot, a
subsidiary of 3D printer maker
Stratasys, to offer 3D-printable
Hello Kitty collectibles.
And even if the U.S. market is a
challenge, Sanrio continues to find
more opportunities to expand in
Asia. Consider the new Hello Kitty
Rooms at the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo
and Keio Plaza Hotel Tama. The
rooms will feature Kitty-chan’s face
on the walls, furniture, and
amenities, providing to guests
‘lodging in a dream world,’ the hotel
announced last month. The decor
includes images of the feline going
shopping
and
attending
an
amusement park.
Sanrio also sees room for growth in
China. China Mobile Games and
Entertainment Group, the country’s
largest publisher of mobile games,
announced on Oct. 22 a deal with
Sanrio to develop games based on a
dozen of the Japanese company’s
characters, including Hello Kitty.
The characters ‘are always attractive
to Chinese users,’ CMGE Chief
Executive Xiao Jian said in a
statement.
While the territorial dispute over
islands in the East China Sea has
kept relations between Japan and
China frosty, consumers in the
mainland as well as Hong Kong and
Taiwan seem willing to forgive the
most famous Japanese cartoon
character. Throughout Greater China
‘the popularity of Kitty-chan is at a
high level,’ says Tomoaki Kawasaki,
an analyst in Tokyo with Iwai Cosmo
Securities.
That popularity may not be enough
to help Sanrio turn things around
quickly. According to the company,
Hello Kitty herself always says, ‘You
can never have too many friends.’
Sanrio now needs all of those
friends to come through for its star
character.
67
CREATIVITY
We are all for self-improvement. The
self-help industry brings in billions
of dollars each year from countless
books. All that encouraging advice
can feel empowering and sensual,
offering a simple path to a better
life.
But there's a problem with this
approach. ‘Reading a self-help book
is like buying a lottery ticket,’ writes
social psychologist Timothy Wilson
in his newest book ‘Redirect’. ‘For a
small investment, we get hope in
return; the dream that all our
problems will soon be solved
without any real expectation that
they will be.’
While the power of positive
thinking—the seeming bread and
butter of self-help as we know it—is
a nice thought, according to Wilson,
there's no evidence that simply
thinking positively actually works.
We can't just will ourselves to be
happier. ‘Our minds aren’t that
stupid,’ says Wilson. ‘It's not like
you can just tell your mind, 'Think
positively'. You've got to nudge it a
little more along.’
In ‘Redirect’, Wilson offers an
alternative he calls ‘story editing,’
based on the research of social
scientists over the years. This
approach operates off the premise
that we each have a core narrative or
story that we tell ourselves about
who we are and what the world
around us is like. It's a story that
influences our choices and way of
experiencing the world. But it's also
one we play a major role in shaping
for ourselves.
Using specific writing exercises,
according to Wilson, we can begin to
shift that story and redirect our way
of thinking. ‘Writing is an act of
creation. You are creating as you go,’
he says. ‘That’s what can make this
personally so helpful.’
Write through a
challenging problem
We can never simply write painful or
difficult events out of our lives, but
we can make them far more
68
RECLAIMING
INSPIRATION
Writing exercises scientifically
proven to redirect your life
graspable
and
change
our
relationship to them, according to
research by psychologist James
Pennebaker.
Over
the
years,
Pennebaker has developed an
approach he calls ‘Writing To Heal,’
that uses writing exercises as a way
to help people deal with difficult
events in their lives.
To try the Pennebaker writing
exercise, think of an event or worry
that's been most on your mind
recently. Set aside 15 to 20 minutes at
the end of the day to write about that
specific problem. Do this for four days
in a row, setting aside at least 15
minutes at the end of each day to
record your thoughts. As you write,
don't
pause
or
second-guess
yourself—just write without stopping.
Through his research over the years,
Pennebaker found that this simple
four-day exercise helped improve
people's health, and well-being in
various studies. ‘It's how we deal
with setbacks that's so important,’
says Wilson, who has worked with
Pennebaker over the years. While
the writing exercise can be difficult
at first, people tend to gain clarity as
they continue doing it. ‘Often what
they first write is jumbled and
unorganized,’ says Wilson. But
eventually
‘they
view
what
happened to them in a way that
makes more sense.’
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
CREATIVITY
Distance yourself from
negative experiences
Research has also shown that
having some distance from a
difficult event allows us to step back
and better understand it. There's a
writing exercise Wilson calls the
‘step-back-and-ask-why’ approach
that allows us to create this distance
and understanding in order to
reframe negative events.
To do this exercise, close your eyes
and bring yourself back to a specific
moment or event that was upsetting
to you. Then, in your mind, try to
take a few steps back from yourself
in the moment so that you can see
the story unfolding as if it was
happening to a distant version of
yourself. Write about what that
distant version of yourself is
thinking and feeling. One way to do
this effectively, suggests Wilson, is
to write in the third person, rather
than the first person, which
automatically
builds
some
separation between you and the
moment you're writing about.
Don't simply rehash a play-by-play
of what happened; instead, try to
explain why it happened. ‘Don't
recount the event,’ Wilson writes.
‘Take a step back and reconstruct
and explain it.’
Determine what your
best possible self
looks like
There's a reason Saturday Night
Live's ‘Daily Affirmations With
Stuart Smalley’ was such a hit in the
'90s. That focus on self-affirming
mantras is practically begging to be
made fun of, yet even today, you'll
find that same advice is given in
total earnest.
But as Wilson points out in his book,
rather than telling yourself you're
doing the best you can and are the
best you can be—a pretty text-book
self-help
mantra—try
actually
imagining what the best version of
yourself might look like in the future
and what you need to do to achieve
those goals.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
He calls this writing prompt the
‘Best Possible Selves Exercise.’ Like
the Pennebaker prompt, take 15 to
20 minutes a night for four nights in
a row to do this exercise. Imagine
your life in the future as if you've
achieved all your life goals. Write
not just what those life goals are,
but also how you will be able to
achieve them. ‘Focus on the process
of achieving an outcome rather than
the outcome itself,’ says Wilson.
Life’. For this exercise, think of one
of the most important or special
events,
relationships
or
accomplishments in your life. Then
imagine all the ways in which it
might not have happened. Doing
this can introduce mystery and
excitement back into the experience
again.
Imagine all the things
that could have gone
wrong
These last two exercises aren't so
much writing prompts, as they are
calls to action. In their studies of
what make people feel happiest and
most fulfilled, social scientists have
found that having a clear sense of
purpose is critical. This means
reminding yourself of what your
most important goals in life are and
finding ways to move forward on
those goals, says Wilson.
He identifies three ingredients to
well-being: hope, meaning, and
purpose. Writing exercises that help
reframe the way you feel about
negative events in the past can help
create a sense of hope and meaning,
but it's also important to maintain
goals that provide a sense of
purpose in your life. ‘We all have
some choice over what we want to
pursue and those of us who are
really lucky can get paid to do it, but
plenty of people find other ways,’
says Wilson.
Gratitude journals are another
self-help go-to, but research has
shown they can actually have the
reverse effect of making you feel less
happy. There's a pleasure to
uncertainty—not being able to pin
down the specific details of an event
were was pleasing.
While reducing our uncertainty
about negative events can help us
bounce back from them more
quickly, reducing uncertainty about
positive events can take some of the
pleasure out of them. Wilson calls
this a pleasure paradox: ‘People
want to understand the good things
in life so that they can experience
them again, but by doing so they
reduce the pleasure they get from
those events,’ he writes.
For example, research has shown
that asking people in a relationship
to tell the story of how they met
their partner doesn't make them
particularly happier. But ask those
same people to write about the many
ways in which they might not have
met
their
partner
or
their
relationship might not have worked
out and they get much more
pleasure out of the exercise. ‘People
don’t like to do that, but when they
do, it makes the relationship look
special again, at least for a little
while,’ he says.
This translates well into a writing
exercise Wilson calls the ‘George
Bailey Technique’ named after the
protagonist in ‘It's A Wonderful
Maintain a sense of
purpose
Do some good in the
world
Research has shown that it's not
simply having a sense of purpose
that contributes to our well-being,
but that those who help others are
actually happier than those who
don't. These people have a greater
likelihood of forming bonds with
others and having a positive image
of themselves.
‘If you want to have a positive
outlook and feel like a good person,
go out and be a good person,’ says
Wilson. ‘The mind is a very good
observer of ourselves.’
69
DECORUM
SPICING UP
WORK
5 ways to make your workspace
work for you
If you’re like many office workers, you move into whatever cubicle or
workspace you’re provided, perhaps prop up a family photo, and get to
work. But productivity expert Carson Tate, author of Work Simply says
investing in your work environment can pay huge dividends in increased
productivity and happiness. ‘If the space you work in isn’t set up to
optimize work flow, you’re going to end up expending a lot more time and
energy to get that work done,’ says Tate.
Worse, if your workspace is boring and unfulfilling on a spiritual or
emotional level, it can quickly drain your energy and cause you to feel
uninspired. Optimizing your workspace requires two components,
according to Tate: It must be both functional for the job and emotionally
fulfilling. Here are five things to consider to bring both components to your
workspace:
10
ICE BusinessTimes December 2014
DECORUM
what you’re doing in that area.’
Tate says the most effective office
setup—the one that maximizes our
productivity—is one that mimics
the kindergarten model. As a coach,
Tate has a zone in her office where
she conducts phone consultations.
She's put a comfortable chair in a
quiet corner of her office, and placed
a high-quality headset away from
her computer to avoid being
distracted.
‘Space shaping is the cornerstone of
working simply,’ she says. ‘It’s
making the space fully support the
type of work that you do.’
4. Match Your Space To
Your Behavior
2. Ask What Your Job
Requires Of You
1. Are You Left Or
Right-Brained?
Tate says knowing your productivity
style can help you find the right
organizational tools that work for
you. Individuals who are more
analytical,
structured,
and
organized tend to excel in
environments that have clean,
simple lines and are virtually free of
visual clutter. One or two family
photos are all that are needed for
these individuals to feel inspired by
their
work
environment.
Organizational tools and sleek,
streamlined
furniture
that
emphasize function over aesthetics
make them most productive.
Creative individuals, on the other
hand, tend to excel in colorful
environments that are adorned with
plenty
of
artwork,
personal
memorabilia, and casual furniture
that is more aesthetically pleasing
than functional. They prefer spaces
that are designed to appeal to all
five senses. They often have music
playing in the background, a
scented candle, and fun pieces such
as a bright green stapler or
fluorescent memo pads to keep
them inspired all day long.
December 2014
ICE BusinessTimes
Your ideal workspace design will
highly depend on the type of work
that you do. Tate advises assessing
your core accountabilities before
making any changes to your
workspace.
In my line of work, the core
elements of my job involve talking
on the phone, typing on my laptop,
and
doing
research.
Tate
recommends a space that provides
plenty of storage for idea books,
magazines,
and
newspaper
clippings, a phone that is accessible
and located next to my laptop, and
an ergonomic chair that allows me
to sit and type for hours on end.
3. Travel Back In Time
To Your Kindergarten
Classroom
Could it be true that everything we
needed to learn about organization
we learned in kindergarten? Tate
says the kindergarten setup is ideal
for most office workers. ‘In
kindergarten, we have very distinct
activity
zones,’
she
says.
‘Everything has a place and there
are no objects in a zone that don’t
belong there. In the dress-up area,
there aren’t any books, and in the
book area, you’ve got beanbag
chairs and books because that’s
The design of your workspace can
impact your work behavior. Think
about your kitchen. If you decide to
go on a diet, then the first thing you
will probably do is clean out your
kitchen of all temptations. Salty
snacks and leftover Halloween
candy are replaced by a bowl of
apples and oranges to support your
new healthy eating habits.
The same concept is at play with
workspaces.
Maximizing
your
productivity means designing an
office space that allows for the
behaviors you need to exhibit to get
the job done.
5. Don’t Accept Your
Given Workspace
If you work in a cubicle maze, then
it may be hard to imagine you can
do anything about your drab
surroundings. While you may be
restricted by the size of your
workspace, Tate argues you can still
make this space work for you.
• Bring in a small task light to
create a more welcoming
ambience
• Use noise-reducing headphones
when you require a quiet
workspace
• Tack up inspiring artwork to
dress up your cubicle walls
• Purchase colorful accessories or
organizational tools, such as file
boxes, to meet your productivity style
Even the smallest change can make
a big difference in how you work in
your space, and how your
workspace works for you.
00
ETHICS
FATAL
BLOWS
What the Economy
has done to
the Family
It could be a future diorama at New
York’s Museum of Natural History: A
human male and female who not
only got married, but stayed married.
Divorce among 50 -somethings has
doubled since 1990. One in five
adults have never married, up from
one in ten 30 years ago. In all, a
majority of American adults are now
single, government data show,
including the mothers of two out of
every five newborns.
72
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
ETHICS
These trends are often blamed on
feminists or gay rights activists or
hippies, who’ve somehow found a
way to make Americans reject
tradition. But the last several years
showed a different powerful force
changing families: the economy.
The effects of the Great Recession on
families are hard to ignore. Births
and marriages have plunged, as
millions of millennials skip or delay
starting traditional families. The
economic
uncertainty
of
the
downturn dismantled job security
which, in turned, ripped up many
wedding plans.
Families
that
have
made
unconventional arrangements are
the most financially fragile. An
Allianz survey of 4,500 Americans
included an extra sample of families
outside
the
historical
norm,
including single parents, same-sex
couples and blended families. These
‘modern
families’
were
less
financially secure than traditional
families, the study found. They were
50 percent more likely to have
unexpectedly lost their main form of
income -- and twice as likely to have
declared bankruptcy.
Rocky times often rearrange plans
and priorities. When women in their
early 20’s face an economy with
high unemployment, for example,
they tend to have fewer children.
The spike in unemployment starting
in 2008 should result in 9.2 million
young women giving birth to
430,000 fewer babies over their
lifetimes, according to a 2014
National Academy of Science study.
Why would more unemployment
mean fewer babies? When asked
what they’d like in a potential
spouse, single men’s top answer is
‘similar ideas about having and
raising children,’ a Pew Research
survey found in September. But
when women were asked, 78 percent
said they wanted a spouse with ‘a
steady job.’
A man with a steady job is harder to
find. Since the 1970s, men have
been holding jobs for shorter and
shorter periods of time. Women’s
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
average job tenure hasn’t fallen, but
that’s only because so many more
joined the workforce in the ‘80s and
‘90s. Both sexes are working more
temporary or contract gigs, have
stagnant wages and enjoy fewer
company benefits. The number of
big companies offering pensions has
dropped 57 percent in 10 years. Even
good-paying
jobs
are
more
demanding and more likely to end in
layoffs or buyouts. Meanwhile, the
cost of raising a kid is up 24 percent
in inflation-adjusted dollars since
1960, the Department of Agriculture
estimates, to $245,340.
While single women find it harder to
find men they want to marry,
existing families feel the strain of
what
University
of
Virginia
sociologist Allison Pugh calls ‘the
age of insecurity’. Job insecurity
causes anxiety and depression and,
a 2012 study shows, makes fathers
less supportive of their kids. Women
in areas hardest hit by the recession
report more ‘controlling behavior’ by
boyfriends
and
husbands,
University of California, Berkeley
sociologist Daniel Schneider says.
When most Americans talk about
their jobs and families, they sound
stressed
and
frantic,
Pugh’s
research finds. ‘Job insecurity
destabilizes our assumptions about
what we owe each other at work and
at home,’ she says.
Affluent, college-educated people
can afford to shrug off much of this
insecurity. Their jobs aren’t exactly
safe, but if they’re laid off they have
a good chance of getting a new one.
The jobless rate for college grads is
3.1 percent, about half the overall
rate. The attitudes of the affluent
best match those of union members
with steady jobs, Pugh says. Both
groups are full of ‘low-key
pragmatism’ about jobs and
relationships, not feelings of panic
or betrayal.
That explains why families of both
union
members
and
college-educated professionals still
look
pretty
traditional.
The
14-year-old daughter of college
graduates is actually more likely
now than in the 1970s to be living
with parents who have remained
married to each other.
If economic stress leads to more
unconventional relationships, will
an economic recovery send more
couples down the traditional aisle?
The most recent data suggest the
marriage rate stopped its slide as the
economy rebounded. Unfortunately,
the number of divorces is also on the
upswing. A better economy makes it
easier to get hitched, but also easier
to go through with divorces
postponed during the recession.
Wedding venues and divorce lawyers
aren’t cheap.
Courtesy: Bloomberg
73
DESIGN
REARRANGING
CHANCE ENCOUNTERS
6 ways your office design is alienating everyone out
Today, the average worker is working
in a space with 1960s design and
thinking, says Rex Miller, coauthor
of the book ‘Change Your Space,
Change Your Culture’, because most
organizations can’t connect the dots
between
office
design
and
innovation. In fact, according to a
recent Gallup poll, 70% of the
workforce is disengaged and a lot of
it has to do with the shrinking office
space we are working in.
Companies with a highly engaged
workforce understand that the office
space that you work in reflects the
values of the company and helps
shape company culture, which in
turn is the catalyst for engagement,
collaboration, and innovation.
Below are a few clues that the design
of your office space may be leading
everyone to feel disengaged.
1
Stagnant Light Color
Temperatures
‘We believe that a space is a working
organism and it has to respond to the change
in the day, the change in the environment,’
says Stanley Felderman, who runs design
studio Felderman Keatinge & Associates with
his wife, Nancy Keatinge. In short, as the day
changes, so should the color temperature of
our lighting.
In the morning, office lighting should be
cooler, or retain a more bluish tint, and as the
day progresses, lighting should gradually
change to a warmer, or more yellowish tint.
According to Stanley, it’s basically in our
DNA that we just work better this way. ‘Cooler
light reflects the natural daylight, but when
we go home, we like our homes to be warm,’
he says. ‘We tend to want to be in a place
longer when it’s a warmer [light color]
temperature.’
74
2
Walls Block Out Natural Light
According to Felderman and Keatinge, drywall needs to come down
for lighting benefits to have even distribution. With glass walls,
everyone is able to benefit from the changing light colors.
‘It becomes very unproductive and disengaging when there are
high panels on the work stations and they don’t have access to [the
changing] light,’ says Keatinge. ‘We find that this makes a huge
difference in how people interact and engage with one another.’
‘The idea of separation and isolation no longer work in a space,
even if the nature of your work is independent,’ says Felderman.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
DESIGN
3
Fixed Tables In
Brainstorming Areas
In areas allotted for brainstorming and
collaborative purposes, give people
options to change their environment.
What no longer works? ‘The old, grand
conference tables in the center of the
room that can’t be busted up, can’t be
rolled away or folded up or nested,’
says Mark Konchar, chief of enterprise
development at infrastructure group
Balfour Beatty and coauthor of Change
Your Space, Change Your Culture. ‘The
room has to be adaptable. The group
can start with 10 or 15 people and an
hour later, they want to break into two
smaller groups. It just makes is easier
for teams to be productive.’
These areas need to be adaptable
throughout the day because the work
that people are doing changes every
hour of the day, he says.
4
5
Desks In Between
Other Desks
What’s the worst seat on an airplane? The middle one, says Konchar, so keep
that in mind the next time you’re thinking about office layout. Don’t make
employees feel like they’re sitting in the middle seat of an airplane, crushed
between other people.
Obviously, it’s almost impossible to never place someone’s desk in between
other desks due to square footage constraints, but employers can help create a
sense of space by providing bumpers and objects that allow people to break up
their spaces.
6
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Spending The Most
Money On Public Spaces
A lot of companies put money in the
front, public spaces, either the
conference rooms or meeting rooms,
but want to save money in the back
of their office. Felderman and
Keatinge have advice for these
companies: Don’t do this or you’ll
mess with company culture.
‘We really feel that you have to share
wealth, that you have to look at this
as a community of equals,’ says
Felderman. ‘Different functions, yes,
but all is part of a chain link, and if
you break part of that link, it doesn’t
work anymore.’
Separating Departments
We know stairs are important
because
they
create
chance
encounters, but there’s another
reason why open, interconnected
stairs will become more common:
closing the separation between
departments.
According to Miller, it’s a bad idea for
departments to feel secluded from
one another. They can be separated
on different stories or levels, but
open stairs make the floors feel more
connected with the rest of the office.
This only ups the chances of
serendipitous
interactions—and
collaboration—with
people
in
different departments.
75
HR
Sharon Chang had an enviable career. After
working as a brand strategist and creative
director in numerous prestigious global
agencies, she became a sought-after creative
leader in the design and digital marketing
industry, leading internationally recognized
campaigns for major companies including
Ford, Pepsi, Sony, and Universal Music. As the
chief
creative
officer
of
19
Entertainment—the company behind So You
Think You Can Dance and American Idol,
Chang had access to prestigious Hollywood
parties, a high salary and an intellectually
stimulating career.
Yet, in her mid-thirties, Chang realized she
needed to make a change. She left her
lucrative position and founded Yoxi, a
company that discovers, nurtures, and
elevates social entrepreneurs via mass-media,
business-focused campaigns. ‘A lot of people
ask me why I would give up the position of
chief creative officer for American Idol and the
answer is very easy: I wasn’t happy,’ says
Chang, who now argues your mid-thirties are
an ideal time for career reflection.
76
MIDDLE AGE
BLUES
The case for making a
career change in
your mid-30s
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
HR
So, what
is it about
this age
that
makes it
an ideal
time for a
career
change?
Chang
explains:
Your mid-thirties allow you
to look sideways rather
than straight ahead
‘When you’re young, you’re very
idealistic. You can be very ambitious,’
says Chang. ‘You have a vision of
where you want to go and you see a
very straight line and you just want to
get there.’ While Chang says she ran
on that linear path for nearly 15 years,
by the time she hit her mid-thirties,
life changes, including the death of her
mother, forced her to look sideways
and realize that the path wasn’t
necessarily linear, but full of other
branches that she simply couldn’t see
when she was in her twenties.
For most people, their thirties are filled
with many life changes including
marriage, children, and the reality of
aging. This ability to look sideways
and see other paths, Chang argues,
only comes after years of work and life
experience that we lack in our
twenties.
mid-thirties, the experience and maturity we’ve acquired
allows us to take the time to slow down. Chang credits her
success with her new endeavor with this ability to slow
down. ‘Everything around me now happens in slower
motion than 10 years ago and because of that, I can see
things more clearly,’ she says.
Your mid-thirties is a natural checkpoint
While Chang doesn’t argue a career change is necessary for
everyone in their mid-thirties, she does say this time in
one’s life is a natural career checkpoint. ‘After about 20
years of learning and experience and wanting to get ahead,
you just need to check in,’ she says. Pausing at various
stages of life to re-assess career and personal goals is
something Chang argues not enough people take the time
to do, but can be incredibly rewarding.
You know yourself better
when you’re in your
mid-thirties
Before deciding to make a career
change, Chang went through an
intense period of self-reflection. She
asked herself three key questions:
what do I really want to do, what am I
really good at, and are these two
things the same? Chang argues this
type of self-reflection requires really
being in tune with knowing who you
are. ‘I think that level of awareness
just can’t come when you’re 25,’ she
says.
Your mid-thirties gives you
the gift to slow down
Chang recalls a scene in the movie The
Matrix where Neo moves in slow
motion to dodge a bullet. This ability
to see things in slow motion is what
Chang argues eludes us in youth, but
seems to happen naturally when we
reach our mid-thirties. While our
twenties are spent fixated on the
upward trajectory of growing our
careers, once we’ve established a
certain level of success in our
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
77
FOREIGN TRADE
T
The
Philippines-Bangladesh
Business Council (PBBC) was
launched in Manila on March 21
aiming to boost trade relations
between the two friendly countries.
Bangladesh has great potential in
the sector of ready-made garments,
ceramics, jute products and pharmaceuticals and those could be exported to the Philippines. Rashed
Maksud Khan, president of Bangladesh-Philippines
Chamber
of
Commerce and Industry (BPCCI), led
the team. Participating in the
launching ceremony, Bangladesh
Ambassador John Gomes invited
Philippines businessmen to do direct
business with Bangladesh and
import garments directly to the
Philippines.
He pointed out that many Bangladesh small traders are now bringing
ready-made garments to the Philippines on piecemeal basis. Philippines Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (PCCI), Department of Trade
and Industry and the Bangladesh
embassy joined the ceremony in line
with the objectives of the Bangladesh-Philippines
Chamber
of
Commerce and Industry (BPCCI)
which was formed in Dhaka last
year.
The idea of PBBC was floated when
another delegation of Bangladesh
including Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman and Commerce
Minister Tofail Ahmed visited
Manila in May last year.
During the visit, they expressed their
hope and belief that there are ample
opportunity for enhanced trade
relations between Bangladesh and
the Philippines.
The potential of increased trade
relations between the two, many
Filipino workers are going to
78
NEW
ADDITIONS
Phillipines-Bangladesh
launch business council to
boost trade tie
Bangladesh to join in textile and
RMG sector. Both the countries have
similarity in the field of manpower,
especially overseas employment,
infrastructure, economic and political development etc.
According to Bangladesh Ambassador John Gomes, it has long been his
intention to rejuvenate the trade
relations between the two friendly
countries.
He felt inspired that this could be
the beginning of a long drawn trade
relationship which will pave the way
to a two-way trade between the two
countries greatly benefiting both
economies. He expressed his happiness on the signing of a MOU on
increased trade relations between
the two sides on this occasion. He
noted that through its ready-made
garments, the textile industry is the
number one foreign exchange earner
of Bangladesh which has become
the world’s leading RMG exporter,
after China.
Bangladesh and the Philippines
signed a trade agreement in 1980.
The first meeting of a joint trade
committee was held in September
1989 and the second meeting was
held in Manila in July 1997. Minister
for Commerce & Industry Tofail
Ahmed led the Bangladesh delegation in that meeting. About eight
various trade agreements and MOUs
were signed between Bangladesh
and the Philippines during the last
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ICE BusinessTimes
FOREIGN TRADE
decade, but very little of those were
implemented.
Bilateral trades between the two
countries, although insignificant,
have increased over the years and
the balance is more or less in
equilibrium.
Many businessmen from the Philippines are now interested to do
business in Bangladesh, among
whom Ambassador Carlos Chen,
chairman of Liwayway Group of
Companies, is looking forward to set
up a factory in Dhaka for production
of his famous brand food product
‘Oishi’. Ambassador John Gomes
thinks that the Filipino traders can
invest in Bangladesh in the field of
textiles,
shipbuilding,
hotels,
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
seaports, land-port facilities and
production of solar energy.
Bangladesh is having a sustained
economic growth even through the
global growth slow-down. Foreign
investors are quite happy with the
investment policies and the Philippines and for that matter global
community is well aware of micro
finance development which has been
introduced around the world.
Millions of people have been
employed in different sectors
because of sustained economic
growth.
Strong remittance and foreign
reserves have contributed to a very
stable exchange rate of taka against
dollar and this has also contributed
to significant inflow of FDI.
Along with Bangladesh Commerce
Minister Tofail Ahmed, Minister of
Agriculture Begum Matia Chowdhury, and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Atiur Rahman, on a
visit to Manila last year, expressed
their hope and belief that there are
ample opportunity for enhanced
trade relations between Bangladesh
and the Philippines.
Bangladesh exports mainly chemical
fertilisers, metals, jute and jute
goods, leather, pharmaceuticals,
ready-made
garments,
cotton,
knitwear, tobacco etc. to the Philippines. It mainly imports condensed
milk, scrapped iron or steel, food
items, yarn, synthetic fibres, frames
& mountings for goggles or spectacles, vegetables, chemicals and
plastic from the Philippines.
The Philippines also exports gas oil,
motor gasoline and high speed fuel
oil to Bangladesh for last couple of
years. Both countries are overpopulated and depend on foreign remittance received from their overseas
workers. Freedom of speech and
democratic and human rights are
the basis of the constitution of both
countries and women’s empowerment in both countries has seen
significant developments in recent
times.
The ambassador thanked the
Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) of the Philippines and John
Paul Inigo, Commercial Counsellor,
Philippine embassy, Dhaka, Philippine Ambassador to Bangladesh
Vicente Vivencio T. Bandillo and
Miguel Varela, chairman of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (PCCI) for cordial support
from every angle in making the visit
successful. He also thanked Rashed
Maksud Khan, president of BPCCI
and his delegation for coming to the
Philippines to explore market and
trade opportunities. He expressed
optimism that from now on the trade
relations between the two countries
will gain a new pace toward full
exploitation of opportunities from
both sides.
79
TRIBUTE
ADIEU TO A
LEGEND
How Lee Kuan Yew
shaped today’s Singapore
and its economy
Born when Singapore was a British colony, the young
Lee saw the humiliation of the colonial power by Japan
and the tough years of Japanese occupation. A brilliant
scholar, he thrived in London and Cambridge after the
war and came back to Singapore to assume a leading
role in the anti-colonial struggle, co-founding the
People’s Action Party (PAP), which governs Singapore to
this day. Lee was its leader, and Singapore’s prime
minister, when it won self-government from Britain in
1959. During his leadership, Singapore merged with
Malaysia in 1963, and then parted in 1965, creating the
current independent nation.
Lee’s political views, however, were controversial.
Decrying the decadence and welfarism which he
thought had sapped the strength of countries such as
Britain, he supported tough laws and punishments,
making Singapore orderly, clean and disciplined. He
was quick to use British-era legislation, including a
draconian Internal Security Act, to quell anything
that smacked of subversion. Defamation suits were
used to tame the press and, on occasion, bankrupt
his critics. The current prime minister is his son, Lee
Hsien Loong, ensuring continuity of a sort. The elder
Lee left the cabinet in 2011, after the PAP’s
worst-ever general-election performance. It still won
60% of the vote, but there was growing resentment at
the high levels of immigration—a consequence of
Singaporean women’s very low fertility rates. After
the election, although he retained his seat in
parliament, Lee looked visibly frail.
80
Not just political
Economic policies are always made within a framework
which either explicitly or implicitly incorporates some
guiding philosophical principles. It was Lee who provided
that basic framework and it was fortunate for Singapore
that his instincts were in the right direction. This was
evident in a range of issues which eventually came to be
hallmarks of the Singapore development experience.
He realised, for instance, that any business environment
had to be supportive of large companies as well as small
ones, foreign investors as well as domestic ones, and
workers as well as businessmen. He took the lead in
breaking away from the dirigiste, state-planning policies of
his developing country peers in the 1960s to embrace
outward-looking policies that enabled the Singapore
economic takeoff. At a time when it was not the intellectual
fashion to do so, he accepted that allowing businesses to
make good profits would be good for the average man.
His instincts were also in the right place when he decided that
Singapore should abjure the state-funded welfare policies
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
TRIBUTE
that many other developing countries had embraced after
their independence, insisting instead on creating the
culture of self-reliance that has served Singapore so well.
By strengthening the Corrupt Practices Investigation
Bureau and placing it under his direct charge, Singapore
was able to robustly tackle corruption, creating one of the
least corrupt business environments in the world something that clearly contributes to Singapore's
super-competitive economic position.
We have to learn from Lee's forceful response each time
Singapore faced a severe test. Whether it was the sudden
separation from Malaysia in 1965, the equally stunning
announcement of the withdrawal of British forces from
Singapore in 1968, the two oil shocks of the 1970s or the
recession in the mid-1980s, Lee showed the way by
mobilising the full resources of the government to find a
solution and push its implementation through. This
allowed the economy to rebound from each shock, each
time emerging even stronger.
While Lee was averse to the welfare state, he knew he
had to ensure that the fruits of growth were fairly
distributed. This was evident, for example, in his
determination to ensure that every citizen had a stake in
the country. This philosophy spun off many initiatives
which are now defining features of the Singapore
economy such as the extremely high home ownership
rate, the use of Central Provident Fund savings to finance
mortgages and the constant upgrading of public housing
estates to enhance their value.
If there was one contribution that stood out the most, it
would be how he kept pushing Singapore to re-invent its
economy every now and then. He had the foresight to
anticipate economic challenges and opportunities well ahead
of time while also coming out with strategies to respond
effectively to the same.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
He was well ahead of the game in environmental
protection when he pushed for Singapore as a Garden City.
He foresaw the problems with road congestion and pushed
for pro-active policies such as the Area Licensing Scheme
which was the precursor to the current Electronic Road
Pricing scheme: that made Singapore a world leader in
using a market tool - pricing road congestion - to control
traffic. He was also early in visualising the combination of
telecommunications and computers and so pushed for
Singapore to move rapidly in computerisation in the
1980s. He used the same uncanny long-range vision he
had to raise the issue of ageing and declining fertility in
the 1980s when few pundits were talking about it.
One of his signal achievements was the push for financial
liberalisation in the late 1990s which led to a surge of
growth and created the global financial centre of today.
He was also prescient in encouraging the growth of the
Singapore economy's second wing in the late 1980s, when
he realised that as the economy matured, it would need to
look beyond the confines of its territorial limits to find
growth opportunities. In particular, he played a decisive role
in encouraging Singaporean companies to invest in China.
His personal involvement in leading delegations to China
and in conceiving projects for Singaporeans to transfer
knowledge to China helped Singapore establish a foothold
in China well beyond what its small size implied.
In short, one of Singapore's great economic strengths is the
ability to constantly reinvent itself - Lee was instrumental
in inculcating this ability and leading change when
needed. Importantly, he combined this capacity for great
vision with an unrelenting emphasis on focusing on the
long term, so that the benefits of anticipating big changes
were not sidetracked by the short-term pain that was
sometimes necessary to achieve the bold vision.
Many have remarked how there is a certain ‘Singapore
brand’ which helps its economy in many ways. The
Singapore economy is seen as standing for certain
qualities in a way few other countries are. Abroad,
Singapore is seen as tough-minded, effective, honest and
straight shooting, all values that Lee inculcated in
Singapore. He was Singapore's main marketeer, our main
‘brand ambassador’ - his persona and ideas moulded the
‘Singapore’ brand which brought in the foreign
investment which transformed Singapore.
On the whole, however, few would question that Mr Lee's
overall contribution to economic development was
immense and positive. The mark of truly historic
personalities is not in their being able to avoid errors, but
in how they ensured that the mistakes were small while
the achievements were grand. When the great British
architect Christopher Wren was interred in St Paul's
Cathedral in 1723, the epithet read: ‘Reader, if you seek
his monument, look around you.’ One could say the same
for Lee Kuan Yew: if you seek his monument, look around
Singapore. As much in its political system as in the
economy, no one has left such a strong and indelible
imprint of himself in a country as Lee has.
81
AVIATION
JINXED
Why Air Disasters Keep
Happening in Southeast Asia
In the past year, Southeast Asia’s
aviation industry has suffered an
unprecedented number of tragedies.
Although the odds of any person
boarding a flight dying in a plane
crash are about 1 in 11 million,
three
planes—two
based
in
Malaysia, the third an Indonesian
affiliate of a Malaysia-based
group—have apparently gone down,
with no survivors. The latest,
AirAsia Flight QZ8501, had been
traveling from Surabaya, Indonesia,
to Singapore when it vanished over
the Java Sea.
To some extent, the three Malaysian
air disasters are just brutal bad luck.
Still, they point to several disturbing
trends that raise the question of
whether
flying
in
peninsular
Southeast Asia is completely safe.
82
The air market in the region has
embraced low-cost carriers, leading
to a proliferation of flights
throughout
Southeast
Asia,
stretching air traffic controllers, and
possibly allowing some airlines to
expand too rapidly. Indonesian
carriers, air traffic controllers, and
Indonesian airspace in general have
become notorious for weak safety
regulations. AirAsia has responded
to this crisis much more rapidly than
state carrier Malaysian Airline did
after the disappearance of Flight
MH370 last March, but the opaque,
authoritarian
politics
of
Malaysia—which are common in
Southeast Asia—will likely make the
search and rescue operation, and any
inquiry into why the flight crashed,
more difficult than necessary.
AirAsia, modeled on carriers such as
Ryanair and Southwest Airlines,
was the first low-cost airline to
prosper in Southeast Asia, which
had been dominated by state
carriers until open-skies deals broke
the market open in the past decade.
AirAsia allowed the growing middle
classes in Asia to use air travel for
pleasure and business for the first
time. The no-frills airline charged
for food, bags of any significant
size, choosing a specific seat, and
many other services, but it also
gained a reputation for solid
customer service. In the wake of
Flight QZ8501’s disappearance,
AirAsia has continued to show its
responsiveness. Through its website
and emergency call centers, the
airline has been providing families
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
AVIATION
with
up-to-the-minute
and
seemingly accurate information
about the plane and the nascent
search effort, a sharp contrast from
Malaysia Airlines, which told
families of passengers on MH370
virtually nothing for days after the
plane vanished.
AirAsia has expanded rapidly in
Indonesia, the most populous nation
in Southeast Asia and an
archipelago where cheap air travel is
incredibly attractive to middle
classes. Indonesia-based low-cost
carrier Lion Air, meanwhile, placed a
massive order in 2013 for 234 new
Airbus planes and followed that up
with an order last month for 40
more planes. Other low-cost carriers
such as Citilink, Tigerair, Valuair,
and many others have also built up
their route networks across the
archipelago.
But while air traffic has grown in
the region, and while AirAsia had a
mostly solid safety record, the
increase in low-cost flights may
have resulted in planes being
operated by men and women with
less experience than in the past.
Southeast Asian airspace still has
the same mountains, chaotic
weather, and tough approach paths
as it always did. The pilot on the
AirAsia flight had about 6,000
hours of flight experience on the
Airbus plane he was flying, but it is
unclear whether he had experience
flying at 34,000 feet or higher,
where he was trying to take the
plane to avoid bad weather. The
higher the plane rises, the more
difficult it can be to navigate tricky
conditions such as thin air and ice
crystals. Some low-cost carriers
seem particularly strapped trying
to find quality staff and allegedly
push their pilots and crew to work
too many hours in order to run so
many flights. Indonesian carrier
Lion Air has had at least three of
its pilots arrested for crystal
methamphetamine use since 2011;
crystal meth is a stimulant that
can be used to stay awake and
alert.
This increase in flights seems to
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April 2015
have particularly taxed air traffic
controllers, pilots, and mechanics
operating in Indonesia. The country
has become infamous for poor
management of planes in the air and
coming in for landings, and for lax
enforcement of airlines’ need to
maintain planes. Pay for air traffic
controllers,
mechanics,
and
regulators of the aviation industry
remains low by regional standards,
and graft is endemic at all levels of
regulatory agencies in Indonesia;
the country ranks among the most
corrupt in East Asia in Transparency
International’s annual Corruption
Perceptions Index. Yet the increase
in flights into and through the
country has required more air traffic
controllers, mechanics, and pilots,
whether Indonesia is capable of
providing trained people to fill these
jobs.
There has been little evidence that
Indonesian
authorities
have
addressed long-standing concerns
about flight safety in and around the
archipelago. Lion Air alone has
suffered seven accidents in the past
decade, a horrendous number. (By
contrast, all major U.S. airlines
combined, which fly exponentially
more flights daily than Lion Air,
have suffered a total of three serious
crashes in the past decade.) These
accidents included a crash near the
Indonesian city of Solo that killed 25
people, a 2013 crash where a plane
trying to land in Bali in the rain
smashed into the ocean short of the
runway, and an accident earlier this
year where a Lion Air plane coming
into Bali landed so poorly it bounced
up and down four times on the
runway,
severely
injuring
passengers. Meanwhile, Mandala
Airlines
crashed
in
Medan,
Indonesia, in 2005, killing 105
people; an Adam Air flight in
Sulawesi crashed into the sea in
2007, killing 102 people (the worst
accident ever involving a Boeing
747-700); and a Garuda flight in
2007 overshot the runway in
Yogyakarta and crashed, killing 22
people.
Overall, Indonesia’s airlines have
suffered numerous other deadly
crashes in the past 10 years. The
European Union has banned
virtually all Indonesian airlines
from flying in the EU because of
safety concerns. Even Indonesian
state carrier Garuda Indonesia
was, in the 2000s, banned from
flying in Europe because of its
safety record. The International Air
Transport Association has not
allowed Lion Air to become a
member because of concerns about
the airline’s safety.
Although AirAsia is not a state
company, it will still have to
navigate the opaque bureaucracies
of Indonesia’s and Malaysia’s
defense, transportation, and other
ministries to conduct search and
rescue and tell the complete story
of what happened to Flight
QZ8501.
Malaysia’s
semi-authoritarian
government
demonstrated
after
the
disappearance of MH370 that it
resents
handing
over
any
information to outsiders, even if
that information can help with
search-and-rescue efforts. AirAsia
is, in a way, as much of an outsider
to the Malaysian government as
China,
Australia,
and
other
countries pushing to find out about
MH370
were.
AirAsia
Chief
Executive Tony Fernandes has
repeatedly engaged in public spats
with
Malaysia’s
long-ruling
governing coalition, including
Prime Minister Najib Razak, since
Fernandes seems to detest the
back-room,
statist
economic
strategies common in Malaysia,
which are the opposite of his
modern business style.
Indonesia, meanwhile, though a real
democracy, also has been reluctant
to allow outsiders complete access
when working on search-and-rescue
missions, perhaps because the
government fears exposing the
ineptitude of some of the country’s
air regulators and controllers. The
unwillingness of governments in the
region to confront the shortcomings
of their aviation systems means that
more tragedies are likely to occur.
83
GADGET
SYMPHONY XPLORER
H20 REVIEW
T
The new Xplorer H20 is
Symphony’s newest pocket-friendly
addition in the market
By Wafiur Rahman
The most popular smartphone brand
in Bangladesh has produced a new 5
inch display smartphone named
Symphony H 20. With its amazing
clarity, users can view the display
screen in any angle with precise
coloration and brightness.
84
Symphony used the state of the art
In-plain switching panel which
famously known as IPS technology
for smooth viewing experience. It
can play any movie or picture in
stunningly vivid resolution. Users
can also play any world famous HD
games like Asphalt or Need for
Speed for ultimate thrill of 3D
mobile gaming. It also has a 5 MP
back and 2 MP front camera with
auto-focus feature to capture any
moment anywhere. All in all, this
smartphone readily gives user an
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
GADGET
ultimate multimedia entertainment
all day. In addition, this smartphone
truly is a mixture of many modern
elements in terms of design and
structure.
This smartphone runs with a
powerful 1.3 GHz quad core
processor and 1 GB of RAM thus
making it easily run several apps
one at a time. With Android 4.4.2
OS, it also features 8 GB internal
memory which can extend upto 32
GB if preferred so. And for long
lasting heavy usage, it is packed
with a battery of 2000 mAH power
supply.
‘Every Symphony mobile phone is
marketed based on the current
demand from our customers.’ said
Jahidul Islam, Assistant General
Manager (Marketing), ‘A smartphone
with this big HD screen will surely
be useful for sharing all kinds of
pictures, movies, songs and games
for its users all day long. I believe
customers are going to love this
smartphone.’
This smartphone also has additional
features like recording sound and
calls in HQ audio, playing all sorts
of audio and video formats and of
course FM radio for all those radio
heads. WiFi, WLAN, Bluetooth and
connecting as Modem are added to
this device as well. Customers can
head to all mobile outlets around the
country and buy it for Tk. 8290 only.
Hands-on approach
Symphony Xporer H20 is an
wonderful smart-phone in low
budget which has some nice
features. Its elder brother Symphony
Xporer H50 is also an amazing
android phone . Symphony
is
becoming
more
popular
in
Bangladesh day by day. We hope
that in future days they will bring to
us more smartphone with best
quality in very reasonable price.
Moreover 1950 mAh Battery will
give you enough standby time.
Whenever you will ask me about the
Xplorer H20 Performance I should
say that it’s a smooth performing
mobile. Its operating System is
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), Which is a
latest operating Android Operating
System. Besides It’s 1.3 GHz, Quad
Core/MT 6582M processor make
your phone perform faster and
smoothly. You can play games watch
videos and you will fill comfortable
with it. Beside this, Symphony
Xplorer H20 offers G-sensor,
Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor and
Accelerometer sensor. And these
features of Xplorer H20 give this
mobile phone a new dimension.
Xplorer H20 Smartphone offers 1 GB
RAM and due to this, this phone can
perform faster and you can play
high quality games with it and you
will never dissatisfy with this phone
performance.
This
Android
Smartphone has 8 GB internal
memory and supports upto 32 GB.
Which means you can keep huge
staffs in your mobile. Another
important accessory related to
performance is Battery. Xplorer H20
offers 2000 mAh Li-ion Battery. So
you will get huge battery support.
Symphony Xplorer
H20 Design
Design of Symphony Xplorer H20 is
not a significance one but I should
say good and satisfactory one. Its
Dimension is about 144.2 x 73.2 x
9.3 mm and Weight about 145
grams. So its size is smart and you
will fill comfort with it.
Symphony Xplorer
H20 Display
Display of Symphony Xplorer H20 is
a large one and resolution is good
too. The size of display is 5 inch and
supports 16M colors. Xplorer H20
offers HD (1280x 720 pixels)
resolution and 294 PPI. So you can
easily view high definition that is
HD movies and can play high
resolution games.
Symphony Xplorer
H20 Camera:
Xplorer H20 offers 5 MP Primary
camera along with flash and auto
focus. Besides it offers 2 MP rear
camera with which you can take
selfies easily and quality will be
good. It supports Up to 4X Zoom and
its camera sensor is HI-545.
Specifications
 Camera: 5 Megapixel || Video:
Yes; Secondary 2 Megapixel
 Operating System: Android 4.4.2
(KitKat)
 Processor: 1.3 GHz Quad Core
 Internet: GPRS: Yes || EDGE: Yes,
3G, Wi-Fi
 FM Radio:Yes
 Audio Player: MP3
 Video Player: MP4
 RAM: 1 GB
 ROM: 8 GB
 Sensors: G-sensor, Proximity
Sensor,
Light
Sensor,
Accelerometer sensor, GPS, AGPS
 Memory Card Slot: MicroSD card
slot Expandable up to 32GB
 Display: 5" IPS Capacitive Full
Multi Touch HD(720px * 1280px)
 Battery: 2000 mAh Li-ion Battery
 Other Features: Dual SIM Dual
Standby, Android 4.4.2 (KitKat),
1.3 GHz Quad Core Processor,
Mali-400 GPU.
85
GAMING
GAMING AND
GEARING FOR
PERFECTION
Local companies tap global
mobile gaming market
With
the
launch
of
much-talked-about ‘Tap Tap Ants’
game, Bangladesh secured its
presence in the world of mobile
games. More than 15 million iPhone
and iPad users have downloaded the
game, leading Tap Tap Ants to
secure
pole
position
in
a
98-country-wide game download
list. Although Bangladesh is not a
key player in this sector, some
locally developed games have been
able to draw the attention of the
global market. To develop the
industry, the government, along
with Bangladesh Association of
Software & Information Services
(BASIS), Google Development Group,
and private entrepreneurs, is
working to grow the industry.
Although playing video games in an
arcade is still not socially
acceptable, 53 per cent kids now use
their mobile phones for this purpose.
Out of the total apps downloaded on
smartphones, almost 70 per cent are
mobile gaming applications. This
was disclosed by the CEO and
founder of Pechas Games Studios
Maiaz M Rahman. Globally, there
86
are more than 1.2 billion registered
players, among them, 0.97 billion
are active.
Rise Up Labs had released the
original ‘Tap Tap Ants’ in 2009. The
company now launches all its games
in English. It will start releasing
Bengali version of its games, from
April. Ershadul Haque, founder of
Rise Up Labs told The Independent
that Tap Tap Ants received very good
review for virtual concepts of ant,
sound
and
graphics,
from
kotaku.com, a well-known review
site. ‘After reading the review on
kotaku.com, many players visited
Tap Tap Ants and there were
between
10,000
and
20,000
downloads, per day, after the review.
It became popular in Europe, Africa
and many other countries. Also,
many review sites showed interest
in the game and wanted to write on
it. After that, ‘Tap Tap Ants’ became
the top mobile game in 98 countries,
including the US, Australia, Canada,
Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey,
Spain, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, New Zealand, and Saudi
Arabia. It became popular among
players below 20 years of age,’ said
Ershad.
He added that his company only
used to develop games and apps for
the iOS platform, now it is also
developing android and Windows
Mobile
compatible
versions.
Highway Chase, Bubble Attack and
Shoot the Monkey are just few
names in Rise Up Labs rapidly
expanding portfolio, one of whose
latest products is Rooftop Frenzy.
BASIS director, SM Ashraf Abir, told
IBT that, in Bangladesh, there are 10
companies only develop mobile
games, and there are about 70,
which develop games apart from
other applications. The mobile
gaming industry is flourishing and
will grow rapidly, Abir said. BASIS
has taken an initiative to introduce
a course in the faculty of fine arts of
Dhaka
University.
Gradually,
initiatives will be taken to offer
courses in each divisional cities and
in universities, he added. The BASIS
director told this correspondent that
‘We can earn US$ 100 million,
annually, from this industry.’
The Quarterly Global Games Market
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
GAMING
Update, from Newzoo, pins the total
estimated value of mobile games at
US$ 25 billion for the year, a huge
leap of 42 per cent, from the total
value in 2013. That rise, Newzoo
said, is not only thanks to the
sudden rush of revenues from vast
developing markets like India, but
also the continuing performance of
markets like North America and
Asia, which some had predicted to
have reached saturation point. Since
June 2014, the 'We Make Games'
(WMG) programme has been
launched in Bangladesh, to train
mobile game developers, said SM
Mahabub Alam, CEO, MassiveStar
Studio Ltd.
He said, ‘With the dream of making
Bangladesh a leading video game
developer nation in the world, we
are organising the event, WMG, in
400 select schools and colleges,
throughout the country. The
programme comprises four phases:
(a) Explore the games world and
explore the possibilities; (b)
Organising idea generation camps;
(c) Game development camps; (d)
Grooming sessions and nationwide
competition. The eligibility criteria
of the participating students are:
(a) Computer gamers aged above 8
years; (b) Sharp, intelligent,
attentive
and
good
at
mathematics.
Interestingly, 'Hatirjheel: Dream
Begins', developed by MassiveStar,
will mark the launch of the first
computer game series developed
from an organised group in the
country, in a joint effort by local
engineers and young talent. The
first game of this series is Dream
Begins, a combination of reality as
well as dream. ‘We think Hatirjheel
is a prime gift for the new
generation and to the people of
Bangladesh. We feel that the
development of this sector in
Bangladesh must be projected to the
new generation, who have deep
interest in information technology
and a dream for a developed
Bangladesh in the future,’ added
Alam.
Maiaz M. Rahman, CEO and founder
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
of Pechas Game Studios, said,
‘'Cricket Career: Big Innings' was our
last 3D android game that was
released. Many games have been
developed for cricket fans, but this is
the first role-playing cricket game. A
player has to start the game as a
bowler, batsman, or pick any other
role, to play the game. The game will
continue as one is in a real-time
match.’
Another
developer,
TapStar
Interactive Software Limited, has
developed Ludo Friends, a game in
Bangla language, for anroid
platform and Facebook. TapStar CEO
Masuduzzaman said Ludo Friends
begins with the map of Bangladesh
and a player picks a place from the
map and fights with friends to win
the game. One can invite his or her
Facebook friends to play the game.
Virtual coins are needed to play the
game, which can be earned by
inviting friends. ‘It was launched on
December 26. It can be played at free
of cost. This was the first local game
introduced on digital platform, for
internet
users,’
claimed
Masuduzzaman.
Rise Up Labs, ITIW, Pechas Game
Studios, Buzz Bangla, Voxy Live
Games, Tapfury are developing
games in the country, while others,
like Quardo Labs, Do Duk, Spring off
Studio, Latitude, Dreamer Donkey,
Argo Venture, Automix system, and
Soft WinTech develop games in
partnership with foreign firms.
Others like TapStar, Team Creative
develop games both in partnership
and independently.
Tanvir Ahmed, CEO of ITIW, said,
‘'Magic Dragon Village', ‘Dino Zoo’,
‘Monster City’, ‘Zombie Strike’ of
TapStar, 'Watch Out Agi' of
BasBangla, 'Dear Hunting', 'Greed
Puzzle' of Pechas Studio, among the
local games that get popularity.
Besides, some firms develop games
for foreign companies, but those are
not being branded as Bangladeshi
games. Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the
state minister of information and
communication technology, said the
ground work to develop mobile and
video games industry has advanced.
The workshop on developing apps is
being arranged, which makes the
platform to develop games.
The minister also said it is somehow
difficult to develop game. Besides
publishers and designers, a team is
needed to develop game. It is not
possible only for the government to
build up the industry. And, so, the
government is trying to inspire
different organisations to help the
sector flourish. The minister also
said that training programmes are
being arranged to create skilled
professionals like programmers,
publishers,
graphic
designers,
content developers, and game
planners, after setting up training
institutes across the country.
87
HOLIDAYING REVERIE
TRAVEL
PHOTO: D M SHIBLY
Bangladesh
makes it to a
Top 20
destination list
Bangladesh has been named 18th in the
top 20 among the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) destinations in the
Global Muslim Travel Index, the most
comprehensive research released
yesterday on the sector, says a press
release. According to MasterCard-Crescent
Rating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI)
2015 Bangladesh is behind Malaysia,
Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Indonesia, Oman, Jordan and Morocco,
the release added.
TRAVEL
Bangladesh had a GMTI of 60.2
while Malaysia scored an Index
score of 83.8, followed by Turkey in
73.8.
This Muslim travel market is
forecasted to grow to 150 million
travellers in 2020 and 11 per cent of
the entire segment with a value
projected to grow to $200 billion. In
2014, Bangladesh alone saw 67,000
90
Muslim arrivals into the country
which accounts for 19 per cent of the
total arrivals.
The study also
revealed that in 2014, this segment
was worth $145 billion, with 108
million
Muslim
travellers
representing 10 per cent of the entire
travel economy.
Singapore topped the list for
non-OIC countries which also saw
Thailand, UK, South Africa and
France to make the top five. Such
thorough insights have been
provided for the first time in one of
the fastest-growing tourism sectors
in the world today, the release
added. Creating an overall index and
basing on a number of criteria, the
GMTI looked at in-depth data
covering 100 destinations.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
TRAVEL
The GMTI index will provide
travellers, Governments, travel
services
and
investors
comprehensive benchmarks across a
number of important criteria
enabling them to track the health
and growth of this travel segment.
‘The
MasterCard-CrescentRating
Global
Muslim
Travel
Index
yesterday set a real precedent for the
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
tourism industry,’ said Fazal
Bahardeen, CEO of CrescentRating
and HalalTrip. ‘Not only is it the
most in-depth research that we have
undertaken
so
far
on
the
fast-growing Muslim travel market,
but has provided all stakeholders
with some invaluable insight into
how the halal-friendly tourism
sector is growing and developing
from a global perspective.’
‘We are pleased to partner with
CrescentRating to develop the Global
Muslim Travel Index as we see it as
an extension of our efforts in giving
consumers peace of mind when
travelling, through our seamless
payment solutions. Travel continues
to be a core passion for consumers
and we are confident the GMTI will
prove to be a trusted resource for
this
important,
fast-growing
traveller segment,’ said Matthew
Driver, President, Southeast Asia,
MasterCard.
Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia saw
the highest number of Muslim
arrivals into the country in 2014
with 10.2 million followed by Turkey
at 8.1 million. All 100 destinations
in the GMTI were scored against a
backdrop of criteria which included
suitability as a family holiday
destination, the level of services and
facilities
it
provides,
accommodation options, marketing
initiatives as well as visitor arrivals.
Each criterion was then weighted to
make up the overall index score.
GMTI40, which will be updated
quarterly around the year, will track
the average score of the top 20 OIC
and non-OIC destinations and will
form the key index to monitor the
performance of the Muslim travel
segment. The overall average score
for 40 destinations (GMTI40)
currently stands at 56 while the
overall average GMTI score for the
complete 100 destinations is at
43.8. From a regional perspective,
Asia Pacific destinations lead with
an average GMTI score of 54.
91
WORD OF MOUTH
Alpenliebe
Shadhinotar
Ronge
Rongin
SCB signs
InstaBuys
agreement with
Global Brand Pvt
Ltd
Standard Chartered Bank and Global Brand
Pvt. Ltd., one of the leading IT products
sellers in Bangladesh has recently signed
an agreement on 0% InstaBuys facility for
Standard Chartered credit cardholders.
Global Brand Pvt. Ltd. will provide EMI
facility through 0% InstaBuys for up to 12
months tenor on their selected Asus &
Lenevo brand Notepad, Laptop & Pad etc.
92
March,
the
month
of
Independence for Bangladesh
is remembered with respect
and emotion across the
country
with
different
programs and celebrations.
Independence Day of 26th
March
is
commonly
associated with parades, political speeches, fairs, concerts, and
ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating
the history and traditions of Bangladesh. The main streets are
decorated with national flags of red and green. The spirit of
Independence is celebrated everywhere with the colours of
Independence - people wearing red and green.
Alpenliebe, one of the leading candy brands in the world as well as in
Bangladesh has also joined the crowd to celebrate the colours of
Independence. Alpenliebe is the only candy brand in the country with
a swirl of 2 colours in its fruit flavours. To celebrate the spirit of
independence this year, Alpenliebe Mango Candy has transformed
itself with a red and green swirl. It has also changed its look in terms
of packaging as the product is now available in a new wrapper and a
green jar with red cap celebrating our patriotic colours.
Apart from changing in the product and packs, Alpenliebe has also
made way for consumers to join in the festivities through a digital
campaign called ‘Alpenliebe Shadhinotar Ronge Rongin’. Consumers
can participate in the campaign by uploading any image with red and
green on www.alpenliebebangladesh.com and win attractive prizes
every week in March. The campaign is already being promoted in
electronic and print media as well as Alpenliebe Bangladesh
Facebook page, and is receiving very good response from all corners
of the country.
Alpenliebe is also celebrating the
spirit of Independence with a special
movie segment on Desh TV, where a
popular movie on Independence will
be telecast every Saturday of March.
Also in Somoy TV, Alpenliebe will be
presenting a special segment on
young freedom fighters during prime
time news from 18 to 26March.
Alpenliebe – a European brand by
origin - is very proud to be present in
Bangladesh for the past decade, and
to now take an active part in
celebrating its Independence through
the Colours of Independence.
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
WORD OF MOUTH
Tale of a
Corporate Brand
Re-vamp
The future lies ahead, with all the
possibilities of shedding the
darkness and marching to the
brighter future.
Reaching lives,
enlightening the souls and making
the world better, are what ignite our
drive to move forward.
SSG™ (Super Star Group) is a
leading electrical & electronics
conglomerate operating for the last
two decades. Aftab Mahmud
Khurshid, Chief Marketing Officer
(CMO) of Super Star Group (SSG) is
getting a lot of feedback these days,
mostly the positive ones about their
recently aired corporate TVC. After
joining SSG he planned for a brand
facelift of the organization and
wanted to portray Super Star Group
with a fresh look and contemporary
corporate identity and convey a
marketing strategy through a
disruptive abstract with a touch of
futuristic reality.
With this intention of brand
re-vamp, Aftab Mahmud intended to
craft a 360 degree communication
strategy and consulted Outbox
Limited to share his approach. Aftab
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
briefed Outbox team about SSG’s
new logo and positioning and asked
for a global communication strategy
focusing on a vision aligning with
the promise; ‘‘The promise is ‘Future
is bright’ through which we want to
communicate the message of
positivity in all aspect to our current
and potential stakeholders’ says
Aftab Mahmud.
Outbox Limited, a new age
advertising agency, co ventured by
industry veterans Rasel Bari and
Mostafa Kamal Aru in 2012 is
providing creative solutions to local
and global companies to create,
maintain and strengthen their
brands. Its clientele includes
Standard Chartered Bank, Super
Star Group, Unimart, Singer and
many others.
Outbox team started to build the
story keeping the global concept in
mind. This was a challenging task
for the whole Outbox team as
communicating the corporate brand
is somewhat perplexing than
product communications. But the
entire team accepted the challenge
and crafted a story on which the
next steps were scheduled. As the
communication was being crafted
for a global audience, Outbox
thought to work with global people
when it came to filming and music.
After much hard work the
storyboard was ready and the client
accepted and the production team
was ready to shoot.
The production team led by Istiak
Mahmud, the young, talented and
energetic Director, started for the
shooting locations of Cox’s Bazar
and Teknaf on the morning of 5th
January. Outbox out of its value for
fresh works trusted on Istiak
Mahmud and his venture BlankBox
Films who put up a brilliant show.
Istiak and his whole team consisting
of roughly 200 people used the
latest technology and tools for
shooting this film. For 3 days from
dawn till midnight after a fun filled
hectic shooting schedule the team
came to Dhaka and finished the last
part of shooting.
The TVC was launched on 24th of
February. The TVC is currently being
aired across several TV channels and
is creating quite a buzz in social
media.
SSG’s
Omni-channel
promotion is being quite productive
in several media from print media to
digital media. Rasel Bari, Managing
Director of Outbox limited expresses
‘We like to create memories for our
valued clients with fresh ideas and
innovative approaches.’
93
WORD OF MOUTH
MACOMM Becomes
the Official Affiliate
of Dentsu in
Bangladesh
MACOMM, one of the fastest growing
marketing communication agencies in the
country, has become the Official Affiliate of
Dentsu, under Dentsu Aegis Network for the
Bangladesh region. Rabeth Khan, Chief
Executive Officer of MACOMM, signed on
behalf of MACOMM and Steve McNaught
signed on behalf of Dentsu Aegis Network.
Under the joint working alliance, MACOMM
will assimilate the best international
advertising and marketing communication
practices from the world’s largest advertising
agency brand Dentsu. In addition, MACOMM
will service all the Dentsu global and regional
Japanese and non-Japanese clients operating
in Bangladesh. MACOMM and Dentsu have
already undertaken strategic plans to train the
team in Bangladesh through on-the-job
training and knowledge sessions in India,
Thailand and Japan to embrace the Dentsu way
of doing business across global markets.
Commenting on this Ashish Bhasin, Chairman
and CEO South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network
said, ‘We are very pleased to have MACOMM as
our Official Affiliate in Bangladesh. Their
subsidiary company, MediaAxis already have a
relationship with Dentsu Aegis Network
through Carat and MACOMM will now be the
Official Affiliate of Dentsu in Bangladesh.
Rabeth Khan and his team are really
enthusiastic professionals and will take their
organization to newer heights’.
Rabeth Khan, Chief Executive Officer,
MACOMM said, ‘We are delighted to link up
with one of the world’s biggest agency groups,
Dentsu Aegis Network, in the Bangladesh
region. With our association with Dentsu, we
are confident to bring forward a strong unique
proposition of international qualitative
benchmarks in the local market for both the
Dentsu and non-Dentsu Japanese and
non-Japanese clients, in Bangladesh, with the
continuous guidance and expertise of Dentsu.
This association also underlines the
progression of MACOMM as one of the fastest
growing marketing communication agencies in
Bangladesh and its intention to embrace
global
standards
of
advertising
communication excellence’.
94
SCB and Unique Hotels &
Resorts Signs Deal
Standard Chartered Bank and Unique Hotel & Resorts
Limited (owner of The Westin Dhaka) signed an
agreement on March 9, 2015 to fund UHRL’s ongoing
expansion programs into the Hotel sector. Mohd. Noor
Ali, the Managing Director of Unique Hotel & Resorts
Ltd. signed the agreement on behalf of UHRL. Abrar A
Anwar, CEO, Standard Chartered Bangladesh was also
present at the occasion.
Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd. is the owner of The Westin
Dhaka - the real 5 star internationally branded chain
hotel in Bangladesh. The company has plans to set up
two internationally branded 5 star hotels at Gulshan
and Banani in Dhaka. Standard Chartered Bank has
approved USD 35 million term loan to fund the
on-going expansion programs of Unique Hotel &
Resorts Ltd.
On this occasion, Mohd. Noor Ali, MD of UHRL said,
‘This landmark deal will help Unique Hotel & Resorts
Ltd. to lower its funding cost by availing financing in
foreign currency and further consolidate its position as
leading player in the hospitality sector in Bangladesh.
We are really happy to sign this agreement with
Standard Chartered Bank, as they are providing an
innovative financial solution that will benefit us and
our shareholders immensely.’
Abrar A. Anwar, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank
Bangladesh said. ‘We are really pleased to come up
with such a solution for Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd.
This agreement is another testimony of our
commitment to continuously innovate and provide the
best financial solution to our clients and customers and
also to bring global best practices to Bangladesh. ‘
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes
WORD OF MOUTH
Mario Hardy, CEO of PATA on his
first visit to Bangladesh
Mario Hardy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) came to Dhaka for a four-day official visit in
Bangladesh from 23-26 March 2015. This visit was in the view of
invitation extended to him by CEO, Bangladesh Tourism Board and
Chairman of PATA Bangladesh Chapter. During his visit he made courtesy
calls to Minister and Secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry
of Bangladesh. He also met various tourism industry leaders and
stakeholders of the county. His program also included visit to PATA
Bangladesh Dhaka University Student Chapter and inauguration of the
Adventure Club of Bangladesh. This was Mr. Hardy’s first visit to
Bangladesh as a CEO where he assessed the need and the role of PATA
towards the tourism development of Bangladesh.
Musleh Ahmed
Receives Award
in UK
For the first time, the prestigious
British
Bangladeshi
Business
Award took place in Birmingham,
United Kingdom on March 11, 2015
with the aim to honor Bangladeshi
Business person residing in United
Kingdom. A total of 28 Bangladeshi
people in 21 categories including
business, media, and social
entrepreneurship were awarded
who have played an important role
for the development of UK economy
and Bangladeshi communities.
Musleh Ahmed, the Vice President
of Dhaka Regency Hotel & Resort
has received the Best NRB Investor
award from the honorable British
Prime Minister David Cameron who
was the chief guest of the
ceremony.
ICE BusinessTimes
April 2015
SCB Partners with bKash
Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh has partnered with bKash, a subsidiary
of BRAC Bank to launch Straight2Bank Wallet in Bangladesh. With the
introduction of the platform, Standard Chartered’s corporate clients in
Bangladesh can now make instant, cashless payments to banked and
unbanked individuals via the Straight2Bank channel. Beneficiaries will
receive the funds electronically in their bKash mobile wallets.
Straight2Bank Wallet replaces onerous and risk-prone cash payments,
offering an efficient and secure digital payment scheme for Standard
Chartered’s corporate clients. Clients and their beneficiaries also stand to
benefit from improved cash flow and visibility with certainty in payment date.
At the launch ceremony, Hussain Shirazie, MD & Head of Transaction Banking
of Standard Chartered Bangladesh commented, ‘We are privileged to work
with bKash in launching Straight2Bank Wallet – furthering financial
inclusion in Bangladesh and making access to banking services effortless for
our corporate clients and their beneficiaries. This initiative is a testament to
our continued commitment to Bangladesh, and reiterates our brand promise
of being ‘Here for good’.’
Mr. Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash Limited said ‘We are happy to partner with
Standard Chartered Bank to allow their corporate customers to benefit from
bKash’s vast agent network and customised disbursement solution. This
generates broader reach for both Standard Chartered and bKash.’
Straight2Bank Wallet is currently also available in Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia,
Tanzania, Pakistan and the Philippines. Standard Chartered will continue to
expand its offering to other countries across its footprint of Asia, Africa and
the Middle East.
95
WORD OF MOUTH
Generating
Revenue
Through Social
Media - DigiBuzz
SD Asia presents DigiBuzz, a
workshop and speaking session on
Social and Digital Media focusing on
‘Monetization’, which is generating
sales through social media with the
help from international and local
specialists. DigiBuzz will take place
on April 25th at Gardenia, The
Grand Hall at Gulshan, Dhaka and
will be a unique digital media
business event.
The event will bring together the
entire
digital
entrepreneurial
ecosystem along with online media
enthusiasts – stakeholder’s involved
with online business and digital
marketing.
Digital marketing in Asia is in its
early stages of maturity. In
Bangladesh, there is a growing
focus on digital and social media
marketing as a distribution
channel to acquire customers.
Influence of social media in
business is significant now,
particularly Facebook as user base
is growing every day. There are
now over 12+ million Facebook
users in Bangladesh. Within this
context, SDASIA is arranging
whole
day
workshops
and
speaking sessions on Social and
Digital Media to help businesses
and entrepreneurs figure out how
to generate sales, understand
social metrics, how to
develop good content
and which tools to
use.
The central theme of
DigiBuzz
2015
is
’Monetization of Social
Media in Bangladesh’,
highlighting
the
success stories and the
opportunities
for
existing
businesses
whether
online
or
offline and for aspiring
entrepreneurs.
The
event will have two
parts – the first part
will consist with the
speaking sessions and
the second part will
consist of mentoring along with
showcasing digital works.
Mustafizur Khan, CEO & Founder of
SD ASIA, said ‘Through this one-day
annual DigiBuzz event – we will focus
on three things – ‘Share how to build
a brand in social media and measure
success, educate how to reduce trial
and error time for online marketing,
and help network with Asia’s top
social media experts ‘.
‘Employee of the Year – Outstation,
Finance’ for his greater contribution
beyond his job responsibility.
Another category of award was the
‘Commercial Award’ which was
presented to Hanif Zakaria-General
Manager Bangladesh on behalf of the
Bangladesh Commercial team for
achieving the Passenger and Revenue
target for the year 2014. The Award
has been presented by President and
Chief Executive Officer – James
Hogan, Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner, Chief Financial
Officer - James Rigney, Senior Vice
President Global Sales – James
Mueller and Vice President Global
Sales – Daniel Barranger. Commercial
Team of Bangladesh was presented
during the award event.
Team
Bangladesh Win
2 Awards at
Etihad Airways
Worldwide Staff
Conference
Etihad
Airways
General
Manager-Bangladesh, Commercial
team, Finance Manager and Airport
Manager has attended the Annual
Etihad Airways Worldwide Staff
Conference at Emirates Palace, Abu
Dhabi during 05March to 08March
2015, where 2 prestigious award
has been handed over to Bangladesh
team for the contribution in
performance during 2014.
The first category of award has been
presented to Mr Md. Anis Ullah,
Finance Manager Bangladesh as
96
April 2015
ICE BusinessTimes