Myanmar may allow foreign credit cards by 2013

New Age, 30 July 2012

Banks in Myanmar are hoping to begin handling international credit card transactions by next year.
Than Lwin, deputy chairman of the prominent Kanbawza Bank, said Sunday that negotiations are under way with Visa on the use of its cards.
Foreign visitors have been unable to use credit cards because of US and EU restrictions on money transactions since 2003. Western countries imposed sanctions on Myanmar because of its repressive policies, but began easing them this year after elected president Thein Sein initiated political and economic reforms.

2 new BB depts to promote digital banking, client service

New Age, 30 July 2012

Bangladesh Bank has introduced two new departments — payment systems department and financial integrity and customer services department — to promote digital banking and to enhance the clients’ interest protection, said central bank officials.
The central bank issued two circulars on the launching of the departments on Thursday.
A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the payment system division was earlier a part of the department of currency management and payment systems.
The BB has constituted the PSD so that the implementation activities of the national payment switch and the e-payment gateway would gear up.
Besides, the activities of Bangladesh automated clearing house, Bangladesh electronic fund transfer network and mobile financial service will be operated smoothly in the coming days under the new department, he said.
Another BB official said that the FICSD had been constituted due mainly to enhance protection of the interest of customers and to decrease the anomalies in the banking sector.
He said the FICSD was earlier a part of the foreign exchange inspection and vigilance department.

Meeting with shipping minister Launch owners assure: no fare hike during Eid

New Age, 30 July 2012

Launch owners on Sunday said that they would provide better service to Eid time passengers without increasing fares and requested the government to stop extortions at ferry terminals.
They gave the assurance at a meeting with shipping minister Shajahan Khan.
Later, the minister told reporters that the deputy commissioners and the police superintendents had been asked to take action against extortions and illegal toll collection at the terminals.
The meeting discussed smooth launch and ferry services during Eid-ul-Fitr
Launch owners assured us that they would not charge from the passengers beyond the fares set by the government, Shajahan said.
He said that the owners demanded special drives to ensure hassle-free Eid time journeys of the passengers on all the routes.
The shipping minister said that the deputy commissioners and the police superintendents, who attended the meeting, had been asked to take stern action against extortions and illegal toll collections at ferry terminals on all major river routes across the country.
Officials from Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and Bangladesh Coastguards, among others, attended the meeting.
‘We will not increase launch fares beyond the rates set by the government ahead of Eid,’ senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Inland River Transports (Passengers) Agency Badiuzzaman Badal told reporters.
The authorities told the meeting that hawkers would be evicted from the
roads leading to Sadarghat Launch Terminal from
Gulistan including at Bahadur Shah Park to facilitate easy movement of home-bound passengers during the rush hours before and after Eid-ul-Fitr, likely to be celebrated on August 20.
The minister requested city dwellers to send their family members as early as possible to avoid the rush during the Eid vacation, which would virtually begin on August 15.
He also said that the government would ask the apparel factory owners to announce separate and staggered schedules for Eid vacation so that the workers did not rush to bus and launch terminals at a time, for which the situation had gone beyond control in the past.
‘As we do not have enough buses, launches or trains to carry so many passengers at a time it would be necessary to increase the frequency of service with the same vessels,’ Shajahan, who is also a road transport labour leader, said replying to a question.
He said the launch owners had been asked not to press launches without fitness certificates into service.
The minister said the owners agreed to operate their launches day and night to double the frequency of the service for carrying the extra passengers at the time of Eid.
He said that additional police force, the coastguards and other law enforcement personnel would be deployed at launch terminals and on the river routes to check overloading.
He said that the government would operate one passenger vessel and the owners would press four additional launches to ferry passengers from Chandpur to Barisal at the time of Eid.
He said that no trucks, except the ones carrying ‘goods needed the most’ would be allowed on the highways to cut down congestions at ferry terminals during the Eid vacation rush.
Illegal toll collection continues to hamper smooth traffic movement at ferry terminals, especially at Paturia, Daulatdia, Mawa, Kaorakandi although the government claims that it took measures against the menace to reduce public sufferings.
Newspapers reported time and again that the shipping minister, who is also the executive president of the Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation, backs the groups engaged in illegal toll collection at ferry terminals.
Shajahan Khan’s organization alone collects at least Tk 51 crore a year in the name of raising funds for workers’ welfare, according to a parliamentary sub-committee, which described the amount as the tip of the iceberg.

FBCCI wants ban on living fish export

The Independent, 30 July 2012

The country’s apex trade body FBCCI urged the government to ban live fish export immediately for the remaining days of Ramzan aiming to increase the supply of the protein in the local markets and to keep prices within the reach of consumers. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) placed the demand before the government by issueing a release to the media Sunday.
The chamber said, the FBCCI’s market monitoring cell has observed that the prices of all sorts of fish have gone beyond the purchasing power of consumers in the month of Ramzan.
So, the government should immediately take necessary steps to ban fish exports for the rest of the holy month, the Federation of Chambers said.
Earlier on July 9, the FBCCI demanded that the governement impose a ban on exports of some daily essentials—such as, green chilli, brinjal, garlic and onion—in order to keep the prices of these itmes reasonable during Ramzan by ensuring smooth domestic supplies.
FBCCI claimed that prices of these itmes were coming down to tolerable levels as the government banned the exports of the spices and vegatable.
The businessmen, market analysts and consumers applauded the government’s decision.

BOI gets Tk 87,893cr investment proposal in 2011-12 FY

The Independent, 30 July 2012

The Board of Investment (BoI) got investment proposals (local, joint and foreign) of Taka 87,893 crore against 1,955 industrial projects during the 2011-12 fiscal. A total of 4, 51,114 employments were generated during the fiscal, according to a BOI press release issued today.
The investment proposals were Taka 91,893 crore against 1,942 projects during 2010-11 fiscal.
A total of 5, 03,663 employment were generated during the period.
The release said the investment proposals during the 2011-12 fiscal has decreased by 4.35 per cent compared to the 2010-11 fiscal.
As many as 507 industrial units were registered with the BOI during three months from April to June of the current year.
The investment proposals were 15,353 crore, which is 108 crore less than the period from January-March of the current year.
Among the proposed ventures, service sector got the highest 31.51 per cent investment proposals followed by textile sector with 27.20 per cent, chemical 20.29 per cent, agriculture sector 7.75 per cent and other 13.18 per cent, the release added.

India beats China in export growth rate: WTO

The Independent, 30 July 2012

India has overtaken China in exports growth rate recording an increase of 16.1 per cent in 2011, topping the list of all major trading countries in the world, says a WTO report.

“India had the fastest export growth among major traders in 2011, with shipments rising 16.1 per cent. Meanwhile, China had the second-fastest export growth of any major economy at 9.3 per cent,” World Trade Report 2012 of WTO said.

In 2010, China topped the list with shipment growth rate of 28.4 per cent, while India recorded an increase of 22 per cent.

According to experts, the Indian government’s and exporters endeavour of diversification of export markets have benefitted the country’s shipments. “Mainly the diversification of markets to Middle East countries, South East Asia and China have yielded good results for Indian exports,” Director of the country’s prestigious Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) K T Chaco said.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Rafeeq Ahmed also said market and product diversification strategy have yielded positive results.

After the economic slowdown in the India’s traditional export markets – the US and Europe, the government had extended incentives to exporters to explore new markets, including in regions like Latin America and Africa.

In 2011, world merchandise trade volume grew by 5 per cent, while “Asia’s 6.6 per cent increase led all regions”, the report said.

Further, it said that in commercial services exports, the European Union tops the chart with USD 789 billion worth of shipments, 24.8 per cent of the world total.

It was followed by the US (USD 578 billion, 18.2 per cent), China (USD 182 billion, 5.7 per cent), India (USD 148 billion, 4.7 per cent) and Japan (USD 143 billion, 4.5 per cent).

The EU, it said, also becomes the leading importer (USD 639 billion, 21.1 per cent of the world total), followed by the US (USD 391 billion, 12.9 per cent), China (USD 236 billion, 7.8 per cent), Japan (USD 165 billion, 5.4 per cent) and India (USD 130 billion, 4.3 per cent).

However, the report has put India, Indonesia and Argentina among the main countries imposing maximum non-tariff measures. “The recent increase in restrictive measures is attributable to a number of developments, including stricter import controls and licensing requirements in some countries, as well as import prohibitions imposed on some Japanese goods following the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011,” it said.

BB prints Tk 176b worth of notes, coins ahead of Eid

The Independent, 30 July 2012

New notes released by the central bank worth Tk 176 billion on the occasion of Ei-ul-Fitr are feared to fall short of demands, said bankers.
Generally, during Eid—the biggest festival for the Muslim community—demand for new notes increases many folds as it has become a custom to distribute fresh notes among the kids and youngsters as Eid selami in Bangladesh. Like every year, this year the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has circulated Tk 175.92 billion worth coins and notes, including new notes worth Tk 75 billion, according to BB.
The amount released this year increased by 36 per cent compared to the previous year’s Tk 129.70 billion. The BB has opened some counters from Sunday (July 29) and during office hour, an individual will be allowed to get not more than Tk 1,700 worth of notes and coins, said an official.
“Demand might beat the supply this year as we have been noticing that demand is at least 1.5 times higher than that of the previous year,” said Alamgir Hossain, an official of a private bank at Motijheel branch.
“Well ahead of the festival, demand for new notes at this branch is more than Tk 0.2 million a day which is significantly higher than the previous year,” he said.
An official of BB’s currency management and payment system department said, “We are issuing the new coins and notes of various denominations, such as Tk 2, Tk 5, Tk 10, Tk 20, Tk 50, Tk 100, Tk 500 and Tk 1000 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr,” said a BB official. Along with the new banknotes, all existing paper notes in the same denominations will also remain in circulation.
“Demand for new notes on the occasion of Eid remains high every year because people distribute these new motes among their near and dear ones as Eid tips,” he added.
Of the total amount, the central bank would supply new notes of different denominations equivalent to Tk 15 to Tk 20 billion to its different offices across the country.
Circulation of counterfeit notes has been increased ahead of Eid festival as people generally spend a lot of money for shopping.
“To check this wrongdoing, the central bank has already taken measures, including creating awareness among the people and how to identify the fake notes,” said a BB official.
The government has also launched special drives to bring the culprits to the book. The law enforcers recovered fake notes worth of over Tk 4.7 million from different parts of Dhaka city from July 27 afternoon to early July 28.

Govt raises income tax under spot assessment by Tk 1,000

The financial Express, 30 July 2012

The government has increased income tax for businesses and professionals under spot assessment system by Tk 1,000 in the current fiscal (2012-13) to adjust it with the minimum payable tax.

Businesses with minimum capital up to Tk 0.8 million will have to pay Tk 3,000 income tax, while it has been set Tk 5,000 for the businesses with capital above Tk 0.8 million.

In the just concluded fiscal (2011-12) the rates were Tk 2,000 and Tk 4,000 respectively.

Small businesses, enjoying the reduced tax rates under spot assessment, will be able to pay the same amount of tax for three consecutive years.

A senior income tax official said the businesses, which came under spot assessment in the last fiscal, can pay tax in the previous rate for the next two years.

Physicians and lawyers, whose professional career has not exceeded five years, can also avail the facility by paying Tk 3,000 minimum tax for three consecutive years.

Minimum tax is fixed at Tk 5,000 for physicians and lawyers, whose professional age ranges between five to ten years.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) introduced the spot assessment system in the fiscal 2010-11 to encourage voluntary payment of income tax.

Talking to the FE Sunday, NBR member (tax survey) Md Shahjahan said the revenue board conducted nearly 184 spot assessments in the just concluded fiscal.

“Taxmen have issued 14,659 Taxpayers Identification Numbers (TIN) through those spot assessments. Of the TIN-holders, they have completed final assessment of 13,784 taxpayers.”

With the spot assessment, the NBR has collected Tk 28.41 million income tax in the fiscal 2011-12, he said.

In the spot assessment system income tax officials visit different places with one-page tax return and simplified TIN application forms to bring businesses and professionals under tax-net.

The facility of paying the same amount of tax for three consecutive years without auditing has inspired a number of marginal taxpayers to file tax returns.

Officials said the spot assessment system drew the attention of more marginal taxpayers than that of the survey system.

The survey system could not bring taxpayers directly under the tax-net due to procedural complexities. Surveyors collect data and place those to the respective tax offices for necessary actions.

It has been found that only 50 per cent of the surveyed people were finally included in tax-net due to lack of coordination between the surveyors and the relevant tax offices, they added.

Govt moves to allow import of old vehicles from India

The Financial Express, 30 July 2012

The government is considering the option of allowing import of reconditioned vehicles from India, amid opposition by different quarters to the move, according to official sources.

The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has been asked to submit a report before the parliamentary standing committee on the MoC in the latter’s next meeting, identifying the obstacles to the import and reviewing the existing market condition, the sources said.

“We have included the import of Indian reconditioned vehicles, especially TATA trucks, on the agenda of the next meeting. The MoC will submit a report on it then,” chairman of the parliamentary standing committee ABM Abul Qasem MP told the FE.

He said: “There is an embargo on the import of the Indian reconditioned vehicles. We want to open up the market by removing the barriers.”

Mr Qasem said committee member Sheikh Afil Uddin, lawmaker from Jessore-1 constituency, requested for removal of the obstacles and allowing import of TATA’s reconditioned trucks.

Officials quoted Afil Uddin as saying at a meeting on July 19 that presently Bangladesh imports brand new vehicles–trucks and motorcycles-from India which are lighter than the reconditioned ones.

He said India considers Bangladesh as a third category market and supplies substandard goods, made of sub-standard or low quality materials. As a result, the users need to buy an increased number of spare parts and the vehicles’ life time is very low.

“We need to open up the market for import of reconditioned vehicles manufactured by TATA Motors,” Mr Afil Uddin said.

However, stakeholders have strongly opposed the government’s move, saying that allowing import of Indian reconditioned vehicles would further increase the environment pollution.

“Even the new vehicles, imported from India, are not environment-friendly. Their lower life-time is also in question. How can their reconditioned vehicles be better?” asked Abdul Mannan Khosru, an importer of the Japanese reconditioned vehicles.

Mr Khosru, also the president of Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association, said India is actually planning to make Bangladesh a dumping ground for old vehicles.

“So, India is trying to dump the reconditioned vehicles here through some agents. Many of the Indian vehicles are not even recyclable,” he said adding that the people would get just cheated by buying the Indian reconditioned vehicles without knowing much about them.

Mr Khosru said the cheap and low standard vehicles would enter Bangladesh through under-invoicing and paying less import duty. “So the buyers as well as the country will suffer.”

Opposing the government’s move, Nitol-Niloy Group chairman Abdul Matlub Ahmed said he opposed import of any kind of reconditioned things.

“I am always against the import of reconditioned vehicles since those increase the environmental pollution,” he said. “No vehicle plant will be established in Bangladesh until import of reconditioned vehicles is stopped,” he added.

Every year nearly 8,000 trucks, 2,000 buses and 5,000 brand new mini-trucks enter Bangladesh from India, he said.

Mr Ahmed, importer of TATA’s brand new vehicles, also claimed the quality of Indian vehicles is now better than the past. “If you ride an Indian vehicle now, you will find it of American quality.”

He said the Nitol-Niloy Group is now working on setting up a pick-up manufacturing unit in Bangladesh.

Russia, Japan eye closer economic ties

Daily Sun, 30 July 2012

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Moscow and Tokyo should strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

Among areas of cooperation, auto industry and energy sector should be given priority, Putin said, adding that a number of Japanese car manufacturers intended to enter the Russian market.

During his meeting with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin called for Russian-Japanese auto manufacturing projects and other joint projects to be implemented, the Kremlin press service reported.

“I would like to assure you that we shall do everything to make sure our Japanese counterparts are not disappointed and happy with their work in Russia,” Itar-Tass news agency quoted Putin as saying.

Meanwhile, the two sides have been working closely in the energy sector, thus the future of energy cooperation is also positive, Putin noted. A good example of close energy ties is that Russian natural gas has covered a share of ten percent in the Japanese market, said the president. —Xinhua