Daily News Recap Wednesday October 15, 2014 Analyst: Faiza Farah Tuba faiza.farah@lbsbd.com Industry Under-invoicing in import takes a toll on local industry Rampant under-invoicing in import of goods from China and India is affecting the domestic manufacturing sector, entrepreneurs said. They said the declared prices of imported goods such as glass, tyre, tube and many others are much lower than their actual value and export prices. For example, the export price of a 26-inch cycle tyre is $2.3, but the item is being imported at 81 cents only. A tube is being valued at 41 cents at import level though its export price is $1.20-$1.30. The situation is graver for imports of glass and glassware. A kilogram of glass is imported at 80 cents only though the price in international markets is $1.5. Industry insiders said some 150-200 tonnes of glass are being imported everyday causing serious damage to the local manufacturers. Also, there is incidence of misdeclaration, such as importing high-end products declaring those as low-end ones. Wholesale and retail traders are selling these underinvoiced imported goods at up to 50 percent lesser prices than the goods of same standards being made locally, manufacturers said. So, there is no reason that consumers will buy locallymade goods at higher prices, they added. “Our investment is at stake. Under-invoicing and misdeclaration in import are becoming a serious threat to us,” said NG Saha, senior general manager of Gazi Group that makes tyre and tube for motorised vehicles, rickshaws and bicycles. Saha said Gazi Group has invested more than Tk 300 crore to set up a modern and importsubstitute plant for manufacturing tyre and tube. “The entire sector will be destroyed if underinvoicing in import doesn't stop,” he said. Luthful Bari, general secretary of Bangladesh Tyre and Tube Manufacturers' Association, echoed the same. “Already, some small tyre and tube makers have gone out of business after failing to compete with under-priced products,” Bari said. Nasir Group of Industries, which has invested more than Tk 1,000 crore to set up two factories for making import-substitute float glass and glassware, is in a serious problem due to a surge in imports of under-invoiced products, mostly from China. “Per kg glass is being valued at 80 cents by customs officials, while its import price is $1.5,” said Nasiruddin Biswas, chairman and managing director of Nasir Group. After long persuasion, Biswas said, the government revalued the import price of a kg of glass at 80 cents, from just 16 cents a couple of years ago. About float glass, he said imported products are being sold at 20 percent less price than his production costs. “My investment as well as jobs of thousands of workers is at risk,” he said. Businesses said under-invoicing in import is not only affecting the local manufacturers, but also causing a revenue loss for the government. Businesspeople in Bangladesh think a section of 1 Daily News Recap unscrupulous Chinese exporters is ready to compromise both quality and price to sell their goods. China-made counterfeits of leading global brands, particularly electronics and telecommunication items, have flooded the local market. Influential magazine The Economist estimated the sum -- involved in under-invoicing in import from China by Bangladeshi importers -- at $3 billion a year, mainly because of the astronomical rise in both value and volume of imports over the last one decade. It was all about duty evasion by Bangladesh importers through underinvoicing, said the prestigious British weekly. The National Board of Revenue, the tax administrator of Bangladesh, is augmenting its efforts to bring down tax evasion, under- and overinvoicing of imports and misdeclaration. “The tax evasion tendency is rampant in Bangladesh,” NBR Chairman Ghulam Hussain said. He said the NBR has recently taken some steps to reduce tax evasion through under- and over-invoicing. The steps include bringing uniformity in assessment at all ports, and identifying habitual tax evaders and clearing and forwarding agents who help importers dodge tax. "Things are improving gradually," the NBR chairman said, adding that tax income from import duties is on the rise. Import duty grew 15 percent in July, from 9 percent in the same month last year. “Things will improve further once the NBR gets fully automated in two years,” Hussain said. However, high import duty often prompts importers to resort to under-invoicing, another NBR official said. News Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/under-invoicing-in-import-takes-a-toll-onlocal-industry-45695 H&M plans to boost purchase from Bangladesh Swedish apparel retailer H&M will increase its volume of business in Bangladesh as the country has significantly improved its safety and labour rights, the company's top boss said yesterday. “H&M is a growing company and we hope to grow further in Bangladesh. Although I am here on a short two-day visit, it was good as I met with suppliers, trade union leaders and different stakeholders and discussed different issues,” Group Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson said. Persson met leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at the H&M office in Dhaka to discuss relevant issues and visited a couple of factories. “Bangladesh has improved a lot in quality and prices, which is great, and we are looking for sustainability here,” he said after a meeting with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at the secretariat in Dhaka. “We are satisfied with the present situation in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. Economic growth in the country is also impressive. A lot of improvements have taken place in the factories, which will greatly benefit the country,” Persson added. However, Bangladesh needs to address three important challenges -- industrial relations, environmental issues and poor infrastructure -- for sustainable business growth, he said. This was his first visit since the Rana Plaza building collapse. Earlier, Persson came to Dhaka in September 2012 when he announced the company's plan to double sourcing from Bangladesh and do business worth $3 billion in the next five years. H&M is the largest apparel buyer for Bangladesh, sourcing products from more than 250 factories. H&M has six different brands and 3,300 stores across the globe. The brands are H&M, 2 Daily News Recap COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday and Other Stories. The company also buys garment from China, Vietnam and Cambodia. The commerce minister, in his meeting with Persson, said the inspections by the two foreign agencies -- Accord and Alliance -- is a matter of pride for Bangladesh as they found more than 98 percent factories to be safe. The Accord, a European sponsored platform of 186 retailers and brands, and the Alliance, a platform of 26-US based retailers and brands, shut down only three factories after inspections of nearly 1,800 factories. “We can now proudly say that our factories are safe as the inspections were conducted by independent bodies,” said Ahmed. “After the Rana Plaza building collapse, we have taken several electrical, structural and fire safety measures in the factories so that no more industrial disasters take place.” The government has also waived duties on the import of safety equipment so that the garment makers can build safe factories at cheaper costs, he added. “We want H&M to come to Bangladesh in a bigger way. We have also successfully addressed child labour issue as the ILO declared the country free from child labour in 1995,” Ahmed said. Bangladesh amended the labour law allowing full freedom of association by the workers and the government is now working to amend the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) law so that workers in the specialised zones can form trade unions, he said. Fewer than 100 trade unions were allowed in Bangladesh over the last 30 years, but more than 208 unions were allowed in the last year and a half. News Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/h-m-plans-to-boost-purchase-frombangladesh-45709 Fresh hike in gas prices likely in few months Petrobangla is set to submit a fresh proposal to the energy regulator for hiking natural gas tariff for all types of consumers within the next several months, a top official said Tuesday Petrobangla's subsidiary companies will calculate 'upstream costs' of natural gas before submitting the tariff hike proposal to the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Petrobangla Chairman Hussain Monsur told the FE Tuesday. The BERC will then scrutinise the proposals from the subsidiary companies and hold public hearings to announce a fresh hike of natural gas tariff. He said the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources (MPEMR) has recently permitted Petrobangla to propose a hike in natural gas tariff considering 'upstream costs' meaning costs of natural gas production. Petrobangla sought the permission from the MPEMR to propose the hike in natural gas tariff considering the 'upstream costs' in February this year. But the MPEMR took almost six months to prepare a tariff hike proposal, said an official. "We have not yet started the process of calculating the upstream costs of natural gas for raising tariff for consumers," said the Petrobangla official. But the process will be initiated soon, he added. The energy regulator last raised natural gas tariffs for all types of domestic consumers, excepting compressed natural gas (CNG), by 11 per cent on August 1, 2009. The BERC also hiked the price of CNG by 20 per cent to Tk 30 per unit on September 20, 2011. When contacted, BERC Member Dr Salim Mahmud said Petrobangla and its subsidiaries are 3 Daily News Recap yet to submit proposals to the energy regulator for raising natural gas tariff for consumers. Petrobangla in March 2012 had submitted a proposal, on behalf of its subsidiary gas companies, to raise natural gas tariff by 34 per cent on an average for power plants, fertiliser companies, tea gardens, industries and compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations. Instead of raising natural gas tariff, the Commission then had asked Petrobangla to direct its subsidiary gas marketing companies to submit tariff hike proposals separately for consideration, Mr Mahmud said. But none of the country's six gas marketing companies - Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, Jalalabad Gas Transmission and Distribution System Ltd, Bakhrabad Gas Distribution Company Ltd, Paschimanchal Gas Company Ltd, Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Ltd and Sundarban Gas Company Ltd - is yet to come up with tariff hike proposals separately, he said. "We shall consider gas tariff hike only after getting separate proposals from the gas marketing companies that are involved in selling natural gas to user ends," Mr Mahmud said categorically. A senior Petrobangla official said natural gas tariff hike is necessary to carry out oil and gas exploration and other necessary development works in the energy sector. Petrobangla in its proposal in 2012 had sought the tariff for per unit (1,000 cubic meter) of natural gas to increase by 5.24 per cent to Tk 84 for power plants. It sought to raise the tariff by 9.71 per cent to Tk 80 from Tk 72.92 for fertiliser factories and by 32.60 per cent to Tk 220 from Tk 165.91 for industrial users. For privately-owned smaller power plants, known as captive power plants, the hike was proposed by 102.94 per cent to Tk 240 from Tk 118.26. Petrobangla has proposed to raise natural gas tariff by 30.55 per cent to Tk 350 from Tk 268.09 for commercial consumers, by 20.55 per cent to Tk 200 from Tk 165.91 for tea estates and by 39.10 per cent to Tk 905.92 from Tk 651.29 for CNG gas refilling stations. Earlier in a separate proposal in January, 2012, Petrobangla had sought to raise natural gas prices for domestic consumers by up to 122 per cent, which was dropped later following the Energy Ministry's intervention. It had proposed doubling of retail gas prices to Tk 800 per month for domestic consumers with a single burner gas cooker and by 122 per cent to Tk 1,000 per month for those with a double burner. Petrobangla then did not seek to raise the price of compressed natural gas (CNG), but the Energy Ministry recommended to increase the tariff for CNG, most of which is consumed by motor vehicles. The country's overall natural gas production now hovers around 2,300 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd), against the demand for 2,700-3,000 mmcfd. Gas shortages have pushed Petrobangla to ration its supplies to industries, power plants and fertiliser factories. News Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/10/15/61177 4 Daily News Recap Banks asked not to open petroleum LCs without BERC license Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday asked scheduled banks not to open letters of credit for petroleum product imports by private sector businesses that did not have licence from the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission. The BB in a circular said Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003 had barred import, storage, supply and marketing of any petroleum products by any businesses or entities without the BERC licence. The central bank issued the circular after receiving a letter from the energy regulator. The BERC in the letter said some importers had recently opened LCs for petroleum products although they did not get any licence from it resulting that the customs department did not release the imported products. The importers later applied to the BERC to get licence to get release of the imported petroleum products, the BERC letter said. Before getting the licence from the energy regulator, every petroleum importer has to take noobjection certificate from district administration and Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence to ensure the secure storage system of petroleum products, it said. But, the BERC gave the licences to the importers without ensuring the compliance maintained by them (importers) as their petroleum products remained stuck in the port, the letter said. A BB official told New Age that the private sector importers had imported the petroleum products after getting approval from the commerce ministry, he said. The government earlier permitted the owners of power plants to import petroleum products from abroad. News Source: http://newagebd.net/57463/banks-asked-not-to-open-petroleum-lcs-withoutberc-licence/#sthash.3g5A2aoX.dpbs Economy Inflation came down to a 20-month low Inflation slips to 20month low of 6.84 percent in September, giving hope to the government of meeting this fiscal year's target. Good rice production and low interest and exchange rates account for the slide. Inflation was 6.91 percent in August. “It is a change in the right direction,” said Zahid Hussain, a lead economist at the World Bank. Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal welcomed the latest inflation data, adding that it puts the government in good stead of meeting fiscal 2014-15's target for 6.5 percent. Hussain, too, said the inflation trend is on track to achieving the 6.5 percent target by the end of the year. Both the food and non- 5 Daily News Recap food inflation fell last month: food inflation by four basis points to 7.63 percent and non-food 13 basis points to 5.63 percent from the previous month, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. The WB economist said food prices have been stable because of good boro harvest and stable international prices. Non-food inflation has also stabilised for the steady supply chain and exchange rate as well as prudent monetary management. Rice production edged up to a new high last fiscal year for favourable weather and a more balanced use of fertilisers. Net rice production in fiscal 2013-14 stood at 3.56 crore tonnes riding on a record boro output, up 1.42 percent from the previous year. Boro yield rose 1.6 percent year-on-year to 1.9 crore tonnes last fiscal year, according to a recent estimate by BBS. Alongside, the import of food grains increased to 30 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2013-14, which was around 19 lakh tonnes in the previous year. A Bangladesh Bank official said due to a good production and stock in the government silos, the price of rice is much lower now. Rice price yesterday was 10 to 15 percent cheaper than on the same day last year, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. The fall in interest rate on bank loans and exchange rate also had a downward impact on overall inflation. In July, the average lending rate was 12.84 percent, in contrast to 13.63 percent a year ago, according to BB. On October 8, the average exchange rate against the dollar was Tk 77.4, which was Tk 77.75 a year ago. News Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/inflation-slips-to-20-month-low-45703 Move to rationalise export subsidy for efficient use The government is considering to rationalise export subsidy through re-allocation for its efficient use as it has found that most of the funds is being wasted each year instead of boosting exports. It wants to review its existing financial support being given to the exporters in view of rising cash incentives. Cash incentive or export subsidy rose by more than 35 per cent to Tk 35 billion in 2014-15 fiscal over that of the last financial year, a figure that has crossed 3.0 per cent of the total National Board of Revenue (NBR) earnings. Currently, 14 export-earning sectors including apparel and frozen foods get the financial benefit ranging 5.0 to 20 per cent on their export earnings. Earlier, 19 sectors were eligible for export incentives. The Finance Division of the ministry of finance held a meeting with all ministries concerned on October 09 last to discuss the issue with additional secretary Moinul Islam in the chair. Officials were against improper export subsidies saying this actually does not help boost export earnings, one official, who attended the meeting, told the FE Tuesday on condition of anonymity. They alleged that many exporters have been withdrawing such type of financial benefits by showing 'fake export documents,' he said quoting the meeting sources. A senior Finance Division official said there has been growth in the apparel sector each year and this is not because of cash incentives. "In my mind, this rise in the garment exports is simply due to our comparative advantage in 6 Daily News Recap terms of labour force over competitors," he said. He said the government is providing its taxearned money to the exporters to make them stay globally competitive. "What actually we see does not justify continuation of the cash benefit," he said. Golam Mostafa, a frozen food exporter told the FE that cash incentives are being eaten up by the big exporters. Mr. Mostafa, who was chief of the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association, a group of a few hundred frozen fish exporters, said this should also be reviewed in a bid to encourage small exporters. However, sources at the Finance Division said they want to include some potential export products in the eligibility list for cash incentives. They identified electric cables and white fish (excluding shrimp) for inclusion in the new list. However, the meeting decided to conduct a study to examine the benefits of the cash incentives. The meeting asked the concerned circles to provide their opinion to the Finance Division for making an efficient allocation of the tax money. The government is now providing subsidies and cash incentives to 14 export items, including readymade garments (RMG), vegetables, ships and light engineering products. The export subsidies and cash incentives include 5.0 per cent for local RMG sector, 15-20 per cent for handicraft, 20 per cent for vegetables exports and agro-processing sector, 20 per cent for Halal meat, 5.0 per cent for ships and 7.5 per cent for frozen shrimps. News Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/10/15/61176 Trade deficit again in August after surplus in July Bangladesh entered the trade deficit territory again in August after a month because of higher import payments and relatively lower export earnings, officials said Tuesday. The country's overall trade deficit widened by more than 26 per cent to US$999 million in the July-August period of the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 from $790 million in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, according to the central bank statistics. "The trade deficit may widen further in the coming months if the lower export growth continues," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The overall imports rose to $6.09 billion in the first two months of this FY from $5.78 billion in the corresponding period, while export earnings rose to $5.09 billion from $4.99 billion. The overall imports increased significantly during the period under review mainly due to higher import of petroleum products, another BB official explained. Fuel oils import increased by 49.05 per cent to $840.40 million during the period against $563.85 million of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. He also said the upward trend of overall imports may continue in the coming months if the political stability continues. Bangladesh recorded a trade surplus in July last for the first time in its history because of lower import payments. The trade surplus stood at $195 million in July, the first month of the FY 15 against a deficit of $129 million in the same month a year ago, the BB data showed. On the other hand, the country's current account balance came down to $327 million in the first two months of the FY15 from $656 million in the same period of the previous fiscal. Higher trade deficit pushed down 7 Daily News Recap the current account balance significantly despite rising trend of inward remittances, according to the central banker. However, the overall balance of payments (BoP) rose to $782 million during the period under review from to $655 million in the corresponding period of the FY 14. "The overall BoP may improve further in the coming months because of the healthy position of the country's foreign exchange reserve," the BB official observed. He also said the healthy BOP position helps maintain a stable exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar in the foreign exchange market. Bangladesh's foreign exchange (forex) reserve rose to $22.18 billion Tuesday from $22.17 billion of the previous working day. "We'll be able to settle around seven months' import bills with the existing forex reserve," the BB official noted. News Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/10/15/61181 Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday the government is ready to allocate a Exclusive economic zone for Singaporean investors offered land in Mirsarai upazila of Chittagong district for setting up an exclusive economic zone for Singaporean investors. "The government is ready to allocate a land for the exclusive economic zone for the Singaporean investors for their hassle-free investment in Bangladesh," she said. The PM said this when visiting Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Zulkifli Masagos met her at her office, reports UNB. Prime Minister's Press Secretary AKM Shameem Chowdhury briefed journalists after the meeting. He said Singapore expressed its keen interest to invest in establishing an independent clean smart city as well as a power plant in Bangladesh. Zulkifli Masagos said the investors of his country are very much interested in setting up a smart city on the outskirts of Dhaka, particularly at Purbachal, which could also be in joint venture with Bangladesh. The Singaporean Senior State Minister lauded the government of Sheikh Hasina as it has been continuing the process of development maintaining peace and stability in the country. He also highly appreciated Bangladeshi workers serving in Singapore saying they are very efficient, trust worthy and hard working people. Masagos also apprised Sheikh Hasina of the model of 'Economic Development' which Singapore followed for its industrial process. The PM said the relations between Bangladesh and Singapore is very essential for the development of Bangladesh, and expressed the hope that it would be further be strengthened in the days to come. She urged the Singaporean investors to play an effective role for the development of Bangladesh through investment. Talking about developing a trained youth force on tourism, the PM said Singapore could cooperate in establishing such a training institute in Bangladesh. She also highlighted various achievements of her government saying it has been able to maintain over 6 percent GDP growth for the last couple of years despite worldwide economic crises as a peaceful atmosphere and democracy is prevailing in Bangladesh. News Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/10/15/61128 8 Daily News Recap Capital Market Regulator okays Shasha Denims IPO, fines three for irregularities Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday approved the IPO (initial public offering) proposal of Shasha Denims, which aims to raise Tk 175 crore from the public. The approval came at a meeting at the commission's office in the capital. The denim producer will offload five crore ordinary shares at an offer price of Tk 35, including a premium of Tk 25 for each Tk 10 share. The company will raise the fund to expand business, repay bank loans and bear the expenses of the IPO proceedings. According to the audited financial reports for the year that ended on December 31, 2013, the company's earnings per share stand at Tk 3.73, while its net asset value is Tk 52.95. AFC Capital and Imperial Capital will manage the issue for Shasha. The stockmarket regulator also imposed a fine of Tk 50 lakh on Shamim Ahmed, executive director of Sylhet Metro City Securities (SMCS), for swindling money from clients' portfolios. The regulator blocked all his beneficiary owner's accounts until further notice. He is also barred from involvement in any profession related to the stockmarket. The BSEC asked the Chittagong Stock Exchange to work on repaying the SMCS clients within November 30. Another investigation into SMCS is still going on. The regulator has fined Argon Denims Tk 30 lakh and Salvo Chemical Industry Tk 5 lakh as they misused IPO funds. Both the companies are also barred from raising further capital from the market for the next three years. The securities regulator has formed a committee to develop a guideline for the non-performing companies at the over-the-counter market. News Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/regulator-okays-shasha-denims-ipo-finesthree-for-irregularities-45696 9 Daily News Recap Company GP to invest more for better 3G access Grameenphone is investing up to Tk 1,300 crore each year in building its network, and the figure will go up further in the days to come, its chief executive Vivek Sood said yesterday. Investment is a must for the expansion of 3G services, he said, as the company responds to increasing demand for internet services. The operator currently has 55 lakh 3G internet users. Celebrating the landmark of five crore subscriptions, the Grameenphone chief executive was speaking at a press event at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka. “Today we celebrate this milestone with our customers. When we started this journey we pledged to provide uncompromising services to our customers. I am happy to say that we have not wavered and still strive towards ensuring the best services for our customers,” Sood said. The company will increase its network coverage in both rural and urban areas, he said. Sood also spoke about the company's ambition to serve 50 million internet users on its network within the next five years. Grameenphone does not have sufficient preparation to handle the large number of data users currently, and is in a learning and optimisation process to provide good quality services, he said in response to a press query. Calling the celebration of five crore customers more than just a celebration for Grameenphone alone, Allan Bonke, chief marketing officer, laid out a list of attractive offers for the customers “to celebrate with the company.” Its 3G subscribers will enjoy double internet speed on their mobile devices with their existing internet packages at no additional costs, he cited as an example. Furthermore, customers will enjoy a special limited time offer of Tk 0.05 per 10 second pulse within the Grameenphone network, the CMO added. Two subscribers -- one the first and the other who marked the five-crore milestone -- were presented with crests at the celebration. Starting operations on March 26, 1997, Grameenphone has the widest coverage. Recently, it became the first operator to bring all 64 districts of the country under its 3G network, fulfilling part of its ambition of 'Internet for all'. The Grameenphone network currently has more than 8,600 base stations in operation, bringing 99 percent of the population under its coverage, it said in a statement. News Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/gp-to-invest-more-for-better-3g-access45707 10 Daily News Recap Bank Asia, IFC sign $70m loan facilities agreement International Finance Corporation (IFC) has accorded Bank Asia $70 million short-term loan and guarantee facilities aiming to facilitate access of the bank's exporters and importers to reliable and reasonable terms and conditions for trade finance and provide liquidity and stability to trade finance system. An agreement in this effect was signed between Bank Asia and IFC, a private sector arm of the World Bank Group, at a function held at the Corporate Office of the Bank at Purana Paltan in the city Tuesday, according to a statement. Under the agreement, Bank Asia will be enjoying short-term loan facility $30 million from IFC as Working Capital Systemic Solution and $40 million guarantee facility from IFC's Global Trade Finance Programme, which will ultimately contribute to promote trade in emerging markets. Besides, this support will enable Bank Asia to increase volume and value of trade transactions with enhanced tenors and access to competitive pricing terms. Bank Asia will be able to extend USDbased short-term funding to eligible companies and strengthening its trade services, allowing export-oriented business enterprises to have continued access to trade finance. In addition, this loan and trade guarantee facilities will pay for critical value-chain imports, promoting Bangladesh's global trade as IFC provides partial or full guarantees against underlying trade instruments and covers the payment risk of participating issuing banks. President & Managing Director of Bank Asia Mr. Md. Mehmood Husain and Ms. Inessa Tolokonnikova, Manager, Financial Institutions Group, IFC, South Asia inked the agreement on behalf of respective sides. Additional Managing Director of Bank Asia Mr. Aminul Islam, Deputy Managing Directors Ms. Humaira Azam and Mr. Md. Arfan Ali, Senior Vice President & Head of International Division Mr. Zia Arfin, and Senior Country Officer of IFC, Dhaka Mohammad Rehan Rashid and Principal Investment Officer of IFC, Middle East and North Africa Ketaki S. Bhagwati were, among others, present. News Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2014/10/15/61120 11 Daily News Recap LBSL’s research reports are also available on Bloomberg LANB <GO> http://lankabangla.duinvest.com Disclaimer This document (“the Report”) is published by LankaBangla Securities Ltd (“LBSL”) for information only of its clients. 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