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Different trade bodies expressed worry over the gas-price hike which they think will increase the cost of doing business and undercut the country's competitive edge in foreign trade.   They said the decision will emerge as a challenge to the manufacturing industries as they will face stiff competition on the global market. The business bodies called upon the government to reconsider the decision in view of the current cost of doing business, inflation and "greater interest of the mass people". They suggested the government focus on using locally extracted coal and strengthen BAPEX for exploring new gas fields as a way out from the option for fuel-price raise. Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said the gas-price hike will only impact on cost of doing business and inflation.   "Recent decision on gas price hike on an average by 23 per cent will affect and increase cost of doing business and inflation in the country," DCCI said in a statement Saturday, as the move triggered reaction from various other quarters.   "DCCI thinks gas supply to the industries and households is still not sufficient.  Moreover, this hike will increase price spiral in the retail market," it added.   Besides, it will also impede export competitiveness, manufacturing sector, increase transportation cost and overall cost of doing business. The trade body said the decision will emerge a challenge against garment sector and local industries as they have to survive facing hard competition on the world market. Gas-based power generation, captive power generation and fertiliser production will also be costlier due to this fuel-price hike. The DCCI urged the government to review the decision. The Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) also vented concern over the gas-tariff hike that it fears will affect the local industry. The government on February 23, 2017 announced the enhanced gas prices on an average by 22.7 per cent and for the industrial sector by 15 per cent in two phases. "The interests of consumers, manufacturers and the people were not protected by the gas price hike decision," said the statement of EAB.    It noted that the local industries stepped forward positively towards achieving self-reliance through braving all odds. The EAB    fears the gas-price hike will hamper the efforts taken by the local industries to become self-reliant.   The EAB said the export-oriented industries have been facing strong competition due to overvalued local currency, taka, against the US dollar and (RMG) and non-adjustment of fuel-oil prices with the international market. Many countries like China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, India and Indonesia have adjusted oil prices with the international market following a slump. Considering all the aspects the EAB called upon the government to reconsider the decision for the interest of export and achieving self-reliance of local industries.   talhabinhabib@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-02-26 00:00:06

US President Donald Trump has announced he will not attend the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on 29 April, reports BBC. The glitzy event draws celebrities, journalists and politicians, normally including the US president. Trump said he would not attend a day after the White House excluded several major broadcasters and newspapers from a press briefing. He has frequently described negative news coverage as "fake". The announcement comes as relations between the White House and some media outlets continue to deteriorate. On Friday, the BBC, CNN, Buzzfeed, and the New York Times were among media groups barred from an off-camera informal briefing held by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Hours before the briefing, Trump had delivered a strong attack on what he called "fake news" in the media, targeting stories with unnamed sources. He said "fake news" was the "enemy of the people". Trump announced his non-attendance at the correspondents’ dinner via Twitter. He wrote: "I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" Bloomberg News and the New Yorker magazine are among media outlets who have said they will not hold their usual after-parties this year. There have been some calls for journalists to boycott the event itself. Every sitting president since 1924 has attended the correspondents' dinner at least once, according to the New York Times. They traditionally make a light-hearted speech at the annual event. Former US President Barack Obama attended eight times. Trump has himself attended the dinner in the past In 2011, Barack Obama joked that Trump would turn the White House into a casino if he became president and made fun of rumours, then propagated by Trump, that President Obama was not born in the US. The New York businessman was shown on camera sitting stony-faced through a barrage of jokes at his expense, including some from host Seth Meyers, although he said last year that he "loved that dinner". In a statement the White House Correspondents' Association said it took note of the president's announcement and said the dinner would "continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic".....

Published at: 2017-02-26 00:00:06

Transport workers went on an indefinite strike in 10 districts of Khulna division on Sunday protesting the life term imprisonment of a bus driver in a case filed over a road accident that killed five people, including noted filmmaker Tareque Masud and cinematographer Mishuk Munier, reports UNB. No long distance buses were seen plying the roads in the morning due to the strike, causing immense sufferings to commuters. Loading and unloading of goods at Benapole land port came to a halt due to the strike. Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Federation announced the strike at an emergency meeting at its regional committee's office in Jessore on Saturday. On Wednesday, a court in Manikganj sentenced bus driver Jamir Hossain, 48, of Daulatdiar village of Chuadanga district, to life term imprisonment in a case filed over the deaths of Tareque and Munier. The court also fined the driver Tk 5,000 and he will have to suffer three months more imprisonment in default to pay the fine. He was also awarded two years more imprisonment and fined Tk 2000, in default, to serve one month more imprisonment, for using his expired driving license during the incident. Tareque Masud, Mishuk Munier, and three others were killed as a microbus, carrying them, collided with a bus, driven by the convict Jamir, on Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Ghior upazila while returning to Dhaka from Manikganj on August 13, 2011.....

Published at: 2017-02-26 00:00:06

The PLA Navy is likely to secure significant new funding in China's upcoming defense budget as Beijing seeks to check US dominance of the high seas and step up its own projection of power around the globe. China's navy has been taking an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and new Chinese warships popping up in far-flung places. Now, with President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the US Navy. "It's opportunity in crisis," said a Beijing-based Asian diplomat, of China's recent naval moves. "China fears Trump will turn on them eventually as he's so unpredictable and it's getting ready." Beijing does not give a breakdown for how much it spends on the navy, and the overall official defense spending figures it gives - 954.35 billion yuan ($139 billion) for 2016 - likely understates its investment, according to diplomats. China unveils the defense budget for this year at next month's annual meeting of parliament, a closely watched figure around the region and in Washington, for clues to China's intentions. China surprised last year with its lowest increase in six years, 7.6 per cent, the first single-digit rise since 2010, following a nearly unbroken two-decade run of double-digit jumps. "Certainly, the PLA Navy has really been the beneficiary of a lot of this new spending in the past 15 years," said Richard Bitzinger, Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme at the S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "We don't how much they spend on the navy, but simply extrapolating from the quantity and the quality of things that are coming out of their shipyards, it's pretty amazing." RAPID DEVELOPMENT The Chinese navy, once generally limited to coastal operations, has developed rapidly under President Xi Jinping's ambitious military modernisation. It commissioned 18 ships in 2016, including missile destroyers, corvettes and guided missile frigates, according to state media. Barely a week goes by without an announcement of some new piece of equipment, including an electronic reconnaissance ship put into service in January. Still, the PLA Navy significantly lags the United States, which operates 10 aircraft carriers to China's one, the Soviet-era Liaoning. Xu Guangyu, a retired major general in the People's Liberation Army now senior adviser to the government-run China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said China was keenly aware of the US ability to project power at sea. "It's like a marathon and we're falling behind. We need to step on the gas," Xu said. Trump has vowed to increase the US Navy to 350 ships from the current 290 as part of "one of the "greatest military buildups in American history", a move aides say is needed to counter China's rise as a military power. "We’ve known this is a 15-20 year project and every year they get closer to being a blue-water navy with global aspirations," said a US administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "What you have seen this last year and what I think you will see with the new budget is that they are moving ahead with the short-term goal of being the premier naval force in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, with the mid-term goal, of extending all the way to the Indian Ocean." In January, China appointed new navy chief, Shen Jinlong, to lead that push. Shen has enjoyed a meteoric rise and is close to Xi, diplomatic and leadership sources say. "The navy has gotten very lucky with Shen," said a Chinese official close to the military, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Now they know for certain their support goes all the way to the top." Recent PLA Navy missions have included visits to Gulf states, where the United States has traditionally protected sea lanes, and to the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, in what the state-run website StrongChina called Shen's "first show of force against the United States, Japan and Taiwan". Last month, a Chinese submarine docked at a port in Malaysia's Sabah state, which lies on the South China Sea, only the second confirmed visit of a Chinese submarine to a foreign port, according to state media. The submarine had come from supporting anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, where China has been learning valuable lessons about overseas naval operations since 2008. Chinese warships have also been calling at ports in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, unnerving regional rival India. "It's power projection," said a Beijing-based Western diplomat, of China's navy.....

Published at: 2017-02-26 00:00:06

The board of directors of Mercantile Bank has recommended 15 per cent cash and 5.0 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2016, said an official disclosure on Sunday. The final approval of this dividend will come during the annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled to be held on March 30 at 11:00am at FARS Hotel and Resorts at Bijoynagar in Dhaka. The record date for entitlement of dividend is on March 16. The bank has also reported consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 3.01, consolidated net asset value (NAV) per share of Tk 22.82 and consolidated net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Tk 5.36 for the year ended on December 31, 2016 as against Tk 1.90, Tk 21.06 and Tk 10.37 respectively for the year ended on December 31, 2015. There will be no price limit on the trading of the shares of the company today (Sunday) following its corporate declaration. Each share price of the bank, which was listed on the Dhaka bourse in 2004, closed at Tk 17.40 on Thursday. The bank disbursed 12 per cent cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2015. The company’s paid-up capital is Tk 12.0 billion and authorised capital is Tk 7.39 billion, while the total number of securities is 739,156,701. The sponsor-directors own 39.50 per cent stake in Mercantile Bank, while institutional investors 7.60 per cent and the general public 52.90 per cent as on January 31, 2017, the DSE data shows. -bb/rmc//....

Published at: 2017-02-26 00:00:06