ICE Business Times, July 2016 by ICE Media Ltd.

Contents TIMES

From the Editor

Column by Shamsul Huq Zahid

Budget Review 18 Implementation Plan for the Budget 2016-2017 22 The SME Conundrum 28 Allocation for Women in the National Budget Word of Mouth 10 State of Affairs 16 Banking Corner 114 Happening

Interviews:

36 Mohammed Mohsin Vice President, PHP Family

40 Adam Tamizi Haque

Managing Director, Haque Group

53 Mustafa Azim Kasem Khan Murteza Rafi Khan A K Khan Group

58 Sohana Rouf Chowdhury

Managing Director, Rangs Motors Ltd.

66 Farhadul Islam

CEO, Blues Communications

70 Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat

Founder Chairman, Board of Trustees, Canadian University

72 Zeenat Chowdhury

Managing Director, Bengal Express

76 Abdul Musabbir Ahmad

Managing Director, Nitol-Niloy Group

80 Dilruba Chowdhury

Managing Director, Parkesine Products Ltd.

84 Shah Rayeed Chowdhury Director, Evince Group

a global business magazine from bangladesh

TIMES

Contents TIMES

Vol. 6 No. 11 | July 2016

Publisher & Editor Director, International Publications Executive Director Managing Editor Assistant Editor Sub Editor Staff Feature Writer Designer Business Development

: : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Brand Promotion Finance & Accounts Sales & Distribution

PIT FOR CH PR STA INCIP RT LE UPS S

a global business magazine from bangladesh

TIMES

MOHAMMED MOHSIN PHP Group

Abul Khair Zeenat Chowdhury Nawshin Khair Tawhidur Rashid Irad Mustafa Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Asaduzzaman Sk. Yeahhia Md. Nizam Uddin Forhad Mohammad Imran Lamina Yeasmin Md. Abdul Alim Md. Nazrul Islam Md. Rubel Khan

july 2016

SOHANA ROUF CHOWDHURY Rangs Group

ABDUL MUSABBIR AHMAD Nitol-Niloy Group

emerging business icons

FY 2016-17 BUDGET

Special Report

EXPERT OPINIONS ON ASPIRATIONS & IMPLeMENTATIONS

PROSPECTS OF TOURISM IN BANGLADESH

MUSTAFA AZIM KASEM KHAN AK Khan Group

At the Premise of R&R Aviation

DILRUBA CHOWDHURY East Coast Group

CHOWDHURY NAFEEZ SARAFAT Canadian University

This issue’s Photographs by Din M Shibly Ashraf Uddin Apu Kazi Mukul

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Features: 44 61 88 91 94 98 100 104 110 112 117

The Potential of Tourism in Bangladesh LinkedIn’s New Window of Opportunity Restoring Faith Flight Facilitations The Data of Motion A Phone for Everyone Pascal vs. Polaris: Dawn of VR Dressing the Part Pitch Perfect Beyond the Business Capital Market Update

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Not all the views expressed in the columns and interviews are the views of the magazine.

FROM THE EDITOR It all started with purchasing concession from private channels that launched the Cisneros family into the entertainment stratosphere. Diego Cisneros started the Cisneros Group, which is largest Spanish language private media and entertainment company with $1.5 billion in sales with the guidance of his son Gustavo Cisneros. In 2009, Gustavo passed this torch to his daughter Adriana Cisneros, who is the director of strategy and the Vice Chairman of Cisneros group. Adriana explains that her parents had allowed her to venture into her most perplexing ideas as long as she showed dedication towards it. With this freedom, her company flourished under her rigorous leadership. Keeping it in the family, her two older siblings serve as the advisors of the company. Today, Forbes estimates their family value at $4.6 billion. The Cisneros have established themselves as the name that is synonymous with televised Spanish entertainment. Our nation is successfully emerging into the global platform, and our local entrepreneurs are ensuring that our presence and potential is felt in every industry. Taking on the legacy that their predecessors have established, the emerging business icons have the family name associated with local flourishing businesses. Moreover given their proper nurture, they are diversifying upon the familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lucrative businesses; it is not a simple matter of inheritance for them but a vision for expansion. These young minds are changing the way business is conducted by integrating the most innovative minds and technologies, leaving their own distinctive marks on the business. In the process, they are creating a new business atmosphere in Bangladesh, which will allow our nation to leave an impact on any and every industry.

WORD OF MOUTH

/ State of Affairs

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the MOU signing with Bawni Group KSA and Senakolan Songstha BD by Fakher A Al Shabwaf, MD, Bawni Group & Principal Sec. PMO at the JCCI Building, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia, H M Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Al Salam Palace, Al Andalus, Jeddah, KSA

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a business meeting with the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the JCCI Building in Jeddah

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a meeting with Ahmet Tik Tik, acting President of IDB at the Jeddah Conference Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

NATIONAL BUDGET

/ Column

Budget Numbers & Reality SHAMSUL HUQ ZAHID

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on June 2nd last placed before the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) a Tk 3.4 trillion-budget for the fiscal year 2016-17. Almost everybody found the budget very "ambitious". But there was unanimity that the country does need even bigger budgets to help speed up growth and create more jobs. The word ‘ambitious’ tag for the budget from relevant circles and experts comes from their consideration of the government’s inability to generate revenue as projected in the proposed budget. This doubt is not at all unjustified. The failure to reach the tax revenue targets set in the budgets in recent years, including the outgoing one, has prompted many to raise questions about the resource mobilizing capacity of the taxmen. There exists the potential to increase the tax revenue sufficiently if the tax administration can raise its efficiency level up to the desired level by bringing in the maximum number of eligible taxpayers under the tax net and curbing tax evasion or avoidance. The government has been talking about reforming the tax administration to help beef up tax revenue. The revenue has been going up, but it has remained well below the government’s expectation. The finance minister himself admitted, at least, twice - once in his budget speech and again

There exists the potential to increase the tax revenue sufficiently if the tax administration can raise its efficiency level up to the desired level by bringing in the maximum number of eligible taxpayers under the tax net and curbing tax evasion or avoidance.

during the post-budget press conference - that the budget is ambitious. Yet he defended setting a revenue target at a higher level with the hope of achieving it. Despite an estimated shortfall of Tk 260 billion in tax revenue earning in the fiscal 2015-16, the finance minister has projected a Tk 530 billion increase of the same in the fiscal 2016-17. He made the projection despite his retreat from the planned enforcement of the new Value Added Tax (VAT) law from the first day of the new fiscal year in the face of stiff opposition from the business people. Mr. Muhith had no way other than making higher revenue projection because he required increased resources to meet additional expenditures on account of the pay and allowances of government servants and some mega development projects.

GRAND ORIENTAL

*Conditions Apply

An Ambiance of Elegance

Deals

B ut in doing so, the finance minister has, apparently, incurred the wrath of both businesses and individual taxpayers. The small businesses are angry because of the particular proposal to double the package VAT rate for small businesses. This is for the first time in many years, the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apex chamber, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), has sharply criticized the national budget. This particular chamber in recent years has been toeing the government line in policy matters because of the latterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tacit interference in the selection of leaders for this important trade body. But this time pressure from the general members is so intense that the chamber leadership has been forced to take a different line. The trade bodies have also found the fiscal measures somewhat confusing since some domestic industries have received incentives and some others disincentives. The increase in tax at source on export has also irked the businesses. Businesses are, however, fortunate that they can air their grievances. But thousands of individual taxpayers are not being able to vent their resentment over the cut in the tax rebate facility they have been receiving through the investments that they make annually. The Finance Bill-2016 has sought to reduce the investment rebate facility from 30% to 20% of the taxable income. The proposed measure would particularly hurt employees both in the private and public sectors. They would be paying more tax this year than what they had paid last year with their

compensation package remaining the same. Usually, employers deduct tax at the source on a monthly basis. The deduction was made assuming the continuation of the 30% rebate facility. Because of the cut in the rate of the rebate, they would face difficulty in paying a larger amount in one go. Moreover, no relief has been extended to individual as well as corporate taxpayers as the finance minister has kept the tax rates for both almost unchanged. Besides, the withdrawal of the tax rebate facility from the interest/profit income of the government-approved pension, gratuity and provident funds have drawn extensive criticism from various quarters. In the past when any tax relief was provided to corporate or individual taxpayers, the finance ministers did not fail to mention it in their budget speeches. But Mr. Muhith, deliberately or otherwise, skipped in his budget speech the issue of the cut in the tax rebate given against investment by individual taxpayers. He also failed to mention the imposition of tax on the profit earned by provident, gratuity and pension funds from investment in time deposits and savings tools. In fact, there is nothing extraordinary in the budget. The finance minister has followed all the known paths for mobilizing resources for what many tend to described as a bloated budget. He is unlikely to reach the budgetary targets as far as revenue earning, and development expenditures are concerned. The track record of the government in the execution of the budgets in recent years does support making such an unpalatable conclusion. The shortfall in revenue collection coupled with slow implementation of development projects does compel the government to trim the ADP. This has been a very common feature in development spending for many

years in a row. Though multilateral lenders and economists at home have expressed their doubt about its GDP growth estimate at 7.02% for the outgoing fiscal year (2015-16), the government expects to achieve a 7.2% growth in the next fiscal. However, the finance minister has not clearly spelled out the means to achieve this. He has pinned hope on the recent change in investment situation, higher consumption spending given the hike in pay and allowances of public servants, healthy growth of exports, the boost in remittance earnings and continuation of current political stability. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) estimates that private investment worth Tk 800 billion would be needed to achieve the expected level of GDP growth in the fiscal year 2017. But given the trend in private investment situation, one can well rule out such a possibility. However, the reliability of government statistics in Bangladesh has always been under question. Bangladesh, no doubt, has done well in some areas, and it has the potential to do better in other regions. All would agree that Bangladesh can achieve double-digit growth. But its efforts, to a great extent, has been stymied by poor governance and malfunctioning institutions. Two factors combined have decelerated the process of economic growth and helped graft to thrive. The budget is a tool that can contribute to improving economic governance, partially. It is hard to say if the budget for next fiscal period has any such objective but the truth is that all apparatuses of the government need to work in unison to improve the overall governance of the country. The country may soon achieve the middle-income status within a few more years but without the desired level of improvement in the governance situation, it would never be possible to meet the objectives of having a fair, transparent and accountable society. The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at zahidmar10@gmail.com

THE FINANCE BILL-2016 HAS SOUGHT TO REDUCE THE INVESTMENT REBATE FACILITY FROM 30% TO 20% OF THE TAXABLE INCOME. THE PROPOSED MEASURE WOULD PARTICULARLY HURT EMPLOYEES BOTH IN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS.

WORD OF MOUTH

/ Banking Corner

BRAC Bank Limited held a Branch Managers Convention recently at BRAC CDM in Rajendrapur, Gazipur. Selim R. F. Hussain, Managing Director & CEO, BRAC Bank; Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Wholesale Banking; Ishtiaq Mohiuddin, Deputy Managing Director and Head of SME Banking, were present along with all the Branch Managers, Business Heads and the senior officials of the bank

NRB Bank Limited and DataFort Limited (Franchisee of InfoFort LLC) has signed an agreement on document archive management services both physical and digital in 15th June 2016

The 17th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Premier Bank Limited was held on June 05, 2016 at Dhaka. Dr. H.B.M. Iqbal, Chairman of the Board of Directors presided over the meeting. The Shareholders approved 10% stock dividend for the year 2015

Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard introduced the Super Value Titanium Credit Card in Bangladesh, the 1st ever year-round cash back card. The press conference was held on June 4, 2016 where Abrar A. Anwar, Cheif Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank;and Syed Mohammad Kamal, Country Manager, MasterCard Bangladesh were present

BUDGET REVIEW

/ Budget Implementation

Implementation Plan for the Budget 2016-2017

By Towfiqul Islam Khan

As you are reading this article, the national budget for FY2016-17 has been passed. Over the past month, if not more, the budgetary proposals are scrutinized and debated. Last month, I wrote a column in this magazine stating my seven propositions for the budget for FY2016-17: (i) keep the present macroeconomic state under purview; (ii) consider mid-term corrections in the fiscal framework if required; (iii) prioritizing resource mobilization; (iv) adequate resources allocation for social sectors; (v) improve the Annual Development Programme (ADP) implementation; (vi) rationalize prices of diesel and kerosene; (vii) prioritization of reform agenda for effective implementation of the budget. This piece discusses the reflection of the propositions as mentioned earlier in the proposed budget along with my thoughts on how the proposed budget can be implemented more efficiently.

The Honorable Finance Minister, to a large extent, made a definite diagnosis of the state of the macroeconomic context of the budget. The GDP growth target has been set at 7.2% for FY2016-17. This is certainly pragmatic given the provisional estimates being 7.05% for FY2015-16. The inflation target of 5.8% is also attainable. More importantly, the issue of employment was correctly emphasized. The budget also acknowledges that enhancing private investment should receive the highest priority. Indeed, accumulating an additional private investment to the tune of Tk 80,000 crore will not be an easy task. Surprisingly, the decline of manufacturing employment, particularly for women, failed to be mentioned. Thus, one would like to find a clearer understanding of how the existing budget would help revert the trend of declining manufacturing jobs in the country. It is also encouraging to find that the budget has stressed the need for increased productivity. It may be recalled that the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in a recent report shows that if factors (both capital and labor) in Bangladesh were as productive as those in India, our per capita income could rise by about 40% eventually reaching the level in India. The separate document presented with the budget outlines the ongoing initiatives of the government to raise productivity. The urge to promote public investment in education and health is one effective way to improve labor productivity in the country. Regrettably, the concerns about the quality of public investment and return from the costly budget was not reflected in the budget proposals. While the implementation takes place, these are the two issues which the government will need to address.

T he fiscal proposals presented in the budget for FY2016-17 (regarding adjustments of tariff and tax rates) are mostly consistent. It can be observed that some propositions are based on the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s desperate attempts to raise domestic revenue. There are four roles of any taxation: (i) it is a source of government; (ii) it provides finance for public services and investment (public goods); (iii) it is a strategic tool for government to promote certain sectors; (iv) it is an instrument to ensure social and economic equity and justice. It is easy to be more biased towards the first two roles while the government proposes the fiscal measures. But it is also important for the policymakers to consider the latter two parts with similar

importance. The real challenge for the government is to implement the proposed fiscal framework. One of the major weakness of the budgets in Bangladesh is that there is hardly any linkage between fiscal measures and the proposed fiscal framework. Fiscal measures (tariff and tax rates) determine how much revenue can be generated by the government. Every year some fiscal measures from the proposed budget were revised; however, no adjustment was made in the fiscal framework. In FY2016-17, the proposed changes in tariff rates will not be adequate to generate the targeted for revenue at the import stage unless significant capacity is developed to plug the leakages concerning trade mispricing. For the last several years, the fiscal framework has remained the weakest part of the budget in Bangladesh. For example, if the following figure is considered, one can see how the corresponding growth target data of the fiscal framework proposed at the time of Budget FY2015-16 significantly increased as the revised budget for FY2014-15 was not fully implemented. This is year is going to be no different. The budget for FY2015-16 was significantly revised as revenue targets were not attained and at the same time, the earmarked allocations

61.0

44.5

42.8 29.3

23.1

Total expenditure

ADP

42.3 30.6

27.6

Total revenue

NBR revenue

Target for FY2015-16 when budget was announced Actual growth target FY2015-16

52.2 44.5 39.0

41.1

36.8

35.4

28.7 21.6

Total expenditure

ADP

Total revenue

NBR revenue

Target for FY2016-17 when budget was announced Possible actual growth target FY2016-17

were not spent. CPD apprehended that even the revised budget will not be fully implemented; hence, the growth targets set for FY2016-17 will be higher. Indeed, the Honorable Finance Minister also agreed that the fiscal framework targets will be challenging to realize. According to CPD, growth target for total expenditure may increase from 28.7% to 39.0% mainly due to the lack of implementation of ADP. ADP expenditure may need to be higher by 52.2% in FY2016-17 to realize the budgetary target. Revenue generation growth targets may also shoot up to 44.5%. It needs to be acknowledged that the proposed size of the budget (17.4% of GDP) and the revenue generation target (12.4% of GDP) are still low when compared to many other developing countries. Hence, the challenge is the implementation capacity. Attaining the proposed fiscal framework for FY2016-17 is going to be an uphill task due to challenges in many areas including mobilization of the targeted domestic resources, capacity to spend the earmarked allocations, rising foreign aid in the pipeline and growing predominance of non-concessional foreign loans and quality of public expenditure. In this context, the government will need to assess the fiscal framework target once the final figures of FY2015-16 are available. It is pertinent to mention that formulating a revised budget upfront will help in its implementation. Regarding allocative efficacy, some efforts were made while preparing the budget. The Education budget increased faster than the total budget and GDP. The Health budget also increased faster than GDP (but not total budget). Indeed, the revised salaries of the government helped significantly to www.icebusinesstimes.net

this end. There was hardly any effort to find an innovative way to improve budgetary allocation for Agriculture. Surprisingly, government pension increased significantly (from 0.7% in FY2015-16 to 0.9% in FY2016-17) but safety net allocation for the poor and marginalized section of the society, as a percentage of GDP, declined from 1.5% in FY2015-16 to 1.4% in FY2016-17. There were mentions of the government’s plan to reduce the prices of the petroleum products (particularly for diesel and kerosene); but how and when it will be done, was not informed. Indeed, the government expects to receive about Tk 5,000 crore from Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC). Curiously, according to the budget document, BPC did not make any payment on the long term loan in FY2015-16 and has no plan to do so in FY2016-17. Does this mean the overdue loans of BPC are paid off? It may give the government a chance to provide a better cushion for the poor citizens and also explore the opportunity to deregulate the monopoly in the sector. It has been observed that the government took actions during the month of Ramadan against

the businesses who were making extra-ordinary profits. There is no doubt that making a 25% (after tax) profit on the sale of kerosene, which is a product of the poor, is also unethical. Among the budgetary allocations, two allocations should be reconsidered. Tk 2,000 crore has been for Investment for Recapitalization for state-owned banks. The government has made an allocation of Tk 13,121 crore for investment in ‘share capital’. The government must be careful about spending the money of poor tax payers. There is no reason to make unbound investment in the state-owned banks which have weak governance capacities. Investment in shares by the government is unlikely to build confidence in the capital market. Weak implementation capacity of the ADP will remain a concern. The ADP allocation structure did not make any breakthrough. The practice of allocating symbolic allocation (the minimum to keep the project on the ADP list) is still pervasive and increasing. 18 projects under ADP for FY2016-17 received only Tk 1 lac while 31 ‘investment' projects received only Tk 1 crore or less. The budget also did not make any new effort to address the issues of time and cost overrun. Average implementation time for projects was about 75% higher than is initially envisaged. Average project cost ended up being higher by about 51%. A plan needs to be taken to improve utilization of project aid. During the early months of FY2016-17, a coordinated effort of Planning Commission and Finance Ministry needs to be placed to improve ADP implementation capacity. Revenue generation will be

Revenue generation will be the biggest challenge for the government. There must be a sincere effort to build institutional capacity of the revenue collecting authority.

the biggest challenge for the government. There must be a sincere effort to build institutional capacity of the revenue collecting authority. The government has deferred implementation of the VAT and SD Act for another year. It is important to utilize this one year to build capacity and consensus to implement the Act. There has to be an implementation plan for budget FY2016-17. The ongoing reform agenda will need to be prioritized. There are 39 priority reform measures identified by the CPD, which was proposed during the last two budgets. Of these 39 reforms, 33% had been implemented while another 31% is in the process of being established. About 36% are either lacking progress or any update on their progress is unavailable. The highest proportion of unimplemented reforms is associated with development supporting institutions. The portion of committed changes that has not been implemented as of the Budget FY2016-17 is greater than the implementation ratio. This is not an encouraging sign. Hopefully, this fiscal year is going to be an exception. The citizens of Bangladesh are eagerly waiting for this to happen. The writer is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). He can be reached at: towfiq.khan@gmail.com. The views of this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the aforesaid organization.

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ith a goal of 7.2% GDP growth, the Budget 2016-17 sets the inflation target at 5.8%, remittance at $12.3 billion and investment at 30.10% of GDP. Keeping up past trends of increasing the size, this year it is 29% bigger than that of the Budget of last year while the revenue target is 35.43% higher. The Budget has given

particular focus on ten mega projects of Tk 446.3 billion or 40.32% of Tk 1.107 trillion ADP outlining for 61 large and fast-track projects of 7 ministries and divisions. The principal target of the Budget is to ensure macroeconomic stability, prudent fiscal management, boosting domestic demand, continuing economic reforms, implementing policies for the improved life of the citizens. Focus on priority expenditure areas, emphasis on infrastructural development and employment generation are some other features of the Budget.

Total Investment (in bln)

6.8

7.3

7.6

7.7

7.8

22.1

22.8

21.8

23.3

24.7

Total Investment

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Figure 1, source: Seventh Five Year Plan

SMEs are the lifeblood of the economy and constitute over 90% of the businesses. Industrial Policy 2016 and other policies heavily underscored a wide focus on SME development, yet SMEs are disadvantaged and discouraged in many ways. As the FDI runs its course, the country will become more reliant upon the SMEs to create new value, wealth, and employment. In particular, technology-based SMEs have significant potential to help transform the economy with their innovative products and services. Thus, SMEs need an enabling environment with a fair and competitive framework which allows businesses of all sizes to compete in the market. In our present harsh economic climate, SMEs contributed Tk 3033.25 billion, 7.02% of GDP and employed 28,438 of the private sector workforce in 2015-16 . From 2010-2015, about 4.7 million people entered the labor market, and 98% of them were used in the domestic market in which SMEs contribution is significant. Despite the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s directives to support SME financing, financial institutions hold the wavering view in investing in SMEs while the media say they are resting upon an enormous amount of idle money. Women entrepreneurs are an integral part of SMEs and are coming up in a bigger way; they are also fighting for proper marketing, financing, access to technology and some other regulatory problems. The financial institutions can play a leading role in extending focused lending support and manage their specific exposures via extensive training and structuring the future of the women entrepreneur sector at large as a part of their process of genuine contribution to the economy. Bangladesh graduated from the low-income status to LMIC in July 2015, and the government has targeted it to be an MIC by its 50th independence anniversary in 2021. The pace of GDP growth accelerated, poverty dropped sharply, and inequality fell since 2000. Bangladesh Bank

10 0

FY15 -A FY 16 -B FY 16-R FY 17-B FY 18-T FY 19-T Public Investment (as % of GDP) Private Investment (as % of GDP)

Figure 2, source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

The fragility of the domestic job market shows that jobs are available for unskilled labors, but there is a serious dearth of employment for skilled labor. Hence, the employment of skilled labor should be a priority for the government.

progressively liberalized the foreign exchange regime, including private foreign borrowing for investment. These steps constitute a decisive factor for encouraging domestic and foreign direct investment. This year the country has broken the 6% chain and attained 7.05% growth. From 2003 to 2013, 13.8 million net new jobs were created. The target for the 7th FYP (2016-2020) is to build employment of 12.9 million, including 2 million jobs abroad; 9.9 million will join the domestic labor force. For growth in production, revenue generation, and job creation there is no alternative for investment. However, private investment is not picking up as per required level. The graphs below show year-wise investment from public and private sector: From Figure 1, it is seen that the total investment was Tk 65.15 billion in 2015-2016 which was Tk 38.23 billion in 2011-2012, meaning the growth (increase about 70%) is upward sloping. A significant part of the investment comes from the private SME sector; public sector investment works as a support to encourage private investment, but the response from investment from the private sector is not enough to achieve the targets of employment and maintain higher GDP growth. Benefits of this increase of investment in the public sector are not translated into the private sector business to speed up their competitiveness. The Budget uncovered that the private sector investment is only 21-22% of GDP, whereas it should at least be up to 27%. The interest rate which was one of the long-standing problems of the private sector was reduced. The Government is also concerned about infrastructural development and increased investment in different public goods. Institutional development and supporting services to develop new products and services is still falling short of expectations. The availability of gas and delay in the construction of LNG terminal up to 2018 has made this utility uncertain for the private sector.

www.icebusinesstimes.net

The present law and order situation has also given discouraging signals to foreign investors. An additional $800 billion worth of private investment will be required in FY17 if the GDP target is to be maintained, as per an estimation of an independent think tank. The fragility of the domestic job market shows that jobs are available for unskilled labors, but there is a serious dearth of employment for skilled labor. Hence, the employment of skilled labor should be a priority for the government. Bangladesh is on track to gain MIC status, after which Bangladesh has to take on a number of additional responsibilities which at this stage of LDC is not urgent. Bangladeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth has been acknowledged by other countries and except India, the growth is higher than that of other South Asian nations. Many improvements attained through domestic resources as well as from Overseas Development Aid (ODA). The private sector has benefitted from preferential market access which has helped Bangladesh in its graduation but to be an upper-level MIC; Bangladesh has to move out of the group of the countries receiving International Development Aid (IDA), Asian Development Fund (ADF), etc. Furthermore, it has to build capacities to sustain the changed GSP situation, increase economic competitiveness, improve governance issues, increase access to social services and natural resource management. However, the Budget does not touch these issue while expecting MIC status before 2021. The strength of SMEs needs to be exploited fully to improve our economic resilience. Total investment outlay estimations under the 7th Five Year Plan is around Tk 32.1 trillion in constant FY16 prices (in the first year of the Plan). As before, private sector investment will continue to play its dominant role under the plan, accounting for 80.2% of the total outlay. The industry needs to see the implementation and roll off policies announced in the budget for greater encouragement and continue new and innovative ventures to contribute to the economy. The Government is sincere and disquiet about SME development and has already announced policies, refinancing facilities, challenge funds, and some new schemes. This is while micro and SMEs are being ignored. Many other institutional supports are not adequate such as testing labs, storage facilities and improved utilities. SMEs are the suffering the most from the high VAT rate and raw material importing obstacles. The Budget has announced some special incentives for SMEs, some of these are as follows: l VAT exemption facilitity has been extended from Tk 30 lac to Tk 36 lac for micro enterprises

Furniture, plastic goods and potato starch have been brought under the scheme of cash incentives l EDF has been extended to $1.8 billion l Refinancing for SMEs will be continued l Credit Guarantee scheme for small entrepreneurs and a Challenge Fund has been introduced l Minimum tax policy was revised, for newly established manufacturing entities the minimum tax was reduced to 0.10%, but for specific sectors the range was increased from 1.0% to 0.6% which was 0.3% in the last fiscal period on gross receipts of more than 5 million and all companies l VAT exemption for some SME sectors (SME bakery items, shoes and slipper, hard board, electric generator, travel agent and mediation services etc.) l Package VAT is in place, but the amount has been increased many folds SMEs are the main driving force for growth as they are a major a source of innovation and employment generation. Most emerging and advanced developing countries have achieved their sustainable growth by banking on SME development. Bangladesh has opted to go the same route, but a further thrust is required to reach the stipulated target. Some emerging sectors are waiting for consistent and transparent tax policies. One example is the motorcycle industry. Currently, bikes are imported from India, China, and Korea. However, considering the technology base and manpower availability, they can easily be made here if the correct policy and taxation support are provided. A significant number of light engineering vendor companies can emerge if a full-fledged manufacturing sector thrived in the country. In the Budget 2016-17, Supplementary Duty has l

SMEs are the main driving force for growth as they are a major a source of innovation and employment generation. Most emerging and advanced developing countries have achieved their sustainable growth by banking on SME development.

been reduced to 20% from the earlier level of 45%; it is true that a significant number of motorcycle assembling industries would be benefitted from this change as they have to import 70-80% of their spares from abroad. However, for assemblers to become full-fledged manufacturers more transparent long-term policies are required. Another case is the ICT and ITES sectors which are contributing to each and every segment of the economy and playing a vital role towards justifying the "Digital Bangladesh" slogan. It was expected from entrepreneurs in this sector that till 2021 the sector would have zero duty on all related components. However, changes pop up in every budget and this year it looks like there will be an increased duty of 3% to 5% on some components which may hinder its progress in reaching the $5 billion target. Coming to an another area handled by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), taxation is an integral part of business, and the private sector is willing to go for paying hassle free taxes. Increasing the tax network and resolving a huge number of pending cases could be an alternative to generating more revenue. In February 2012 the NBR introduced ADR allowing taxpayers to settle their income tax, VAT and Customs disputes, out of court with the help of a facilitator. ADR practices can be seen in four revenue collection centers in Dhaka and Chittagong. In the past, most disputes were not resolved by the NBR and ended up in the courts. As a result, taxpayers, especially smaller businesses faced high compliance costs. In recent times, ADR is getting familiar, and some cases are being resolved through this process. The Budget did not provide any particular focus on this area but has reduced the timeline to solve the ADR cases from 50 days to 40 days. BUILD proposed these changes and also recommended for the strengthening of the ADR cell in the NBR with an appropriate budget but the issue remains unaddressed. An ambitious tax collection target has been announced in the budget; SME entrepreneurs would need to build their capacities to pay tax. Automation is another policy started since the 80s, but so far progress is at a minimum. There is an acute understanding gap among the tax men and entrepreneurs because of non-transparent policies. Due to this a stern fear factor works among the SME entrepreneurs and discourages taxpayers. As mentioned before, about 4.7 million people were added to the total labor force during the 2010-15 period. The encouraging news is that the disparity in wages between men and women is on the decline. However, the rate of female workforce participation is still relatively low compared to their male counterparts. Currently, only 34.1% of

There is an acute understanding gap among the tax men and entrepreneurs because of nontransparent policies.

the women labor force is engaged in economic activities. Ensuring greater female labor force participation will accelerate growth to a great extent. According to an estimate, a 10% increase in female labor force involvement in the next five years will lead to an additional 1% of GDP growth each year. SMEs are no doubt contributing largely to the economy; a thriving SME sector could be a real driving force to meet the dream of the country. For this, a coordinated policy prescription with continuity and consistency is of the utmost importance. A clear and workable partnership between large, medium and small enterprises is something that can move things forward much faster. The Budget is a mathematical calculation of income and expenditure of one year, but SMEs need time along with enduring solutions to prosper.

The writer is the CEO of BUILD, a partnership organization of DCCI, MCCI and CCCI. She can be reached at ceo_build@outlook.com

BUDGET REVIEW

/ Gender

Allocation for Women in the National Budget: Does it Reflect the Action Plan of National Women Developme nt Policy? 28

By Nazneen Ahmed

Since 2009, the government declared allocation for women in the national budget in a document titled, Gender Budget Report. However, a more appropriate wording for it could have been The Report on Allocation for Women in National Budget. The name of the report follows the mistaken premise of understanding that the word ‘gender’ refers to ‘women’ only rather than referring to both male and female. Instead of going into the debate of whether or not this report should be called Gender Budget Report or Report on Allocation for Women in National Budget, the current write-up aims to find out how far the allocation for women depicts possibilities to achieve the goals stipulated in the National Women Development Policy 2011 and the Action Plan to implement that policy.

W omen constitute half of the population in Bangladesh, hence, their advancement and empowerment should play a dominant role in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth and social welfare. Gender inequality and discrimination are argued to be the cause that perpetuates poverty and vulnerability in society as a whole. It is a result of the persistent discrimination of one group of people based upon gender, and it manifests itself differently according to race, culture, politics, country, and economic situation. Furthermore, gender inequality is considered a causal factor of violence against women. While gender discrimination happens to both men and women in individual circumstances, discrimination against women is an entrenched, global pandemic. The causes and effects of gender inequality vary by country, as do solutions for combating it. Though there has been improvement in reducing gender inequality in Bangladesh, differences in areas such as health, education, employment, and political freedom remain ongoing problems. In 2013, Bangladesh was ranked 142 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index and

115 out 149 countries surveyed in the Gender Inequality Index. Many of these inequalities are result of extreme poverty and traditional gender norms centered on a patrilineal and patriarchal kinship system. The objective of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advancement in Bangladeshis is guided by various policies, and central to that is the National Women Development Policy (NWDP), which was adopted in 2011. The NWDP 2011 is formulated to empower women, to establish their equal right and integrate them into the national mainstream development. The main goals of the policy are to ensure equality of man and woman in all aspect of state affairs and public life, security for women in all spheres of life, facilitating participation of women in economic, political, social, administrative, judiciary and in all other areas and establish human rights for women. The policy also aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, provide access to safe housing and shelter, taking appropriate steps for disabled women, minority women and create exceptional opportunities for meritorious and creative women for utilizing their talent. To implement the NWDP 2011, the government has adopted a National Action Plan (NAP) in 2013, which may be considered as a step-by-step process to implement the objectives of the NWDP. Thus, the NAP 2013 may be considered as the guideline for taking steps towards development and empowerment of the women in the country. It is expected that the NAP 2013 should reflect

Women constitute half of the population in Bangladesh, hence, their advancement and empowerment should play a dominant role in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth and social welfare.

proper planning for implementation of various goals stipulated in the NWDP 2011. In that connection, it is expected that the national budget, which is declared every year, would allocate resources to match the road map mentioned in the NAP 2013. For successful implementation of the NWDP, it is very important to monitor the progress of the NAP. Consequently, it is important to monitor the allocation of resources in national budget for implementation of NAP so that the goals and objectives of the NWDP are achieved on time. For each objective of the NWDP, the NAP has mentioned current programs, future programs and respective implementing authority. The NAP is planned to be implemented within ten years from the year of inception (2013) under the leadership of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs. The NAP is intended to help in adoption of programs both at

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public and private levels for development and empowerment of women. According to NAP, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs (MoWCA) will play the central role in implementing the NAP. The MoWCA is supposed to adopt a yearly work plan following the NAP and communicate that to the National Council for Women’s and Children’s Development (NCWCD). The Council will implement programs according to the yearly work plan. To achieve the goals of the NWDP through the activities stipulated in NAP, resources are needed. The need for resources could be either directly for a women’s development program or project, or the allocation could be general for any regular activities which benefit women. Allocation of resources for women is reflected in the budgetary allocation of the government, more specifically from the report on gender budget. In

79,087 crore in 2015-16. In the recently declared national budget of 2016-17, Taka 92,765 crore has been allocated for women which is 27.25% of the total budget and 4.73% of GDP. These are estimates for direct allocation for women working for the government, the allocation for women development projects and projection or estimate of some or proportion of women to be benefitted from various programs of the government.

the area of gender budgeting, the Government of Bangladesh has made three significant developments which are- i) Introduction of gender analysis in the Medium Term Budget Framework (MTBF) process; ii) a Finance Division that has developed the Recurrent, Capital, Gender and Poverty (RCGP) Model or database where all expenditure items are disaggregated to indicate what percentage of allocation goes to benefit women; iii) the government is presenting to the national parliament a gender budget report that explains the policies and strategies for advancement of women, activities of various ministries/divisions that have implications on women’s development, Key Performance Indicators connected with female welfare attained, major achievement for uplifting women’s rights, allocation for women development, etc. Separate reporting of budget allocation in terms of gender was first provided in FY2009-10 for four ministries. In subsequent years, the number of ministries under gender budget was increased (Figure 1). Since 2013-14, it is provided for 40 ministries.

Table 1: Gender budget allocation- at a glance

Source: Gender Budget Report over various years, Ministry of finance.

Fiscal Year

Total National Budget (crore TK.)

Budget for women (crore TK.)

Allocation for Women compared to total budget (percent)

Allocation For women compared to GDP (percent)

No. of ministriescovere d in Gender Budget report

2009-10

110523

27248

24.65

3.95

2010-11

130011

34221

26.32

4.36

2011-12

161213

42154

26.15

4.61

2012-13

189231

54302

28.70

5.23

2013-14

216215

59756

27.64

5.06

2014-15

239668

64087

26.74

4.23

2015-16

295100

79087

26.80

4.61

2016-17

340604

92765

27.25

4.73

Though initially the Gender Budget Reports only provided information on the allocation of the budget, last year’s report has also included analysis of policies, strategies, programs and budgetary allocations for undertaking various activities targeted towards advancing women’s issues in 40 ministries and divisions. Gender sensitiveness of budget allocation may also be attributed to the gender disaggregation of the population. According to the latest population census, 56.3% of the population is male, and the remaining 43.7% are female. There is a perception that for women’s development, the budget allocation should match the female proportion of the total population. However, that may not be necessary for ensuring women’s development. Direct beneficiaries of many market development projects and infrastructure projects will cover those who are participating in activities related to the project in question. Therefore, direct beneficiaries could very well be males, not because of any bias of budget allocation for them but because of the prevailing realities, that men are more involved in economic activities. According to Labor Force Survey of 2013, while 81.7% males (with 15+ age) are economically active or part of labor force, the rate is only

33.5% for women. Thus, males receive more direct benefit from budget allocation. The primary concern for budget allocation for women’s development should be to observe whether programs necessary for women’s advancement is jeopardized by lack of finance or not. Thus budget allocation should actually match overall growth plan of the country and plan for women’s development. In this context, allocation of 27.25% of budget for women’s development should not be judged against 43.7% of female population, it should be analyzed in accordance as to whether this allocation is sufficient to implement various project and programs envisaged for women’s development. Attention should also be given to the nature of plan for women’s development. Whether the allocation of development budget for women is sufficient or not will depend not on the size of the allocation but on the extent to which this distribution matches with the programs stipulated in NAP to achieve goals of NWDP. It is to be noted here that most of the development budget projects consider the benefits (from that project) for women on an ad hoc basis, often according to the proportion of women in the population to be covered by that project. However the female population, for various reasons, may not be in a position to reap benefit from that program as could be gained by her male counterpart. Therefore, allocation of development budget for women could have been overestimated. The gender budget report provides analysis of relevance of activities of different ministries for advancement of women. However, the analysis does not connect the programs

While gender discrimination happens to both men and women in individual circumstances, discrimination against women is an entrenched, global pandemic.

of the various ministries with the activity matrix of NAP. It does not include a description of how the activities of a ministry are linked with the NAP. If that could be introduced, it would be easier to get updates on the progress of achieving the targets of NAP on time. Gender sensitivity of budget allocation may also be noticed from the development budget allocation. However, it's hard to get a coordinated picture of programs and projects of various ministries and departments. It was noted in NAP that Ministry of Women and Children Affairs would coordinate activities for women’s advancement of different entities which is still missing. If it continues then there could be numerous initiatives for ensuring women’s rights and advancement. However, the lack of coordination may lead to over-emphasis on some programs and under-emphasis on the others. It is noted that in the gender budget report, various ministries have recognized the importance of implementing NWDP for women’s advancement. A number of programs have been undertaken by ministries for ensuring rights of women, to stop violence against them, to support women who faced violence, to support health rights of women, to enhance economic empowerment of women. However it is very difficult to directly connect those activities with the activity matrix stipulated in the NAP to understand the progress of NAP. The NWDP 2011 was achieved after a long struggle, with a policy in place particularly for women’s development. The Policy reflects government’s

commitment to non-discrimination in compliance with CEDAW provisions. The NAP was formulated to make the aims and objectives stipulated in the NWDP to really work for women and thus NAP aims to achieve women’s advancement as has been noted in the NWDP. However the targets stipulated in NAP will remain unattained if budgetary allocation does not match the programs. The discussion mentioned reveals that 27.25% of the total budget and 42.5% of development budget is allocated to women. Different Ministries are implementing various programs for women. Some of the programs are for direct benefit of women while some programs are envisaged to have indirect impacts on them. There has been number of laws and policies in place for protection of women and ensuring their rights. For example, the National Health Policy has given special attention to equal opportunities of healthcare for

According to Labor Force Survey of 2013, while 81.7% males (with 15+ age) are economically active or part of labor force, the rate is only 33.5% for women. Thus, males receive more direct benefit from budget allocation.

male and female; the National Population Policy aims to reduce child and maternal mortality and ensure safe motherhood for better child and maternal health; the National Agricultural Policy has given special attention to women in agriculture in terms of their access to agricultural inputs, training them to produce agro-processed goods, special credit facilities for gardening, post-harvest activities, bee-rearing etc. There is also an National Children Policy 2011, Early Childhood Care and Development Policy 2013, Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Act 2014 and the National Action Plan for prevention of violence against women and children. However, it is difficult to get a clear match between activities of different entities and activities planned in NAP. Therefore, a complete conclusion could not be drawn as to whether budgetary allocations for gender sensitive projects were in line with the NAP or not. However to monitor progress of NAP and thereby to understand where we stand in terms of ensuring women’s rights and women’s advancement, we need information on the target of budgetary allocation for implementing NAP. The following initiatives are urgently needed to ensure that budget allocation for various ministries match the activity plan of NAP. i) The MoWCA should provide yearly progress report on NAP for implementing NWDP, a report should be made available online. ii) Each ministry or division covered by the Gender Budget Report should include a section on how their activities are linked to the NAP (specifically linking their programs with NAP).

iii) Each ministry should add a section on their activities for implementation of NAP. iv) There should be a mid-term evaluation of progress of NAP. v) It is surprising that the 7th –Five Year Plan does not mention about the NAP, though it mentions about the NWDP. Therefore it is important that implementation initiative of the 7th Five Year Plan by different ministries and division should take note of the NAP. vi) It is felt that there has been sensitization about gender issues but coordinated efforts are missing. This is high time for the MoWCA to start the coordinated efforts to implement the NAP. We have to remember, while we talk about gender parity, we are actually talking about rights of the women- for their survival, their dignity and opportunity for growth. It is time we unite in an endeavor to achieve equality, diminishing the ideology that gender is connotation for women as the others. The writer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and can be reached at nazneen7ahmed@yahoo.com

PHP FAMILY

/ Interview

A Kindred Company MOHAMMED MOHSIN is the Vice President of PHP Family. He has previously served as the Director of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce Industries and the President of the Mohammden Sporting Club. He is the Member of Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce &Industries, a life time member of Chittagong Maa-o-Shishu Hospital, and Member of Consular Corps in Bangladesh.

What are the key components of the success of your business?

The primary requirement to obtain success in any business is a clear vision of the business you would like to conduct. You must work hard and develop a plan to make that vision a reality; making this reality prosper is gathering information regarding the market condition and survey the prospect of the business. Upon entering the market, it becomes a matter of gaining visibility in the market. I regularly provide proper instructions and motivation with an emphasis on consistency to my team members to increase the efficiency of their work. A business should also impact the society, and this is apparent in the CSR work of our company.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The country is well positioned to expand on its success in diversified business fields, and move up the value chain.

Mohammed Mohsin

Vice President of PHP Family

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What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas? The ability to generate new ideas is an essential work skill today. From our inception, the PHP Family is consistent in establishing new products in the market. We continually focus on what new products can be introduced to the market. This skill can only develop by consciously practicing techniques that force your mind to forge new connections, break old thought patterns and consider new perspectives.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success?

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

There are numerous markers of success in a company. This includes the loyalty of the customers, the ranking of our business in terms of employment, a strong brand value and long-term innovations. We know that if our clients are continually returning to purchase our products that we must constantly strive towards creating better products that go beyond their expectation. This ideology helps us retain our success and expand.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?

WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? My father, Alhaj Sufi Mohamed Mizanur Rahman, Honorable Chairman, PHP Family

Given that company has acquired such a significant degree of success, we have even bigger plans for the future. The development of a business involves building upon the successful models that you have set up. There is no room for thoughts that one has attained perfection given that there is always room for improvement, modifications, and innovations. We must take bold steps and be willing to push our limits further to promote expansion and growth.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh? Bangladesh offers promising opportunities for investment. The Government of Bangladesh actively seeks foreign investment on infrastructure projects and provides a range of investment incentives under its industrial policy and export-oriented growth strategy, with few formal distinctions between foreign and domestic private investors. Bangladesh has cost efficient industrial premises in the world, which has fueled an expanding industrial base. The country is well positioned to expand on its success in diversified business fields, and move up the value chain.

FAVORITE HOBBY? Playing musical instruments. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? In 1999 PHP Family was established WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES YOU HAVE IN YOUR COMPANY? 10,000 WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH THE BUSINESS? We have numerous concerns in metal production and manufacturing that includes galvanized steel, glass, power generation, ship recycling, latex and rubber products, fisheries, spinning mills and agro production.

What was the best advice you ever got? "Divine blessings, mixed with hard work, backed by good intentions can make miracles." This quote is from my father Alhaj Sufi Mohamed Mizanur Rahman, the Honorable Chairman of PHP Family, which we adhere to.

The development of a business involves building upon the successful models that you have set up. There is no room for thoughts that one has attained perfection given that there is always room for improvement, modifications, and innovations.

HAQUE GROUP

/ Interview

Preserving the Haque Legacy

Q What are the key components of the success of your business? At Haque, we believe that success consists of multiple components that include ethics, the upholding of heritage, ensuring the livelihood for thousands of people and growing in a versatile manner. We firmly abide by these principals and believe that they are the key components to success. Our first pillar is goodwill, which we have inherited and had upheld

with high esteem. Next, we have our products, which are simply the best in their class. Then, we have our people who strive to excel and exceed in all areas and finally, our distribution, which caters all of Bangladesh and a growing number of other countries which include India, Nepal, Bhutan and Saudi Arabia. The most important factor is our purpose of innovation, where we strive to bring new products at affordable prices to the people of Bangladesh. All these synergize into the creation of a successful model that we are taking forward.

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas? At Haque, innovation is a way of life. We have been the pioneers in Bangladesh when it comes to biscuits, batteries, and soaps, and we still create

The most important factor is our purpose of innovation, where we strive to bring new products at affordable prices to the people of Bangladesh.

Adam Tamizi Haque

Managing Director Haque Group of Industries

ADAM TAMIZI HAQUE is the Managing Director of Haque Group which is a conglomerate of many companies. It is one of Bangladeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oldest leading enterprises, manufacturing and distributing biscuits, confectioneries, soaps, batteries and other consumer items. Haque group is known for its quality products, values and ethics. Having its roots in Bangladesh the company is catering to domestic and overseas markets.

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products that are in demand. We believe in elevating quality such as the HAAS Cook Lines from Denmark, which were outside the reach of a majority of customers. As a non-MNC company, we invested heavily in technological upgrades to create immense value for our stakeholders, local industries, clients, and patrons. Our growth of over the last five year is a testament to our intention to being a food safety compliant organization. The next big idea can come for anywhere; in this context, we encourage a free flow of ideas and exchange of opinions. Our free-culture environment encourages innovative ideas through logical presentation and pitches. Furthermore, we reward those who consistently brainstorm to encourage them to come up with new ideas that enhance business performance.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success? For us, success is something that is imperative if we want to satisfy millions of people while upholding a company's legacy that is revered, respected and financially triumphant. This is evident in the international recognition of our products; Mr.Cookie has been awarded the prestigious Monde Selection Award. We have also received the Best Enterprise Award from the Europe Business Assembly. I had witnessed exponential growth from when I started my time as Managing Director. I began working as a director at age 18 with practical experience since 2002, commencing with the dry cell and soap businesses; during 2011, I began my involvement in the biscuit production as the Managing Director. Success is not an overnight habit; it involves dedication, sacrifice, and hard work. Long-term

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? Sir Richard Branson, Warren Buffet and Munib Ali Masri. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS? Always with reverence, the HOLY QURAN. FAVORITE HOBBY? I love spending time with my daughter and experimenting with new gadgets. Other than that, I also love driving my yacht; sailing and swimming in the seas. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? My grandfather founded Haque Brothers Ltd. in 1947 in Chittagong. Haque Brothers Industries started its journey under my father, barrister Tamizul Haque, in 1952. WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH YOUR BUSINESS? Our business areas entail food processing, battery manufacturing, and soap manufacturing.

success requires the power of apprehension and the swift capability to react to situations. Time management is integral when making use of opportunities that may not return.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh? Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies, and the vast population of 16 crore creates a lucrative market for both local and MNC companies. Moreover, as the per capita income is improving and we are moving to a middle-income

country status, I foresee more disposable income in the hands of the masses which should promote consumption and foster growth. Bangladesh has lately attracted foreign manufacturing businesses in the country. However, we have scope for improvement when we speak of the ease of doing business. Bureaucracy, red tape, and delay in officialdom are serious impedances. Moreover, whereas the MNCs have access to cheap loans, the cost of capital for local companies is quite high. Incentivizing of exports will improve the competitiveness of Bangladeshi products. Leveling the playing field will be essential in ensuring our competitive stance in the global market.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business? We believe that expansion is a continuous process. Our investments in modern lines will allow us to be the largest capacity biscuit line in the South Asian field. By 2020, we aspire to become the primary producer of biscuits and baked goods in Bangladesh. We are pioneers that strive to be leaders in the times to come.

What was the best advice you ever got? My father, Barrister Tamizul Haque, The Honorable Chairman of the company told me when I took over, â&#x20AC;&#x153;never compromise on your faith and values, and things will fall to your feet.â&#x20AC;? This piece of advice has always stuck with me.

As a non-MNC company, we invested heavily in technological upgrades to create immense value for our stakeholders, local industries, clients, and patrons.

The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes". The article is based on a report by Kaizen CRS which aims to highlight the current contribution of tourism in economy of Bangladesh. The writer works for Kaizen CRS

SPECIAL REPORT

/ Tourism

Potential of Tourism in Bangladesh By Debojit Saha

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t present, tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, according to UNWTO in 2014 global economic contribution of tourism (direct, indirect and induced) was almost $1,245 billion and the number of international tourists is expected to grow at the rate of 4% per annum. Even though tourism can be both domestic as well as international, it is commonly associated with international travel. The reason domestic travel is often overlooked is that international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments and thus is a lucrative avenue to earn foreign currency. International tourism accounts for 30% of the world’s exports of services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. As a worldwide export category, tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals, and food, but this has been possible due to heavy usage of technology in the sector. With the advent of e-commerce platforms, tourism products have become one of the most traded items on the internet. Tourism products and services have been made available through intermediaries but now tourism providers (hotels, airlines, etc.), including small-scale operators, can sell their services directly. Thus a new genre of tourists has emerged who are known as backpackers. They travel very low cost and tend to experience the most out of host countries. With the advent of technology, the number of these tourists seems to be always on the rise. Stiff worldwide competition has meant promotional measures play a fundamental role when it comes to the performance and development of the Tourism industry. Hence, it is necessary to study the strategic promotional approaches of the tour operators in Bangladesh as tourism in the country appears to have suffered mostly due to inadequate and ineffective promotional activities. This, in turn, will lead to remedies to overcome the problems or limitations identified.

DIRECT

Travel & Tourism Contribution COMMODITIES * Accommmodation * Transportation * Entertainment * Attractions INDUSTRIES * Accommodiation service * Food & beverage services * Retail Trade * Transportation services * Cultural, sports & recreational services SOURCES OF SPENDING * Residents’ demestic T & T spending * Businesses’ demestic travel spending * Visitor exparts * Individual government T & T spending

INDIRECT

Travel & Tourism contribution * T & T investment spending * Government collective T&T spending * Impact of purchases from suppliers

Tourism and Its importance in the Economy Travel and Tourism is an important economic activity in most countries around the world. As well as its direct economic impact, the industry has significant indirect and induced impacts. For instance, visitors (Foreign Tourists) bring in foreign currency, and additionally they demand a range of services from traveling to accommodation to boosting the local economy through the purchase of gifts and souvenirs for friends and family. Thus, the direct benefit of the economy can be observed through higher employment opportunities and GDP growth. Subtle benefits include the positive image boost for the country which can improve chances of attracting foreign investors or more tourists. From a developing country’s perspective, tourism industry is extremely important for Bangladesh; because it is a labor intensive industry, provides a wide range of different employment opportunities, contributes to a geographical spread of employment, employs more women and young people than most other industries and creates opportunities for many small and medium entrepreneurs. More than one million people have already been employed directly and indirectly in tourism and tourism-related industries, and a huge number of people are waiting for employment.

AVERAGE SPENDING

INDUCED

contribution (spending of direct and indirect employees) * Food and beverages * Recreation * Clothing * Housing * Household goods

[Vacation Tourists 1.75x of Business Tourists]

Business Tourists Vacation Seeking Tourists 0

0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Vacation Seeking Tourists

1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 Business Tourists

Figure 2: Average Spending of Visitors

TOTAL

Travel & Tourism contribution * To GDP * To employment Figure 1: Impact of Travel & Tourism in Economy

A research by World Travel & Tourism Council shows that on average a vacation seeking tourist spends 75% more than a business tourist; thus in order to boost tourism it is important that the business tourists are converted to become leisure seeking tourists during their holidays.

Situation Analysis of Tourism in Bangladesh

Foreign Nationals visit Bangladesh for a wide range of purpose. The table represents the month wise traffic and purpose of visit by inbound tourists.

Purpose of Visit Month

Tourism

Business

Office

Study

Service

Others

Total

January

46,380

7092

101

2857

103080

48985

208,495

February

48,958

7757

101

3605

99999

44874

205,294

March

51,206

5438

106

746

102151

47266

206,913

April

42,463

10668

2523

94273

45808

195,814

May

44,403

10065

249

2444

102101

45586

204,848

June

50,338

9577

480

2756

89856

41482

194,489

July

63,059

9592

264

2421

95510

33558

204,404

August

36,883

7886

113

2567

73668

43954

165,071

September

31,752

7096

132

2495

62813

40088

144,376

October

33,876

9526

112

2427

90449

58580

194,970

November

14,691

8560

111

2482

60154

68363

154,361

December

19,065

8887

103

2527

85246

36149

151,977

Total

483,074

102,144

1,951

29,850

1,059,300

554,693

Figure 3:Trend Analysis of visitors in Bangladesh Source: Bangladesh Tourism Board 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0

Tourism

Business

Oﬃce

Study

Service

Others

Figure 4: Trend Analysis of visitors in Bangladesh [Source: Bangladesh Tourism Board]

Tourism

Tourism 22%

Others 25%

Business Oﬃce Study Service Others

Oﬃce 0%

Service 47%

Figure 5: Travel purpose wise % composition of tourists in Bangladesh

Foreign travelers see Bangladesh as a business destination rather than a tourist destination when in actuality there are numerous locations worth visiting in the country, if properly promoted to the outside world. On an average, 40,256 foreign nationals visit Bangladesh every month for leisure purposes. At present the popular sites visited by these

travelers are Cox’s Bazar, St. Martin and Sundarban. However, it is believed that there is the scope for increasing experiential tourism in Bangladesh. For instance Bangladesh should highlight the diversity of tribes living here in Bangladesh and promote package tours with options of cultural exchanges. This will increase the traffic as well as extend the length of stays for the tourists in Bangladesh. The trend shows that there is always a steady stream of official visits by foreign nationals and the annual figure for the business trips is quite significant (around 52% of total visitors according to Figure 4). If this business group can be converted into vacation seeking tourists then Bangladesh would increase more economic activity in tourism sector. At present, Travel and Tourism’s contribution to GDP is around 2.5% but experts believe that the contribution solely from tourism alone would be around 0.5%. Industry professionals pointed out that presently Bangladesh is not the primary destination for most tourists as they choose to visit either India or Nepal in the South Asian region. While visiting these places (India, Nepal or Myanmar) tourists request their travel agents to add Bangladesh in the package. The average spending of a tourist who visits Bangladesh is around $150 to $300. Therefore the industry players feel that it is important that Bangladesh is well branded among the international tourists as sole tourist destination and this will increase the traffic of tourists as well as their spending in Bangladesh. The Government of Bangladesh plans on to attracting 1,000,000 tourists from all over the world within the 2016-2018 period. With the current average spending of tourists, the foreign earning should be around $300 million from tourism alone, provided the target can be achieved.

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Critical Factors important for Tourism: Strategy for Improving Transport Systems

Improvement in road communication should be joined north to south and east to west cities without much trouble and hindrance. Railway: Services should be better; Railway lines should be established up to Teknaf from Chittagong; Rail link between Dhaka and Coxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bazar should be established as well. Hill tract areas should be well connected with the Railway and air systems. Waterway:The inland waterway facilitates are easier and cheaper sources of transportation and possess great potential for tourism development; Airway: The Government should maintainan international standards at the airport in Chittagong, Sylhet, Syedpur and Cox's Bazar. More airports should be built and the existing ones improved at Barisal, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna, Dinajpur, etc. Also, the number of flights should be increased for the easy movement of tourists. Private airlines should come forward to cover different tourist spots.

In order to assess the different dimensions of the visitorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; travel experience in Bangladesh, around 50 respondents belonging to tourism sector i.e. tour operators, hotel managers etc. were surveyed through an online platform and the following key parameters were identified. Respondents identified these factors as the critical factors for improvement of tourism sector in Bangladesh. The dimensions are: 1. Visa and Immigration Formalities 2. Accommodation quality 3. Ambience 4. Hygiene 5. Upkeep of tourist sites 6. Accommodation Tariff 7. Availability of medicinal and health care facilities 8. Safety measures by local administration 9. Quality of Food and catering 10. Food prices 11. Public transport facilities 12. Quality of roads 13. Time required for travel 14. Co-operation from tourist information centre 15. Attitude of the local people 16. Recreational facilities 17. Shopping facilities and souvenirs

Strategy for Upgrading Accommodation

Ensure quality accommodation in all tourist points: High quality tourism may not be established without high quality accommodation in all sectors of the tourist economy. So the Government should try to promote foreign investors in this industry. Both old and new hotels should have proper tourism and conference facilities. The scene is still dominated by low standard accommodation and the owners of the existing facilities need motivation and investment to improve what they can offer.

Strategy to engage local community

Educate local community about the Tourism sector: Although the local population needs to be informed of the importance of tourism for the general development of Bangladesh, the information on current income possibilities from tourism activities and investments of individuals is more promising. The way of inciting the interest of the local population for tourism is to open the options for employment and income. Strengthening capacities of the local tourism organizations would turn them into promoters of the tourism business.

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SWOT Analysis of Tourism in Bangladesh Strength

- Tourist friendly climatic conditions - The average temperature across the country usually ranges between 8-21Â°C in cold months and between 21-38Â°C during warmer months. This weather can attract a wide range of tourists from different regions of the World

Weakness

There are various weaknesses due to which tourism development has not occurred in the country and these include: - absence of clear and well defined policies and strategies - Inadequate infrastructure to match the expectation - restrictive Airline Policy of the Government of Bangladesh - lack Coastal Regulation Zone - lack of quality connectivity

- lack of quality shopping and recreation facility - lack of regulatory mechanism for sustainable development and quality controls - high and prohibitive taxation policy - lack of better rail facilities

Opportunities

- Vast untapped potential on heritage tourism, backwater tourism, eco-friendly tourism, health tourism and pilgrimage tourism - Availability of high quality human resources - Low credit deposit ratio - Availability of funds for investment from financial institutions

Threats

- Uncontrolled and unsystematic growth of tourism will lead to pollution and environmental and ecological hazards

along with cultural degradation - Unstable political situation and natural disasters - Other countries may offer significantly better services, if action is not taken to remove weaknesses

Strategies to Develop Tourism - Strategy one: Create required tourism and accompanying infrastructure for attaining the strategic goal - Strategy two: Bangladesh develops a specific Unique Selling Point - Strategy three: Improving institutional and legal frameworks appropriate for successful and sustainable development - Strategy four: Improve local populationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement in Tourism sector

Recommendations

Tourism is an excellent source of foreign exchange and employment. Bangladesh is a country with an incredibly large population where unemployment is a major issue. Hence, Tourism development could open a new era for solving unemployment problems and could generate income. - Infrastructure and transportation are the prerequisites for tourism development. So the government should take the necessary steps to develop highways, railways and airways to connect key tourist attractions as well as comfortable public transport facilities. - Ensure safety and security for tourists, especially at the tourist spots. The Bangladesh Government has formed tourist police who are specially trained in tourism for the safety and security of foreign tourists as well as domestic tourists but the number of such police needs to be increased. - Positive branding of the tourism industry must be expressed by our diplomats, ambassadors, consular representing Bangladesh in different countries of the world. - Highlight our culture. Very few natural and cultural heritage sites or traditional events and festivals are known or advertised to our foreign guests, even to local and regional visitors. The establishment, promotion and marketing of tourist attractions will ensure the necessary preconditions for attaining the objective of Bangladesh becoming an all-year-round destination.

The writer is a researcher and does consulting work with different commercial brands, helping build their brand strategies.

A K KHAN GROUP

/ Interview

Every Drop Counts

Q MUSTAFA AZIM KASEM KHAN is the Director of Project Implementation of A K Khan & Company Ltd and the Director of Business Development of A K Khan WaterHealth Bangladesh Ltd. He has previously served as an Underwriting Team Leader at State Farm Insurance and Account Manager of Ricoh in Toronto, Canada. MURTEZA RAFI KHAN is the Co-founder and Director of A K Khan WaterHealth Bangladesh Ltd, a Founder Member and Advisor of A K Khan - CRP and Project Director of A K Khan & Co Ltd and A K Khan Foundation. He is also a coordinator of Bangladesh Business and Disability Network Task Force.

Could you elaborate upon the business that you are conducting? What are the key components of the success of your business?

Mustafa: Murteza and I convinced A. K. Khan Group to invest in the water sector. The initial investment was made into Community Water Systems (CWS), promoted by WaterHealth International. The business model is to set up decentralized water purification plants in rural areas and collect a minimal user fee. In their model communities, the land was donated while the Panchayat (local government in India) supported the Company’s entry as a safe water provider alongside global investors and donors. We faced several challenges with that business model in Bangladesh. There was no Panchayat donating land as most rural land is privately owned in Bangladesh. Very few people were willing to come to the CWS site to collect water. Our intention was the same as it is now; we want to solve the safe drinking water crisis in Bangladesh. At present our approach is different, and we consider the need for clean water anywhere in the country a priority.

“As a water company, we are dealing with an essential human necessity; a responsibility that requires the utmost diligence and attention to detail through regular monitoring and robust aftersales services.

Murteza: We take the utmost priority in providing quality treated water to our customers. As a water company, we are dealing with an essential human necessity; a responsibility that requires the utmost diligence and attention to detail through regular monitoring and robust after-sales services. We are also a flexible company that has been able to diversify its product range based on technological innovations and market requirements, thereby expanding our risk and revenue streams. Furthermore, we have assembled a dedicated team of young professionals who are eager to prove themselves and enjoy a degree of autonomy. The other key component to our success has been partnering organizations such as Friendship NGO, which is more efficiently able to manage our rural footprint in salinity hit Satkhira, due to their existing presence in the community.

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas?

Mustafa: Our core idea was to find new product lines leveraging our expertise in water to offer innovative solutions to our customers; the more skills and SKUs you have, the larger the opportunity to meet your client’s need. Instead of pushing our original business plan on our customers, we began to start considering their requirements more carefully and then dedicated ourselves to meeting them in the most quality conscious and effective manner. We can provide safe drinking water out of the tap for commercial and household clients. Our provisions entail water solutions including but not limited to Effluent Treatment Plants and Sewerage Treatment Plants. Murteza: New ideas can come from anywhere regarding the different aspects of our business. We have a very open culture where team members are encouraged to share their knowledge and ideas regardless of their designation. We always strive to offer the latest technological innovations that are suitable for the local market. Generating new ideas is in our DNA, as the company was founded based on an entirely new model for the Bangladesh market. As we’ve fine-tuned our business plan, we are offering a unique blend of products, which no other water company currently provides. Currently, our 20 liters jar water brand, Dr. Water, is the market leader in Chittagong amongst BSTI approved players. Operating www.icebusinesstimes.net

MUSTAFA AZIM KASEM KHAN

Director of Business Development A K Khan WaterHealth Bangladesh

MURTEZA RAFI KHAN

Co-Founder and Director A K Khan WaterHealth Bangladesh

www.icebusinesstimes.net

and maintaining the quality of water on a daily basis has made us intimately knowledgeable about water purification. We have been able to adapt and apply this expertise to all our other product offerings. At present, our installed base is capable of treating close to 3,500,000 liters of water on a daily basis.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success?

Mustafa: Success is being able to meet the needs of your clients, employees, and stakeholders in a profitable and sustainable way. Long-term success is achieved by meeting the demand of your market, regarding both quality and price. We are in the water business, and one mistake could lead to significant negative consequences. Another way to achieve long-term success is to team up with the right global partner in the industry that you operate in. Our Group decided to partner with Telekom Malaysia to launch AKTEL, and it was the most successful project in the history of A. K. Khan Group. We are hoping to do the same in the water sector. Murteza: Success comes with multiple indicators for me. The positive social impact our work has had on our customers, and other stakeholders is an important aspect to consider. Every time someone is using safe water because of us, it is a success. Of course to sustain and grow, impact and monetary success are also required, as a means to an end. The goal post keeps moving as you hit or miss certain targets, but the key is to continue conducting oneself with positive intentions and to try to be of service in an attempt to leave the world better than the way you found it. I think if you keep doing that, while learning from challenges and failures, success will follow in the long run.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh?

Mustafa: My fiancé says that Bangladesh can be South Korea in 20 years, and I believe her. Growing at 6-8% annually for over a decade will more than double your economy. We have seen the results of that growth in our water solutions business. In 2014, we had 7 system installations, and currently, we have 50. No other country in the world that will allow you the kind of growth opportunities that Bangladesh does, even with limited capital and resources. My country is a land of opportunity in a world that is starved for growth. We will take advantage of being located next to India, which is officially the fastest growing large economy in the world. CEAT AKKHAN Ltd. is the single largest Indian investment in Bangladesh to date. We are hopeful many more such investments will come to our country.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? Mustafa: My late grandfather, A.K.Khan, who was a pioneering industrialist in Bangladesh and my father, Salahuddin Kasem Khan, presently Managing Director of A.K.Khan Group. Murteza: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson and Elon Musk are other icons whose work I admire. And of course, my grandfather, A.K.Khan along with my father, Salahuddin Kasem Khan. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS? Mustafa: The Count of Monte Cristo. Murteza: The Prophet by Khalil Jibran, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris. FAVORITE HOBBY? Mustafa: Cricket. Murteza: Music WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? A. K. Khan Group was established in 1945 but A K Khan Water Health Bangladesh Limited (AKKWHB) was established in 2011. WHAT NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE IN THE COMPANY? 70 for AKKWHB, 7,000 for AKK including JVs. WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH THE BUSINESS? AKKWHB – water. A. K. Khan Group – textiles, infrastructure, telecom, deep sea fishing, venture capital and real estate.

Murteza: Currently Bangladesh has all the necessary components to continue its economic acceleration. The private sector has been thriving, and it is clear that the country is well positioned to take advantage of its youthful demographic and entrepreneurial leaders. We are predicted to become the 2nd fastest growing economy globally in the next few years as we reach middle-income status. Our companies are innovating and improving the quality of products and services that are available; even higher end global brands are now sustainable in some segments of the market. At the same time, there is still an urgent need to manage this explosive growth in a responsible way, taking into consideration the wellbeing of our people and our environment. We want robust growth in conjunction with development, which a lot of other emerging economies have failed to achieve historically.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?

Mustafa and Murteza: Safe water is a product that is a necessity for everyone. We will not rest until we provide clean water coverage to 160 million Bangladeshis. In the past, we have promoted mobile phones, and now there are 130 million people that are connected to them. Why can it not be the same for water? We are ready to work with all interested parties to make this a reality, as it is a tough target given the ability and willingness to pay for water. The need continues to grow with the country, and we want to be positioned as the preferred company and market leader when it comes to water treatment infrastructure in Bangladesh.

What was the best advice you ever got?

Mustafa: AKK’s Executive Director told me that we should not spend our remaining equity money, as there may be no more. We took this advice seriously and started to implement an eat what you kill policy. For example, the Company would need to make enough income to meet its obligations as this was not always the case in the starting phases of any company. The best way to achieve this is to forego excessive margins on individual deals for building long-term relationships with your clients. Each customer is a potential partner, and if you serve their needs, they will remain loyal. In a business like ours, customer loyalty can make or break it. Murteza: The mark of a true entrepreneur is exhibited with the ability to overcome the hard times. During difficult periods, the world can be against you, and you must still have faith in your mission and pull through, even when no one else does.

Sohana Rouf Chowdhury Managing Director Rangs Motors Limited

RANGS GROUP

/ Interview

Raising the Bar SOHANA ROUF CHOWDHURY is the Managing Director of Rangs Motors Ltd. and the daughter of renowned business icon, A. Rouf Chowdhury. At Rangs she looks after the overall company but mainly handles Sales and Marketing, overcoming the challenges that come while selling commercial vehicles in a price sensitive and competitive market. She is also a Business Graduate having Majored in Economics from New York University, USA.

Q Given the nature of the Bangladeshi culture, how did you manage to thrive in a sector dominated by men such as the automobile and real estate industries? First of all, I have never looked at it that way; I have never felt that being a woman will make any difference at all. It is the quality of my contribution that

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Challenges, in general, are very healthy for growth for any business. Being able to challenge myself motivates me, and I hope I can grow more in my field in the coming days.

hope I can grow more in my field in the coming days. It feels great when people come and tell me; they have made a good amount of profit by buying buses and trucks from our company. I wait to hear such inspiring words more. If my contributions bring about the slightest of positive changes for the nation, I will consider myself successful. thrives and aspires. I have never faced any challenges that I could not overcome. It was quite the opposite rather. In any area, being a competent individual helps the most. Businesses are made of people, so ultimately, it’s a social experience. Helping others, being curious, assuming positive intent, being able to serve and work with people productively and remain in a constant open state of learning and evolution always managed to elevate those who put in a good amount of effort. I guess that is how I have managed, and I hope I can do better in the coming days.

You have your hands in various fields of business such as automobiles, cosmetics, jewelry, real estate, and banking. Which venture defines you the most? Automobiles, because it serves a huge purpose in my country. The nation is developing bit by bit, and the mode of transportation for most is public vehicles. The majority of the buses plying in Dhaka are Eicher Buses, and it truly is surreal for me still. Challenges, in general, are very healthy for growth for any business. Being able to challenge myself motivates me, and I

You have worked and collaborated with several international brands, how do they compare with their counterparts available locally? First of all, I would like to add that in Rangs Group, it is about setting the tone, the example of the culture, being robust and open when things get tough and questioning success and challenging the team when things are good. All those things translate to creating a culture where people work to achieve mutually beneficial goals – that delivers profits and progress, but meaning and connectivity at the same time. I have been blessed enough to be able to work with International brands.

We carefully choose them, because we believe in the name. We believe in the brands, which are inline with the ethics and values of our company. It brings a smile to my face as I say, ‘Gitanjali is the only Diamond branded jewelry in Bangladesh.'

What scope and opportunities do woman entrepreneurs have in the Bangladesh economy right now? Scope and opportunities must be created, let your work do the talking, let your efforts pave it’s way in, be it a man or woman. One's gender should not make a difference. Well, I’ve learned that the combination of curiosity, resilience and purpose-filled passion is almost an unstoppable formula. Leadership is about the team, the culture you keep and embrace the empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business. It’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.

“Leadership is about the team, the culture you keep and embrace the empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business. It’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.

MICROSOFT LINKEDIN

/ Inside Out

LinkedInâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New Window of Opportunity By Antony Rahman

icrosoft Corp. recently expanded its already significant online presence by acquiring LinkedIn, a business-oriented social networking service. The acquisition was announced on June 13th and cost Microsoft a whopping $26.2 billion which they will be getting in debt

form, as they are an AAA borrower with a low debt to equity ratio. Microsoft bought LinkedIn for a 50% premium on the share price as an all-cash transaction, with LinkedIn shares being valued at $196 each.

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The transaction is expected to be closed within 2016 and is subject to approval by LinkedIn’s shareholders and specific regulatory bodies.

W hile this acquisition has many important implications for LinkedIn, Microsoft insiders including Bill Gates himself have commented that LinkedIn will keep its brand and initiatives, and existing CEO Jeff Weiner will remain in place and report directly to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. For Nadella, this is his first big acquisition since becoming CEO two years ago. Nadella is quoted as saying "The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals, together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet." Microsoft has been making efforts to position itself as the "world’s leading professional cloud", which sheds more light on this large scale acquisition. Though Microsoft has not been entirely forthright with the exact details of their intentions regarding the purchase, their recent shift towards branding themselves as "The world’s leading cloud system" implies that it is meant to bolster their online and social networking presence. This is undoubtedly a wise business

decision, as social platforms are becoming increasingly important with each passing day. For instance, Facebook had three incredibly successful messaging services and still spent $22 billion to acquire WhatsApp. This is certainly a significant acquisition for Microsoft, both regarding the financial value and what LinkedIn can offer to the company. Over 433 million people worldwide are LinkedIn users, many of whom pay for premium services from the site. However, the price of the transaction, one of the biggest technology industry deals on record, had an adverse impact on Microsoft’s shares earlier this week. Bill Gates, who is still a board member at Microsoft, was not concerned by the 2% drop in the stock since the deal was announced. “I certainly think that the value of the two companies combined is greater than the two by themselves, but I love the idea that the market wants us to show that,” he said. LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner also had a lot to say in regards to the transaction, and in an email to all LinkedIn employees explained his reasons for this course of action. In it, he commented that the current Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella played an integral part in the decision-making process. He went on to say that he had publicly applauded Satya’s impressive efforts as CEO long before they had ever begun negotiations for this deal, and that it was incredibly rare to see an industry titan make such quick and decisive moves to make fundamental changes in the company. Weiner insisted in the communiqué that he and Satya were in alignment on the purpose and structure of this deal and that they have almost the same mission statements. For LinkedIn, the mission is to connect the world’s professionals and to make them more successful and productive, and for Microsoft, it was to empower all individuals and organizations across the world to be able to achieve more. The deal has been greeted with unanimous approval by the Board of Directors of both Microsoft and LinkedIn. The transaction is expected to be closed within 2016 and is subject to approval by LinkedIn’s shareholders and specific regulatory bodies. Though the initial investment is

tremendous, this acquisition is a tentative step in the right direction for Microsoft to increase its online presence. Both Microsoft board member, Bill Gates and Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella several times alluded to Facebook, and their desire to replicate some of its success. If it were possible for Microsoft to make the LinkedIn feed as valuable and relevant to the professional world as the Facebook feed is to the social world, then that by itself would already make the investment more than worth it. Currently, while LinkedIn is undoubtedly a widely used networking site, its user base does not have the same level of proliferation as other networking giants. However, Microsoft has both the means and the required knowledge to push LinkedIn to the top, not just among professional networking sites, but in the social media arena in general. Whether they can achieve this or not, it's safe

to say that under Microsofts banner, LinkedIn will enjoy greater popularity than before. However, this is not to say that there are no possible negative repercussions from this deal. In a presentation given by the CEO’s of both companies to the investors, it was shown that the Microsoft Office tools, such as Powerpoint, Excel, and Word, will all be connected to LinkedIn. Nadella said in the presentation that this was so that Office could suggest a connection to an expert via LinkedIn to help with whatever task is being done. Though interconnectivity between software applications can be useful, this can have the negative consequence of interrupting people's workflow while they are using Microsoft Office products. Overall, Microsoft stands to gain quite a bit from this transaction, and LinkedIn is now poised to become a juggernaut in the professional networking sphere. Where this goes from here depends on how well they can understand and adapt to the evolving world of online networking.

Farhadul Islam

Chief Executive Officer Blues Communications Limited

BLUES COMMUNICATIONS

/ Interview

Setting the Stage FARHADUL ISLAM is the Chief Executive Officer of Blues Communications Limited. He has previously served in numerous leading agencies of the country including GREY, Interspeed and Unitrend. Farhad also serves as the Business Development Director of Bengal Foundation, Director of an IGW Company, 1Asia Alliance Gateway Ltd. and Chairman of a digital marketing agency, Strategeek.

What are the key components of the success of your business?

The basic elements we focus on are audienceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comfort and reaction. We want to introduce them to a variety of experiences, comfort and the latest inventions or innovations that are changing the experience of the event. We want the audience to leave with the sense that they are having an experience and not just witnessing a performance. When you see some of the greatest contemporary performers such as Sting and Adele, they have lots of variety during their concerts and tours. Each performance brings something new and keeps the audience enticed. We incorporate this very same idea. Furthermore, we emphasize having the most modern sound systems, ambiance, lights, and washroom facilities. Every little detail is a part of the experience, and you have to ensure that all of these are up to the mark because any discrepancy can ruin the entire experience.

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas?

We want to introduce the concepts that we have learned from arranging performances on some international platforms that included the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena. The technology and facilities that are present

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Long-term success fundamentally depends on how you deliver your products. When we create a performance or event, we want it to stand out from everything that has been witnessed before to keep the audience eager for future events.

in these arenas have yet to be introduced in Bangladesh, and we would like to bring them here. World Music Expo (WOMEX) is a festival that features the many different types of music throughout the world. The festival is welcomed because of the eclectic range of music that is available. We are trying to introduce various forms of music to the Bangladeshi audience through various festivals such as the Jazz, Classical, and Sufi fests. We strive to expand these ventures to a greater degree. Through experience, we are learning to incorporate these ideas into our local scene. Additionally, we want to focus on classical, jazz and contemporary plays that are becoming a dying art. We take audience feedback and try to enlighten them about the new artistic experiences available.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success?

Long-term success fundamentally depends on how you deliver your products. When we create a performance or event, we want it to stand out from everything that has been witnessed before to keep the audience eager for future events. The second idea would have to be consistency. You cannot allocate all your resources into one event and provide a dismal effort to the next. For example, our company also conducts corporate events. These particular events have budget restrictions, and it is a rather competitive field. The company and industry suffer when we focus solely on cost limitations. We have retained our success because we refuse to compromise when it comes to the standards. Finally, there must be teamwork with the entire employment body. We are fortunate that we function as a family here. If everyone can work cooperatively, the task at hand is completed more efficiently. Our team works extended hours and weekends, if we don’t have that shared passion and unity, the task at hand will not be to that of our real potential.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh?

I would like to take this under the context of what Blues Communication is handling which is artistic events. Though Bangladesh has made an impressive amount of progress throughout the last decade, we are yet to reach higher levels and international standards regarding infrastructure for commercial events. When creating an event, you want a

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? Dr. T. VenkatVardhan, the founder of DNA Entertainment Networks.They are responsible for single-handedly redefining events, productions through promoting, managing and organizing various unique concerts for live audiences and events such as IPL, Pro Kabadi League and other well-known events in the Asian market. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE MUSICAL ARTIST? Jagjit Singh because ghazal is my favourite genre. I find it very soothing for my soul. FAVOURITE HOBBY? Undoubtedly, music. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? Blues Communications began operations in 2012. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN COMPANY? Our entire team is consistent of 55 members. WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH THE BUSINESS? All kinds of events, corporate events, brand activations, 360 marketing solutions, advertising, digital and social media marketing, music festivals and concerts.

stadium with the maximum audience to accommodate reasonable ticket price ranges. The sponsors want maximum exposure to get their names advertised or promoted in the most effective manner. But this is often a challenging task for us for one reason or the other, sometimes for technological difficulties or at times for lack of potential ways to promote the brand. Whereas on the other hand, from my personal experience in executing international events, I found the scope for advertising sponsors and other brands in many more ways, rather than the usual conventional approach that we tend to follow here. We would be keen to have such a venue in Bangladesh, facilitated with higher audience capacities and modernized technologies since that would allow us to arrange and pull off world-class events for a mass crowd.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?

We would like to start with replicating concerts and shows that define global standards. Also, there are a lot of international showcasing festivals and expo’s, such as WOMEX or Jazzahead for new and upcoming music talents across the world. Blues also plans to incorporate such ideas in Bangladesh in the near future. Our country has connections to many different cultures like the Persians and the British. We want to highlight the cultural presentations and introduce the new technologies in music. When international artists arrive, the technologies that cater to the needs of the event must be imported. This creates a huge burden, and we must address this backward linkage by investing in these provisions within our country.

What was the best advice you ever got?

That it’s wise and best to focus on my own potential, be it regarding execution skills or idea generations. I believe if I’m too inclined on what my competitors are doing or thinking, I will never be able to explore what I’m actually capable of.

“Though Bangladesh has made an impressive amount of progress throughout the last decade, we are yet to reach higher levels and international standards regarding infrastructure for commercial events.

HIGHER EDUCATION

/ Interview

Wearing Many Hats CHOWDHURY NAFEEZ SARAFAT is the Founder Chairman and a Board of Trustee of the Canadian University. He is also the Chairman of RACE Management PCL and ARGUS Credit Rating Services Ltd., the Sponsor Director of Farmers Bank Ltd. and the Chairman of Audit Committee of the same institution. He possesses experience in leading strategic initiatives in the field of various financial and education sectors which led him to serve in various financial institutes. Sarafat is also the Sponsor Director of LIC Bangladesh.

What drove you to join this business?

From a young age, I have had the desire to do something different, and that was the driving force behind my entry into the business; you must have the vision to start a business. I feel immense pleasure knowing that my institution is making a difference for others and that they will appreciate it. I had an honest desire to create an organization that would employ thousands of people and contribute to the country; contributing to the country provides a significant deal of satisfaction. It all started with the financial sector and asset management, which is essentially investment banking. We are the largest asset

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our students have the ability to achieve and outperform their competitors from aboard but are not provided with the proper education that can be attained abroad for monetary purposes.

Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat Founder Chairman, Board of Trustees Canadian University

management company in the private sector. We have been active in asset management, credit rating, and merchant banking for 12 years; this includes private and farmer banks. RACE Management PCL is our asset management company, and ARGUS Credit Rating Services Ltd. is our credit rating company. We are also present in the insurance sector, and we are going to open LIC, India here in Bangladesh.

When did you start your business journey? Starting the business in Canada, I started the credit rating business upon my return. I have a partner in asset management business. Our team has successfully accumulated to a conglomerate of 500 employees.

What is your next step?

We would like to change the education field of our country. The Canadian school system is one of the most effective in the world; they are focused on practical applications and applied knowledge. Given the academic potential of students in Bangladesh, we want to bring that education system to Bangladesh. Our students have the ability to achieve and outperform their competitors from aboard but are not provided with the proper education that can be attained abroad for monetary purposes. Providing them with the quality education will make them stand out. With this in mind, I have brought the Canadian University to Bangladesh. We have incorporated an education exchange program as well as a student exchange program. Additionally, there are Canadian faculties that teach the curriculum.

What are the real challenges of doing business here in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh has such a significant degree of opportunity and is a gold mine for businesses. The lack of infrastructure, traffic and security issues is a major problem that is hampering this growth. During my time as a delegate at the G-7 conference, I found the concern that the Japanese are exploring opportunities in Vietnam, Mexico, and Indonesia because of the problems that I have mentioned in our country. The government is investing in the infrastructure to create a greater sense of stability. With stability, there will be a greater incentive for investment. www.icebusinesstimes.net

FOOD INDUSTRY

/ Interview

The Dynamics of Consistency ZEENAT CHOWDHURY is the Managing Director of Bengal Express and the Chairman of Blues Communications. She joined as the Director of International Publications at Bengal Foundation in 2011. Before joining the Foundation, she was in Dubai where she taught GCSE O’ Level English Language and Economics and had been in the teaching profession since 1992. Zeenat brought her knowledge and love for literature and linguistics to actively pursue the promotion of Bangladeshi writers opting to write in English. A culinary aficionado, she runs Lucknow, which offers a unique experience in Awadhi cuisine. Zeenat is an advocate of innovative thinking and her expertise spans over several different fields, from gastronomy to entertainment.

Q What is your definition of success? What are the key components of the success of your business? My definition of success is doing something well and doing it with passion. If it’s a business venture, then success does entail making money, but for me, it’s more about doing things the right way. For the food industry, success lies in maintaining the quality of food, providing excellent service and creating an ambiance where people feel welcome and want to come to eat. It’s tough to ace a combination of these three because catering food depends on customers as well as employees.

With the food culture increasing its momentum every day, restaurants are opening up in every corner of the city. How fierce is the competition? Does Lucknow have any competitive advantage? To be honest, the competition is tough; the generation now is all about what’s new, so you have to keep up with that pace to do well. While it’s true that restaurants are opening up every day, there are, however, restaurants which also close down within months or even a year. With the rise of social media, people are well aware of new food joints. Hence, they want to try something new. Despite the competition, what’s a blessing for Lucknow is that we have been able to maintain a loyal customer base that keeps coming back for more. Even though there’s an influx of restaurants, our saving grace is the fact that people who try our food always return. It’s the quality of food which serves as a competitive advantage.

“Despite the competition, what’s a blessing for Lucknow is that we have been able to maintain a loyal fan base that keeps coming back for more. Even though there’s an influx of restaurants, our saving grace is the fact that people who try our food always return.

Zeenat Chowdhury Managing Director Bengal Express

www.icebusinesstimes.net

Lucknow is famous for catering Indian cuisine here. Do you find it challenging to innovate since you are providing authentic tastes? Are there any plans for fusion meals? Although Indian food is something that goes well with our palate and has been here for a long time, Awadhi cuisine has not been explored at length. This is what gives us our edge, because it’s different in terms of the combination of spices, so the taste differs from the Indian restaurants that are out there and this is reflected in our food. The Galawti kebab, for instance, is a specialty of the region; the dish is unique in terms of its texture and consistency. Apart from that we also have the Kakori and various other kebabs along with an assortment of biriyanis. In fact, we have a biriyani that is served with spinach, and another one prepared with keema; these dishes are not served in other Indian restaurants. Although some items are spicy, the dishes in general at Lucknow are flavorful and try to stay true to the authenticity of Awadhi cuisine. The fact that it’s an authentic taste is what gives it its strength; hence, we have no plans of doing any fusion meals.

What are your thoughts on the business climate for restaurants in Bangladesh? How do you view the corporate front in Bangladesh? The food industry in Bangladesh is one which keeps frequently changing, given the rise of new restaurants. If one industry does well, then there’s a mushroom growth, and everybody tries to replicate that. While competition is always healthy for any business sector, a new restaurant opening up every day is not particularly helpful for the industry. Eventually, the quality of food and service is not up to the mark. So I think it hasn’t quite settled in as of yet. Although the frequent changes in the food industry may seem slightly unsettling, it’s a positive sign that people are willing to invest and by doing so, they are injecting money into the economy. I think the business

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? I wouldn’t say I follow any business icon in particular but I have been fascinated with the business acumen of John Davidson Rockefeller Sr, and Sir Richard Branson (his eccentric personality helps) and recently I’ve become quite the fan of Mark Cuban. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS? The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach are a few of my favorites. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? Bengal Express was established in 2014. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN THE COMPANY? We have almost a 100 employees.

sector is thriving because people are investing money which helps creates more jobs, and that again is being injected back into the economy. Therefore, people’s purchasing power has been increasing creating a multiplier effect on the economy itself; as a result, the standard of living is bound to improve and whether we see it or not, it generally has.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business? From the point of view of Bengal Express, we plan on opening up more restaurants, and as a matter of fact, we will be opening our new restaurant Paturi after Eid. Reflecting on our country’s rich culinary heritage, Paturi offers fine dining of classic Bangladeshi cuisine. Bengal Express intends to open a few fine dining restaurants offering different cuisines and we want to stress on maintaining the quality of service and food. As for Lucknow, we do plan to open new branches of the restaurant soon. We are also looking into bringing in an international franchise which would be suitable for our palate.

What was the best advice you ever got? The best advice that helped me in business and life is not to waste time on regretting mistakes, but instead to learn from them. Every experience is a teaching one, even if it’s a bad business decision; there’s no point in wasting time and energy regretting that. You learn from it, and then you move on and ensure not to make that same mistake twice. I believe it's best not to dwell on regret.

“Although the repercussions in the food industry may not bode well for everybody, it’s a positive sign that people are willing to invest and by doing so, they are injecting money into the economy.

NITOLNILOY

/ Interview

The Balancing Act ABDUL MUSABBIR AHMAD is the Managing Director of Nitol-Niloy Group of Industries and the son Abdul Matlub Ahmad. Mussabir is dynamic industrialist who studied Business Administration in Fort Wayne University of USA. He is also keen in finding new business opportunities in Bangladesh. Musabbir is also an Executive Member of India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI), Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Bangladesh Automobiles Assembles & Manufacturer Association (BAAMA), and Association of Listed Companies (ALC). Besides these, he is the MD of NITA, a Nitol and TATA joint venture.

Q What are the key components of the success of your business?

I firmly believe that the key elements of success in any business are hard work and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. No matter how efficient a management system

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our focuses on promoting a work-life balance along with productivity of the employees have been a key component of our success.

Abdul Musabbir Ahmad

Managing Director, Nitol-Niloy Group of Industries

or process, success will be unattainable unless the employees and management are willing to work hard for their goals. At the same time, work is a vital part of life, but it should not be a person’s entire life. Having a healthy work-life balance enriches a person’s emotional, social and family structure. Having a successful career should not come at an expense of alienating one from his or her family. Our focuses on promoting a work-life balance along with productivity of the employees have been a key component of our success.

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas?

Ideas that I had contributed focused on IT and after-sales support. This was back in 2004 when the concentration on IT was still in its infantile stage, especially in the transport industry. By developing in-house software and hardware tools for vehicle management and tracking, we were able to boost our efficiency significantly. Moreover, focusing and investing in our infrastructure for after-sales services have allowed us to take advantage of the industry's growth by increasing customer profitability and satisfaction by reducing downtime. It is motivational to see the practices I had pioneered in Bangladesh become the national industry standards today. Currently, we have a think tank which studies worldwide trends and comes up with ideas that may have relevant applications in our businesses.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success?

I believe success in business is measured by sustainability and the management’s ability to create a corporate culture that promotes sustainability, infusing it into the company's DNA. You can do profitable business for a limited time producing a significant amount of revenue. However, I don't think money is the measurement of success in business. Real success can be built by working to establish a brand, making the company sustainable going forward and enriching the lives of the employees, customers and channel partners.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? Abdul Matlub Ahmad, Founder, Nitol-Niloy Group, JRD Tata, Founder, Tata group. Brijmohan Lall Munjal, Founder, Hero Group India. Bill Gates, Founder, Microsoft. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BOOKS? Les Misérables by Victor Hugo A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare Durbin by Shirshendu Mukhopadhay FAVORITE HOBBY? Playing MOBA games. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? The first company in our group, which is Nitol Motors Ltd. was established in the mid 1980's. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN COMPANY? The number of full-time and part time employees in the group is about 4,000. WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH THE BUSINESS? Transportation, Electronics, IT products, Replenish-able Power Generation, Management solutions, Digital Media, Retail & distribution services, Warehousing & Logistics.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh?

I feel the current business environment is positive and nurtures growth. The potential we have, as a country, is phenomenal and with necessary improvements, our performance will be optimized. Some policies for manufacturing in many sectors in Bangladesh are unnecessarily convoluted. There have been cases where deals I was working on collapsed because the foreign partner became frustrated with trying to decipher our policy workings and gave up on the project. Having clear and straightforward policies that focus on the long-term sustainability of manufacturing in Bangladesh, coupled with one-stop services for the permits for foreign investment projects will be very beneficial for the country.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business? With the lifelong efforts of our chairman, we have emerged as one of the premier corporate houses in Bangladesh. My vision is to take that legacy and make it international. I want our international success to mirror the same degree of success that we have earned nationally.

What was the best advice you ever got?

The best advice that I received about both my professional and personal life would have to be from my father. He advised me to enjoy life, find happiness in the task at hand and do whatever makes me happy. Achieving success and not contentment deters you from your quality of life. Happiness starts within ourselves and transcends to those around us.

“I want our international success to mirror the same degree of success that we have earned nationally.

Dilruba Chowdhury

Managing Director Parkesine Products Ltd.

EAST COAST GROUP

/ Interview

Expanding the Legacy DILRUBA CHOWDHURY is the Managing Director of Parkesine Products Ltd, a company that specializes in the manufacture of plastic goods. She also serves as a Director of Corporate Planning as well as the Head of HR & Administration of East Coast Group of Companies, a diversified conglomerate with primary focus on Oil and Energy. Dilruba completed her Honors in International Business (Finance & French), from European Business School, Regents’ College, under University of London. She is also a Director of Tiger Tours Ltd, a joint venture company that is committed to the development of sustainable river tourism and hospitality management in Bangladesh. Since 2011, she has been serving as a Director and currently as the Chairman of Executive Committee of Green Delta Insurance Company Limited.

What are the key components required for maintaining a successful business?

I would say one of the key elements when it comes to the maintenance of any successful business, or even a startup is patience. In any line of work, you are bound to come across roadblocks. To get past these obstacles, you will require patience. Also, you have to eliminate the option of quitting from your mind. Whenever the issue of giving up comes to mind, you just have to ignore it and power through. If we ever stopped trying because of a few failures, it would be nearly impossible to be where we are right now.

How did you get involved in the plastic manufacturing business?

When I came back to Bangladesh after finishing my education in the UK, I wanted to start my dream job of becoming a chef because I was passionate about cooking and baking. However, I was asked to initiate my own startup business by my father, which would involve manufacturing plastic containers. Initially, this seemed tedious to me but after getting involved in the work, I got attached to it. For me, it was important that I get to see the end result of my hard work. That gave me the drive for working in a sector I had zero experience in. Once involved fully in a project, you involuntarily feel the urge to nurture it and see what can be done to improve its growth over the course of time. I wasn't passionate about industrial operations and

“When I first started my work I didn’t know much about the plastic market so I had to do a lot of research and through that research, I came up with the name of the company, Parkesine, which is a plastic component, discovered by a famous scientist named Alexander Parkes.

manufacturing, but now I'm obsessed with it. I try to attend as many seminars and conferences as I can, both here and abroad, so I can learn even more about new machines and innovative technologies.

WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? Sir Richard Branson, Alan Sugar and Azam J Chowdhury

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How important is it to keep coming up with new ideas for your business?

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS? My favorite books are by the Brontë sisters like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. I also used to read up on a lot of Humayun Ahmed novels.

Parkesine Products Ltd. is a subsidiary of the East Coast Group family. When I first started my work I didn’t know much about the plastic market so I had to do a lot of research and through that research, I came up with the name of the company, Parkesine, which is a plastic component, discovered by a famous scientist named Alexander Parkes. After that, I started researching machinery, met with experts, traveled back and forth between Singapore and Bangladesh and even sent our representatives to Taiwan and China to make sure the machinery we were acquiring would meet our expectations. During this time, I faced opposition from the top management when it came to buying automated machinery. They insisted that I stay economical to keep costs down. However, I stuck to my decision, and I can proudly say that it has paid off. From my perspective, I wanted to accomplish two things. Firstly, I wanted a manufacturing plant which was green as I wanted zero wastage and pollution. Secondly, I wanted to create more jobs. Even though we were buying automated machinery, jobs would still be created as we would need people for assembling, docking, stacking, packaging, supervising, etc. These people would also receive training regarding the machines as well. We bought our machinery from a Taiwanese company named Full Shine Plastic Machinery Co. Ltd. Not only were they cooperative and accommodating when we approached them, but they also sent their engineers to our country so that they could train our employees when the machines were being assembled, on demand. The people we hired to work on these machines showed a level of excitement and enthusiasm which I had not expected. It was the first time they would be dealing with a brand new machine, instead of something old or reconditioned. I found this hugely encouraging, and it made me realize that I need to come up with new ideas and innovations to always keep them interested in their work.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success? Never stop learning. You are always a

FAVORITE HOBBY? Cooking and baking. One day in the future I’d like to open up my own bistro or pub somewhere. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? Our first company was East Coast Trading Pvt. Ltd. which was started by my father in 1977. I started working on Parkesine Products in 2009 but operations started in 2011 HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR COMPANY? In Parkesine we have around 50 to 60 people. If we look at East Coast Group, I would say we have more than 2,000 people.

student. Sometimes after gaining a degree of experience, people think they have learned all they can. However, I consider that a wrong move. Most people are constantly resistant to change, but people should know that there is always a scope for improvement in every stage. You keep learning every step of the way.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?

My development plan is to delve further into plastic. Currently, I am looking for a place which is convenient to our customer and factory needs for our expansion. I already have a few places scoped out, but the difficulty is to get the owners to sell the property. We believe we are more compliant regarding environmental issues than other factories around us so it would benefit the environment if we took charge of their operations and reduced plastic and garbage wastage. A lot of companies in Bangladesh are not conscious about the environment. Especially when you have those kinds of industrial machinery, there will be incidents like oil spillage and other forms of wastage which are difficult to clean and recycle. At Parkesine, we make sure that our employees are aware and actively respond to these issues. We even make frequent surprise visits to the factories to make sure they are always on their toes. Another idea I have for the future is to move from manufacturing plastic bottles to manufacturing recycling containers, that is, separate boxes for paper, plastic and glass. If things progress as well as they have so far, I will be able to initiate this venture soon. I will start by distributing free sample boxes to all plastic manufacturers to make them aware that we have to prioritize the safety and protection of the environment.

What was the best advice you ever received?

The best advice I ever got was from a school teacher who told me that no question is a stupid question. Through this advice, he taught me that even if we don't understand something at first, we should never give up on trying to understand it.

“Another idea I have for the future is to move from manufacturing plastic bottles to manufacturing recycling containers, that is, separate boxes for paper, plastic and glass. If things progress as well as they have so far, I will be able to initiate this venture soon.

EVINCE GROUP

/ Interview

Timeless Threads SHAH RAYEED CHOWDHURY is a Director of Evince Group; the concerns of which include Evince Garment Ltd, Evitex Apparel Ltd, Evitex Fashions Ltd, EDAF Ltd, Argon Spinning Ltd, and Evince Retail Ltd. (Noir). He received his BBA Honors degree from Pace University, New York with a Cum Laude Honors Degree in Business Management

Q What are the key components of the success of your business?

Noir’s key competitive advantages lie in its ability to predict and introduce right fashion trends at the right time/season at incredible price points. In essence, Noir is a one stop solution to global fashion trends. It is youth-centric clothing and accessories

retail brand where the aim is to provide the best possible service to all our customers. Our designs are unique; our quantities are limited, and our styles are always changing depending on seasons and trends. At Noir, we focus on keeping traditions untouched; however, we design our products around the cultural sense of Bangladesh – thus, our fashion is known as a fusion between the East and the West. Noir is a concern of Evince Group, a leading manufacturer of garments and textiles in Bangladesh. The actual advantage of our company lies in our team of hard working, young individuals who are our core strength.

“At Noir, we focus on keeping traditions untouched; however, we design our products around the cultural sense of Bangladesh – thus, our fashion is known as a fusion between the East and the West.

Shah Rayeed Chowdhury

Director of Evince Group

www.icebusinesstimes.net

What new ideas have you introduced for your business so far? How do you generate new ideas?

New ideas and strategies can be devised and implemented only after you have completely submerged yourself into each and every component of the business you are working in during the first years of its operations. Only after you can identify the problems will you be able to come up with new ideas for long-term sustainable solutions. At Noir, we have introduced a highly advanced Management Information System (MIS) capable of keeping careful track of product movements and proper systems. Furthermore, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are in place to omit confusions and reduce the need for micromanagement.

How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success? Success is the result of hard work and pure dedication; although, there is a significant difference between working hard and working smart. I believe success lies somewhere in between working hard and making smart decisions. The best way to achieve long-term success is by maintaining consistency of all the little things you do every single day that contributes towards keeping your business and personal life on track and in motion.

What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh?

As I am speaking on behalf of the fashion retail industry in Bangladesh, I believe there is great potential in the market – only for the innovators and not imitators. The young generation is very responsive to constant change, and if one can understand the minds of our generation, then the retail world is surely an exciting sector. The industry is experiencing an upward moving trend pointing towards a steady rise in the number of retail brands being introduced. This is a sign of positive growth, and it allows for competition to exist which not only benefits the people/customers – it serves as a motivational tool for us to keep innovating and to push our limits.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: WHICH BUSINESS ICON(S) DO YOU FOLLOW? In all honesty, my father, Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury has always been my business inspiration and my mother, Shabnam Shehnaz Chowdhury, who has helped my personal development. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS? The one book I can read time and time again is “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason. FAVORITE HOBBY? I am into fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle. WHEN WAS YOUR COMPANY ESTABLISHED? We had officially opened our first store on the 17th of July, 2014 WHICH SECTORS ARE BEING COVERED THROUGH THE BUSINESS? We (Noir) are in the fashion retail business covering both clothing and accessories for men, women and kids.

What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?

Our goals are long term and realistic. We currently have three stores in Dhaka – Banani 11, Satmasjid Road Dhanmondi and New Baily Road. We intend to cover the entire city with 6-8 retail stores within 2017. After we have successfully established ourselves within the capital and perfected our distribution system, we will move to the major cities outside of Dhaka, starting with Chittagong.

What was the best advice you ever got?

Micromanagement hinders growth, learn to let go of the little things and focus on the bigger picture. The second piece of advice I have received is not to run a business for the money. A business whose sole aim is to generate revenues will not be able to sustain. Rather, try to devise a solution to a problem – try to fill in a gap in the market and work towards serving people with the intent to actually solve that problem.

“Success is the result of hard work and pure dedication; although, there is a significant difference between working hard and working smart. I believe success lies somewhere in between working hard and making smart decisions.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCES

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Restoring Faith

The finance sector is viewed very negatively by customers. According to the 2015 Edelman Trust Barometer, consumer trust towards financial institutions decreased to a level not seen since the Great Recession in 2008. Out of the 15 industries included in the study, the financial sector ranked 13 and 14, only ahead of the media. Furthermore, Millennials, who at 25%, represent the largest generational group in the US and account for $170 billion in purchases each year, are disinterested with the current services on offer. To rebuild consumer trust as well as tap into the vast millennial market, new and upcoming institutions have created innovative financial solutions. Here are four of the best:

By Sheahan Nasir Bhuiyan

Affirm is a financial technological company based in San Francisco, United States founded by PayPal cofounder, Max Levchin. Affirm allows users to take out microloans at point of sales with participating vendors to provide a quick, transparent and inclusive lending alternative solution to credit cards. The United States has a debt totalling $918.5 billion for credit cards fed by compound interests and hidden fees. Affirm incorporates a clever algorithm which rates a buyer’s repayment risk at the point of sale to offer loans at simple rates and for short terms. Customers enter basic information and are notified within seconds instead of weeks, whether they’ve been approved or not. Affirm looks not only at a user’s FICO score but also data from their social media activity to calculate a score. Vendors and Merchants are happy to adopt Affirm’s offer due to Affirm taking on all of the risks while customers, especially millennials, like the simple interest rates and the transparency offered. With millenials backing away from credit cards, this seems like an ideal solution for them. Affirm does not make money off of customers’ debts. Instead, they take a small cut from sales and earn revenue from the interest on loans. Loan terms are set clearly from the start and there are no hidden fees involved. Affirm only makes money if the loans are repaid. Affirm has raised $275 million in debt and equity in 2015 and are looking to expand as well as add new services, including their own version of credit cards as well as a solution to help students pay back their loans. CEO Max Levchin thinks of Affirm as a second chance to remake finance, after introducing PayPal.

Earnest is another financial technological company, also based in San Francisco, United States. Founded by Louis Beryl, who at 35, is still paying off his student loans from Princeton and Harvard (Business and Kennedy), Earnest wishes to address America’s student debt problem by creating a merit-based lending policy. Some 40 million Americans carry student debts amounting to an eye-watering $1.2 trillion. Earnest wishes to at least make a dent in that amount by customising student loan refinancing and other loans based on a real-time look at borrower’s spendings, savings, bill payments, etc. It analyses data like a customer’s employment history and income to find financially responsible borrowers for their products. In 2015, they began offering students the opportunity to refinance their student loans for rates as low as 1.9%. Lower overhead and labour costs allow them to charge low interest rates and customers enjoy cheaper payments. According to CEO Louis Beryl, the average borrower stands to save $17,936 through their services. The loans are designed to be simple and flexible and allows borrowers to adjust how often they pay according to their needs and how much interest will be charged for that. Earnest has increased their loan disbursement by 50 times since the introduction of refinancing schemes to students. They have raised $275 million in debt and equity towards the end of 2015 and is looking forward to introducing their own student loans schemes in the near future.

ASPIRATION Aspiration is an American financial services company that was founded in Los Angeles and offers specialised services in investment tools for the middle class and proclaims a strong commitment to trust between clients and the investment team. Americans do not trust their existing financial structure. 69% of 18-34 year olds, that is, Millennials, do not trust banks and and 40% of them keep their net worth in cash. Aspiration aims to regain their trust by allowing customers to design their own terms for the financial services on offer: a mutual fund that only invests in companies engaging in sustainable practices; a long term growth strategy mutual fund; and a high yield checking account that charges a 1% annual percentage yield and worldwide free ATM access. Customers get to use a pay-as-you-wish model where they pay the Aspiration team whatever fee they think is fair. The company further promises to donate 10% of their revenues to charity. This puts the customer completely in control. Aspiration has to be great at everything they do otherwise they risk not getting paid at all. Aspiration was founded by CEO Andrei Cherny who is a former policy work and financial fraud prosecutor who wishes to offer customers a single platform for banking, investing and charitable givings. Since starting operations in 2014, Aspiration has signed up tens of thousands of clients in the first year and is doubling every five weeks. More than 90% of their clients pay them to carry out investment functions, indicating their services are highly satisfactory. They have managed to raise $15.5 million in 2015 and their next step is to challenge the incumbents of the investment scene with their new financial services.

Robinhood is an app-based stock brokerage founded in Palo Alto, United States by Stanford graduates and former roommates, Baiju Bhatt and Vlad Tenev. Robinhood allows users to conduct commission free trading in the stock exchange. While working for UBS as fresh graduates straight into the financial meltdown in 2008, the roommates helped the company bring down transaction costs to nearly zero. However, online brokerage remained hugely expensive and such fees deterred young people from investing in the stock market. Sensing a massive opportunity while addressing a major concern, Bhatt and Tenev decided to introduce a new financial company that offers a no-minimum, free-trade policy through a mobile app. Such was the demand for this new app that the waiting list had 600,000 people before the launch of the app in March 2015. A vast majority of these people ended up being Robinhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clients, trading in over $2 billion worth of stocks while saving $50 million in trade commissions. The company earns money through subscriptions as well as earning an interest off of customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cash balances. Since launching in 2015, it has become the fastest growing brokerage in history and has raised $50 million in funding as well as becoming the first finance app to win the Apple Design Award. The app is currently available in the United States but they are looking to expand into Australia where 20,000 people are already waiting in line.

Motif Investing is an online brokerage that was created out of sheer frustration stemmed from the collapse of the finance industry in 2008 by founder Hardeep Walia. Upon seeing US investors pay a whopping $376 million in fees for losing $8 trillion of their net worth, Walia got mad. Encouraged by his wife to take action, he created an online brokerage called Motif Investing. Motif Investing allows users to invest in theme-based baskets that contain up to 30 stocks at $9.95. As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest deterrent of young people participating in the stock market is the huge cost involved. Motifâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offer of $9.95 for a basket of 30 stocks is one-thirtieth of the cost charged by a typical online broker. Themes can be specific to an industry or can be something more playful, like the Motif Lots of Like, which divert your stock towards companies that gain the most likes on Facebook, regardless of the market cap. Motif also allows users to create their own motifs, and so far over 120,000 users have created in excess of 100,000 motifs. The users earn a royalty if other users purchase them. They have launched an app in 2016 to take your investments on the go. Investment companies like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are their backers and former SEC Chairperson Arthur Levitt and Wall Street guru Sally Krawcheck are board members. www.icebusinesstimes.net

AVIATION INDUSTRY

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Flight Facilitations

www.icebusinesstimes.net

R&R Aviation Ltd. is a concern of Sikder Group. The company started its operations with a vision of offering a diverse range of services including private air charter, ambulance services (EMS), aircraft completion management and fixed base operations. The key promoters of R&R Aviation are Rick Haque Sikder and Ron Haque Sikder who are also involved in various other business sectors such as banking, healthcare, education, trading, infrastructure development, etc. R&R Aviation Ltd. is well known for managing its business jet aircrafts and helicopters under the most stringent safety standards. Its commercial fleet is operated under the regulatory umbrella of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and has been issued Air Operating Certificates (AOCs). With their headquarters located in Dhaka (accessible through their hotline numbers: 13604 & 01774086600, the company has operations in South East Asia region along with any destination in Bangladesh with the help of its workforce comprising of over 80 experienced people. As mentioned before, R&R Aviation provides a wide array of services starting with corporate/private services which allows you to fly to any destinations, according to your own schedule with direct flight in total private safety. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provide superior Air Emergency Medical Services to the elderly, sick and injured to both domestic and international patients, transferring them by helicopters and jet aircraft.

Additional services include air tours and sightseeing services. The Hawker 800A is their only fixed wing aircraft which is used for overseas charter flights and medical services. Very few aircrafts can match the Hawker 800â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s combination of comfort, cabin size and speed, making it one of the most popular mid-size business jets. In their Rotary Wing roster, R&R have a Robinson 44 Raven II which provides excellent reliability, expositive handling and attitude performance making it ideal for private, business and utility applications. Next they have the Robinson 66 which is a Turboshaft-powered helicopter designed and built by the Robinson

R&R Aviation provides a wide array of services starting with corporate/private services which allows you to fly to any destinations, according to your own schedule with direct flight in total private safety.

Helicopter Company. It has five seats and a separate cargo compartment and is powered by a Rolls-Royce RR300 turbo shaft. The R66 is slightly faster and smoother than the Robinson R44 from which it is derived. R&R Aviation Ltd. also has BELL 230 and BELL 430 helicopters for domestic corporate charter flights. Finally, the company also own a brand new Eurocopter EC 130 B4 (Design 2014) for the domestic corporate charter flight and medical services. The new generation EC 130 B4 is a light, single-engine helicopter with all lastest technology and a roomy, modular cabin that can be seat one pilot and seven passengers. R&R has over 50,000 ft2 of space under roof available to support their aircrafts. In addition to general hangar space, they have a specialized corporate office to support the programs, component overhauls, composites, environmentally approved large and small paint booths, sheets metal and machining shops.

FILM INDUSTRY

/ Interview

The Data of Motion Mushfiqur Rahman

CEO, V3 Communications MUSHFIQUR RAHMAN is the founder and Managing Director of Bioscopewala Productions Limited (Cineplus) and the Director and Business Development Manager of Stellar Digital Limited (Bongo). He previously served as the General Manager of PCS1 and Revenue Assurance Officer of Fastserve Network. Cineplus which is under the label V3, is the pioneer of Box Office Collection Process (BDC) in Bangladesh.

Q What is the current scenario of the film industry? The movie industry is, unfortunately, a dying art. If we look at most of the greatest movies, they come from literature. It provides a sense of story line. When the story line is there, the production initiates the project, a writer turns it into a script and a director makes this a visual reality. We don’t want to follow this science or hone the skill. We find a formula that works and expand upon on it until it becomes redundant and boring. We don’t create new concepts; there is a trend of just copying whatever seems to make commercial success globally or within the region. For example, the new trend involving the copying of Tamil movies, which are predominantly for mass entertainment purposes. This lack of content is continually deteriorating. We all watch movies but when is the last time we have gone to see a Bangla movie in the theaters? We must learn to focus on emotional films given that our production budgets for films such as Avatar. There is a kind of chicken and egg scenario, where the industry is stating that they don’t have cinema halls for viewing and the cinema halls are stating they do not have the content for distribution. The idea that cinema is a 3-hour event that

brings friends and family together must return.

What are the challenges in acquiring this information in Bangladesh? The distribution of films is not marketed properly. We need to have a team that focuses on the distribution of a film and how it will become a commercial success. We also need the respective authorities to give the proper incentive to owners of cinema halls. If they are given the correct tax incentives for foreign films as well as local ones, they will be more compliant. Box office collections are more often not reliant because many owners are struggling and the tax imposed will further enhance this. Therefore, they are more likely to give data that is not sufficient. We also need to input the latest technologies and the methodology of box office families. If one were to look at the key demographic of moviegoers in the country, it would vastly help the path of a more prosperous industry. Furthermore, we have a trend that is not willing to share the data that we have acquired. Many feel like they may fall into trouble because of providing this information.

How will data collection help the industry grow? A common phenomenon that is being witnessed is the one-time producers. These are citizens who have the capital for the budget of the movie. However, they are not getting a definitive idea of what revenue is being earned from the film and discontinues these interests. If we can gather this data, we can show proper producers and investors how much profit they will be making. Like all

There is a kind of chicken and egg scenario, where the industry is stating that they don’t have cinema halls for viewing and the cinema halls are stating they do not have the content for distribution.

industries, the primary purposes of these productions are to gain profit. There is no such thing as a non-commercial film; it is simply a movie that is completed in a lesser-used manner to find a market with the niche audience and eventually bring in revenue. When proper data is collected, the same investor and producers that have acquired knowledge regarding quality films will have the incentive to invest in motion pictures. Increased investment naturally leads to a much better product. The artistic directors, actors and staff require a greater budget and with this the industry will have the space to grow.

The recent riots over the ban on movies from Bollywood have sparked the argument as to whether introducing films from various countries will benefit the industry. What is your opinion regarding this proposal? As I have postulated, there should be a taxation system for

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which these movies are shown. For a Bangla film to make a significant profit, it must be screened at 80 to 90 theaters within the first week. If the major theaters are showing the same film at the same time, the movie will not circulate as much. If we show foreign films with a higher taxation, it creates a sort of balance. It also gives the audience the incentive to go back to the theater because there is something else to watch. The show times or these films can be distributed on alternative days to ensure a greater experience.

The Prime Minister has stated that the film industry should focus more on societal matters as opposed to the formulaic commercial films. Do you think that this is plausible on an economic stand? There was a golden age of Bangla cinema where the realities of our country were depicted in the film. I think our Prime Minister was trying to state that we must go back to that to draw the audience. A

A study conducted by the ASA has shown some issues by an audience that must be addressed. These include:

Cinema halls that are more gender friendly (80% are not) Cinemas do not reflect reality (82% believe they do not) More social films should be made (55% of audience would like to see more social films)

movie where the antagonist is wealthy and arrives in a helicopter is not a plausible script. If the public cannot relate to the film, they are not as likely to return to the cinema.

The West Bengal and East Bengal film industries have a turbulent history. However, collaborations have recently increased. How do you think this will benefit the film industry in Bangladesh? As I have stated that any venture will work if there is a distinctive reality. There are many differences between West and East Bengal. If the movie is set in West Bengal, it should be reflective of the realities and livelihood of the locals there. You cannot have a movie that is set in Dhaka but shot in Kolkata because there is a clear distinction between the cities that takes away from its authenticity. The collaboration movies or joint-venture movies will only be beneficial for the industry, if it serves both countries creative and financial interest.

How would addressing these changes affect the industry? All of the above is necessary for the betterment of our cinema industry. You have to show the audience the truth of a situation. They have used their hard earned money to come to the theater, and they should have that unique experience. There are many today that allow one to watch a film at home via the Internet. The quality of theater must improve to provide a more holistic experience. If our cinema or movie theaters are friendlier to the female audiences, then the total number of moviegoers will increase exponentially. If we look at the history of box office success of Bangladeshi movies, most of them are realistic and social

A movie where the antagonist is wealthy and arrives in a helicopter is not a plausible script. If the public cannot relate to the film, they are not as likely to return to the cinema. films with a little twist of fantasy such as “Monpura”. Recently there was a West Bengali film entitled “Belasheshe”. It was a very simple story that showed the life of an elderly couple but had a plausible and unexpected twist. The movie not only faired well in India, but it was also bought by a majority of channels worldwide. This is evidence that the audience would like something that is relatable. I agree that the cinema is a magical experience, but that magic comes from enhancing a story that reflects our day-to-day reality.

A recent study (Digitization and Films in retrospect Bangladesh by Ehsan Kabir) has stated that the industry needs to adapt to new cinematographic techniques, they must be envisioned to the global standards. How would these innovations help the industry? I don’t think that this the most appropriate way to go about innovating the industry. Given the availability of downloads and obtaining foreign movies, it is not practical to create a film that will compare to that of those standards. Our budget and technology will not cater to those specific innovations that 3D and green screen technology have brought. It will look like an adulterated version of the original maker’s concept. We should concentrate more on social movies. Our appeal to emotion has proven to create films that are successful and of quality. If something works, why are we trying to break it and make something else?

MOBILE INNOVATION

/ Tech

A Phone for Everyone

Mango Mobile promises to bring aďŹ&#x20AC;ordable handsets to the masses

obile phones have become more than just a means of communication; at present they serve as an office tool and entertainment system. They are used to send emails, relay work related information, listen to music, play games, and share pictures. Given the multifunction of these devices nothing but the best is desired. Mango Mobile is committed to ensuring innovative products and development in every segment of the product to maintain quality standard, reaching consumer upscale satisfaction. The company has created phones on the base of the customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; desire for functionality, dependability, affordability and style. With innovation as the key pillar for the continual

growth of their company, satisfying the four major needs of customers is imperative to Mango Mobile. Functionality is integral given that the world has turned to mobile devices in order to conduct the daily task and function. A customer is reliant on the services and products provided. Therefore, dependability upon the company is the cornerstone for a flourishing relationship with customers. Mango Mobile understands that its clientele is hard-working and deserves quality with every cent that they spend; therefore they create products and services that are affordable. Aesthetic appeal of a product completes the package within and Mango Mobiles provides the most stylish products. In a market that demands

Mango Care Service centre 2015~16 quality, innovation and excellent service, Mango Mobile makes it a priority to provide products that reflect upon the strength of the brands along with its value for optimal service. They believe that a product should be dependable and functional at an affordable rate; they will guarantee your money’s worth. They not only want to satisfy the needs of the customer but exceed their expectations of what a quality product should be. Mango Mobile is committed to the providing quality to their all stakeholders. The products offer all of the advantages of the latest technology. Furthermore their unparallel customer care program ensures the best service with trained professional that are committed to providing the best service. Each and every employee is trained by the most comprehensive team in order for them to be proficient in their provisions of customer service. This is evident in their global expansion and impact upon the international market which is rapidly expanding in Asia. Looking into the future, Mango Mobile is focusing on innovation and R&D by developing a product screening and developing sector in China. Designing, operating system development and hardware testing will be conducted by the most qualified R&D

• 20 service center nationwide. • 80 collection point nationwide

engineers at the Mango office in Shenzen, China. The company’s reach does not simply pay attention to their customers. They firmly believe that they have a corporate responsibility to create a better tomorrow. Emphasizing environmental issues, Mango Mobile fervently strives towards creating a healthy environment today in order for there to be a much better tomorrow. A content team is the foundation for a prosperous company and Mango Mobile treats its employs with the greatest

care; improper treatment of those who are running the day to day operation of their company is simply not tolerated. Building a presence through their responsibility to create a better future, Mango Mobile endeavours for an outstanding atmosphere both inside their company and in the locations where they provide their services. With an efficient strategy in place, Mango Mobile is building a leadership position in the SAARC market given the copious amount of potential in the

market; they undoubtedly believe that this cooperation will lead to global recognition of the region and company. The company is leveraging the latest technologies and changing in accordance to the demands of the industry by controlling the product design, manufacturing, distribution and sales; giving their utmost attention to every aspect and detail of the products and services they provide is a testament to their optimal standards.

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VIRTUAL REALITY

/ Tech

THE AGE OF VIRTUAL REALITY IS HERALDED BY AMAZING NEW GRAPHICS TECH By Abhijit Asad

Pascal v. Polaris: Dawn of VR 100

Virtual realityâ&#x20AC;? - the words have reigned majestically in many popular science fiction novels and films for decades. However, their real-life implications have mostly been limited to laboratory prototypes and esoteric expositions of technology. The idea of putting on a headset and becoming immersed in unreal realities has remained a dream for a long time, but with the recent advent of innovations like the exotic Oculus Rift and the far more accessible Google Cardboard, virtual reality - popularly known as VR - is finally on the way to entering the world of mainstream entertainment. However, virtual realityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary challenge lies in the fact that it requires a tremendous amount of processing power to be executed correctly to deliver a fluid and truly immersive

experience to the user. While particular 3D videos exist that allow the viewer to experience visuals in a way that simulates the real world, they cannot be called virtual reality. This is because the experience does not involve any interaction on the part of the user, who only gets to sit back and watch without actually becoming involved in the experience and influencing it in any way. A complete virtual reality experience needs to be equal amounts interactive and immersive, which opens up a fresh can of worms in the process. While a 3D video merely pumps out prerendered video footage in a stereoscopic format to a VR headset, a true virtual reality experience requires the experience to be responsive to user input. For example, if the user turns his/her head to the left, the motion would be detected by the VR hardware, and the visuals would reflect the movement in real time, making the user feel that he/she has actually turned his/her head to the left inside the virtual environment, thus completing the immersion. However, this cannot be done with prerendered video footages, and each change in motion has to be calculated instantaneously by the computer running the simulation and thus arises the real challenge. The amount of visual data that requires crunching every second to provide a seamless virtual reality experience without hitches of any kind is tremendous. It can easily be several times as intensive and taxing on the computer’s processors as most modern video game titles because a stable virtual reality environment logically merits a far greater degree of interactivity than a video game. While some games let the player pick up and interact with individual objects on the environment, a good VR experience would allow its user to not only pick up and hold the object but also to observe it up close (which would require the object textures to be of very high resolution), move it around and even manipulate its properties. For example, a stable VR environment may let you pick up an empty soda can from the floor, crush it with your fingers and then toss it into a nearby trash can, while making the entire thing feel like a natural experience through proper visual and tactile feedback delivered through adequate hardware. While modern computers are on average far more capable than their predecessors, until very recently, they were quite inadequate for processing VR. It wasn’t until a few years ago that the first ‘VR-ready’ graphics processing units (GPUs) specialized processors built for computing visual data, used primarily for gaming and design purposes) started to show up in the market, and they only became affordable recently. Among them, GPU chipset manufacturer’s GeForce GTX 970 was one of the first GPUs which were considered VR-ready without being

prohibitively expensive. While powerful in its own right, the 970 was still not quite equipped to face the challenges of a full-scale virtual reality environment, and its aging chipset codenamed ‘Maxwell’, was not entirely up to the task, being both power-hungry and producing prodigious amounts of heat in the process. The Maxwell lineup also featured more powerful cards like the GTX 980 Ti and the Titan X, but their prices were far above the reach of most people. NVIDIA’s rival, AMD had also responded in kind by producing powerful GPUs like the R9 Fury X and the R9 390X, but their position in the market remains weaker by comparison. It was only recently that Maxwell’s successor chipset, ‘Pascal’ was launched by NVIDIA, in the form of the powerful GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 GPUs. The GTX 1070, despite being the lesser of the two Pascals, has an average price point of $400, barely above that of the old 970, but promises far lower power consumption along with performance levels surpassing the old top-of-the-range Titan X GPUs, signifying a massive technological leap from one generation to the next. The GTX 1080, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether, and it is currently most powerful GPU currently on the market, priced at an average of $650. While its price-per-dollar value isn’t as great as that of the 1070, it’s still a great buy, especially for buyers looking to future-proof their systems for at least three years, and it can take care of highly demanding VR (not to mention standard gaming/design) scenarios with ease, as can the 1070. AMD, in the meantime, has decided to take over the low-end of the VR market with their new ‘Polaris’ lineup of GPUs. Their new RX 480 GPU boasts performance levels surpassing those of NVIDIA’s VR-ready GTX 970 for only USD 200, while consuming far less power. While this may not sound like a big deal compared to behemoths like the GTX 1070 and 1080, it should be noted that a new 970 still costs above $300, so being able to surpass that for only $200 is quite an outstanding feat. Furthermore, if the application supports it, two RX 480s can be connected to work in tandem to achieve performance levels higher than the GTX 1080’s while costing only $400 as opposed to the 1080’s premium price tag. However, the caveat is that not all applications or games support this kind of combinative processing, so it may not work that well across the board. AMD has also announced several other Polaris cards, which, being less powerful than the 480, are not quite VR-ready, even if they are adequate for regular gaming. At this stage, it is safe to say that with both NVIDIA and AMD bringing amazing things to the VR table, no matter which of the two giants come out on top, the consumers still win, and the future of VR has never been brighter than it is now.

While modern computers are on average far more capable than their predecessors, until very recently, they were quite inadequate for processing VR.

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COSMOPOLITAN CORPORATE

/ In The Club

Dressing the Part

Double Breasted Waistcoat

Tk 5,000

Concept by Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Photographs by Kazi Mukul

ust like every pixel in your on Powerpoint presentation, the attire you wear speaks volumes about your character. The right accessories can make you stand out amongst the cubicle of monotony. Let your apparel further accentuate the potential that you bring to the table. Neoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classically tailored suits, blazers and vest will stitch your fashion portfolio in your peersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; memories. To complete any look, Apex features the latest trends in accessories with their high-end line of bags, shoes and belts. Suits by Neo Bags, Shoes and Belts by Apex

Single Linen Jacket

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Shoes

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2 Piece Suit

Tk 40,000

with waistcoat

Tk 45,000

Shoes Tk 5,490

Bag Tk 7,990

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Bag

Tk 9,990

Belt

Tk 1,290

Shoes

Tk 6,690

2 Piece Suit

Tk 40,000

with waistcoat

Tk 45,000

106

Bag

Tk 11,990

Shoe

Bag

Tk 11,990

Tk 4,490

Belt

Tk 1,890 Belt

Tk 990

Shoe

Bag

Tk 6,690

Tk 5,900 Shoe

Tk 5,990

Back to Basics 108

LIGHTCASTLE PARTNERS

/ Startup Basic

Pitch Perfect By Kashif Choudhury

peaking in front of people is the most common fear in the world. It’s true because you cannot prove otherwise. Jokes aside, presenting your idea(s) to others is one of the most essential skills one could have. This is because an idea not shared effectively… doesn’t exist! First, we have to address the elephant in the room then ask it to leave. How does one get over the fear of pitching? The important thing to remember is - don’t be

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afraid of being average because that’s what your presentation will be average. However, remember that it’s okay to be average. That’s the first step to being awesome. Now for the fun part. How do you structure a winning pitch? The guidelines below have been tried and tested in the past. You can follow these and give it a spin at first. Then when you get the hang of making and delivering these pitches, you can innovate and build on your experience to come up with something spectacular. So here we go.

Set the Story

Remember, your product doesn’t convince people, your story does. So the most important part of your presentation is the story. You have to tell one that hits home for the audience and resonates with them. For instance, if you are pitching a ride-sharing service in Dhaka, remind them of the horrendous heat endowed traffic jams they have to encounter every day and the overpriced CNG auto-rickshaws they have to get on. This not only gives the audience a context to base their decisions on, but also makes you look like you are solving a routine problem on a priority basis (which you hopefully are doing anyway).

Your Pitch The standard structure of a pitch is like the following: First grab the audience’s attention by stating a personal problem. Then present them with your solution. If it is innovative, then you already have their interest is already yours. Next you elaborate on the details of the product and highlighting its unique features and how they will change the way people operate. For instance, while you’re pitching about the ride-sharing service; after stating the problem of traffic jams, you move on to how your app will solve the problem by leveraging an awesome app that will work from inside Facebook (somehow; figure it out). Next you explain your product in detail to show how your solution will be effective in solving the transportation

problem for the 2 crore residents of Dhaka; why people will use it and how it will integrate with the already existing solutions like taxis, CNGs and awesome flying buses. Now that you have explained the gravity of the problem and how your product can make people lives easier, it’s time to move on to the business fundamentals. The audience wants to know how big of an opportunity there is in this market – which is often taken as a direct measure of the attractiveness of a business proposition. However, caution is advised. Too big of a market and your case becomes unrealistic; too small and it becomes unattractive. Entice the audience by explaining how you are capturing the market; tell them about any money you have made, partnerships you have forged or customer validations that you have received. This will give them confidence in the business and make your proposition seem more than words on a PowerPoint. Finally, now that you have the audience on board, it’s time to deliver the finishing move. Show them WHY NOW; why it’s the right time to enter the market, how the economic, industrial, demographic, customer and technology climate supports your business model NOW. Then show them why YOU and YOUR TEAM are the right collection of brains, hearts and muscle to get it done. And last of all, sell the dream. The dream that you see, the change that you envision and why they would be fools not to be a part of it. Then smile and wave. For instance, as the ride-sharing service provider, show them your business case and how big of a market you are targeting at first, then later on. Millions of commuters with one solution that might be your pitch. Then move on to how you are already gaining traction in the market by generating revenue on a pilot basis. Now that the audience trusts your market readiness, tell them why now is the right time to start this business and why you and your rock star team are the right ones to pull it off, subtly moving into the vision you see of a jam free Dhaka and revenue generation for all parties involved.

Too big of a market and your case becomes unrealistic; too small and it becomes unattractive.

Kashif Choudhury is an Assistant Vice President at LightCastle Partners. He can be reached at kashif.choudhury@lightcastlebd.com

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/ In the Club

BEYOND THE BUSINESS

The Apps of Efficiency

The four apps that optimize your time

Splashtop

You may be travelling to multiple locations on a daily basis but your business information can be found on a singular platform. Splashtop allows you to access your personal computer from any mobile or tablet device. It allows you to access any necessary documents or spreadsheets that you may only have on your home computer, making the inaccessibility of necessary material a concept of the past.

Slack

In a fast paced economy where time-management and quick results are necessary, Slack allows your team to perform its best and filters the unnecessary clutter out of your work life. The app screens your emails in accordance to work relevance, allows you to share your contacts with your team or certain individuals, upload photos or documents from your libraries and find those important documents.

FORD HOT SUMMER SALE Duolingo

With the continual globalization of businesses, learning a language or two can prove to be more than just an impressive addition to your CV. Duolingo is a completely free app that allows you to learn a language during the ease of your hectic day. The interactive lessons and activities make learning a language fun while monitoring your progress.

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Expense Manager

With the accumulation of deadlines and submission, having an assistant or two would prove to relieve some of the stress. The Expense Manager app allows you to calculate your personal expenses in accordance to cash, checking and banking. Furthermore, it organizes the allocation of your money in different expenses through the progress of the year.

FORD brings HOT Summer Sale offer in which clients will not only get lucrative cash discount, but also the chance to Trade in with a Buy back policy, 5 years Warranty, Free registration, Easy Financing, Guaranteed parts availability & 24/7 Roadside Assistance (*Conditions applied). This is a limited time offer and it ends by 13th of July, 2016.

The Five to Follow on LinkedIn

CLICKING TOWARDS A FAIRYTALE

We live in a world where the simple swipe of a finger either right or left can decide if your night will end in binge watching at TV show or dinner with a complete stranger. Technology has changed the way relationships are conducted; the touch screen seems to have more power than touching any heart. Comedian, Aziz Ansari and NYU sociology professor, Eric Klineberg, research the world of relationships in the technological era in their book, ‘A Modern Romance’. At the age of 32, Aziz, provides insight into the changes of romance with the progression of social media applications and internet dating. His presentation of traditional dating methods and references of classical romance publications are effective given that he was actively dating during that time and continues to be proficient about upcoming relationship trends. A natural comedian, Aziz may include a few quirky jokes in order to ridicule how ludicrous texting and online services are. However, he tackles the topic with a more serious tone. The research that he and his co-worker have conducted with hundreds of active romance seekers around the world, bring light in the haywire of using countless applications and interpretive emojis. Though there have been a number of books regarding the subject matter and how it has “virtually” changed the relationship dynamics, Aziz manages to create a legible book that is very fluid in its reading. Aziz and Eric have written a work that has its moments with comparisons of the absurd realities of modern dating. However, having been a long time fan, I understand that he tackles the subject with a certain degree of required seriousness. However, he could have used a more witty approach to engage the matter. As Amy Schumer uses her skits to highlight the inequalities that society upholds for women, Aziz has his own way with humor that could have been effectively incorporated. After a stressful day through submissions and traffic, Aziz’ debut book could have brought a more cutting edge humor to the subject matter. I would swipe right if the book were to appear upon my Tinder feed. The book is memorable but like Tinder, it’s a first date and not chapters to create memories.

Lou Adler

Nozomi Morgan The executive coach will teach you how to transition from a boss to a true leader. Her profile features prolific quotes from inspiring leaders, guidelines to identify the type of leader that you are and finding your core values.

Brian de Haff

The author of ‘The Essential Guide for Hiring and Getting Hired.’ Adler provides advice on the most essential components of creating a business or getting your foot into the door.

Between balancing deadlines, meetings and project dates, the stress and workload can sometimes seem overwhelming. Brian, the CEO of Aha!, has created innovative product road maps.

Nancy Lublin Even though you’re an adult and the time for fun and games has long passed. Nancy provides advices on the lighter aspects of life.

Jay Baer With companies like Caterpillar and Nike under his belt, the author, and business strategists and keynote speaker will inspire you to become the best version of yourself. His advice on creating and retaining your customer clientele is insightful.

Expanded Google Street View Imagery of Bangladesh

After bringing us Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna on Street View last year, Google now allows us to virtually explore even more of Bangladesh with their launch of the new Street View imagery from Barisal, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur, as well as 63 new Special Collects. From the winding rivers in the south, to the lush greenery of the north, this new collection lets people live through the beauty, history and diversity of Bangladesh right from the palm of your hand. Home to magnificent architecture spanning thousands of years, you can explore Bangladesh's Mughal heritage at Dhaka’s Lalbagh Fort, see a blend of Mughal and European designs at Curzon Hall, or take a walk around the ancient Paharpur Badalgachhi Upazila. Bangladesh is one of the world’s most important centers of tea production, and the new Street View imagery can show you how the perfect brew is grown at the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute in Sylhet. Continue your adventures in nature by walking along the beach at St Martin's Island, or by checking out some of the exotic and rare plants at the botanical gardens in Dhaka. Visiting Bangladesh through Google Maps (available on iOS and Android) will hopefully inspire a deeper appreciation for the beauty and history of this beautiful country around the world. www.icebusinesstimes.net

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WORD OF MOUTH

/ Happening

Bangla Perfumes Distributors Ltd. recently launched the worldís most celebrated fragrance brands LíOreal Luxe fragrances ñ Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent (YSL), Polo Ralph Lauren and Diesel for the first time ever in Bangladesh A roundtable was co-organized by BASIS and a local daily on the proposed budget and reality of the IT sector at BASIS auditorium in Karwan bazar The Budget implementation will get easier once the tax administration behaves friendly with businesspeople in realising tax and VAT, says FBCCI

After 4 months with the GP Accelerator program, five startups got the opportunity to present their businesses in front of more than 100 attendees including investors and professionals on Demo Day at GPHOUSE. The startups included Ennovision Ltd, Kandy, Share, SHEBA and REPTO. Rajeev Sethi, CEO of Grameenphone launched the event by reiterating the journey of the Grameenphone Accelerator program

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The induction ceremony of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at Green University of Bangladesh (GUB) and workshop on Quality Assurance in Higher Education

Robi organized the Talent Graduation Ceremony 2016 at its corporate office with a total of 28 members of the Robi Accelerated Development Program (RADP)

Zero Gravity Ventures Limited, an e-Commerce company from one of countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading conglomerates Ananta Group, launched the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first B2B ecommerce website, sindabad.com to provide one stop purchasing solutions for all the businesses in Bangladesh. The Honorable State Minister of ICT, Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP launched the sindabad.com website as chief guest

At a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters Unity, representatives of various development agencies, donor agencies and network organizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; working in WASH sector, jointly called for action to minimize the growing urban-rural disparity in WASH allocation citing the national budget analysis done for the sector

BOURSE UPDATE

/ Capital Market

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Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight May 16-31, 2016) Value in Tk. Name of the Securities Category Volume in Nos. mn Lafarge Surma Cement A 1,930.07 26,653,341 Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd. A 1,314.20 10,503,546 United Power Generation & Distribution Company Limited A 1,213.58 7,537,866 MJL Bangladesh Ltd. A 1,152.56 11,230,009 Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd N 989.44 15,489,409 Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited A 898.08 6,647,457 Titas Gas A 875.31 18,171,175 Square Pharma A 717.66 2,759,937 Linde Bangladesh Limited A 685.08 499,019 Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. A 659.90 32,743,595

% of total Value 4.61 3.14 2.90 2.76 2.37 2.15 2.09 1.72 1.64 1.58

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Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight May 16-31, 2016) Volume in Name of the Securities Category Value in Tk. mn Nos. United Airways (BD) Ltd A 70,951,186 415.72 Keya Cosmetics A 48,452,939 572.15 Familytex (BD) Ltd. A 34,436,521 319.98 Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. A 32,743,595 659.90 Lafarge Surma Cement A 26,653,341 1,930.07 Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited N 21,452,762 246.40 Olympic Accessories Limited A 19,265,718 498.17 Titas Gas A 18,171,175 875.31 NBL A 17,966,514 168.65 BEXIMCO A 17,830,257 430.59

% of total Value 5.64 3.85 2.73 2.60 2.12 1.70 1.53 1.44 1.43 1.42

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Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight May 16-31, 2016) Current Last Fortnight Fortnight % of Value in Name of the Securities Category Closing Closing Change Tk. mn Price in Price in Tk. Tk. Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. A 23.00 14.80 55.41 659.90 Lafarge Surma Cement A 81.20 57.40 41.46 1,930.07 Zahintex Industries Limited A 22.50 16.40 37.20 34.47 Dafodil Computers A 23.80 19.10 24.61 176.21 Argon Denims Limited A 26.00 21.10 23.22 126.02 Hamid Fabrics Limited A 17.30 14.20 21.83 127.27 National Feed Mill Limited A 19.20 15.80 21.52 240.96 Far Chemical Industries Limited A 27.30 22.60 20.80 306.03 Tosrifa Industries Limited A 19.30 16.00 20.63 257.24 Central Pharmaceuticals Limited A 16.50 13.80 19.57 251.63 Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight May 16-31, 2016) Current Last Fortnight Fortnight % of Value in Name of the Securities Category Closing Closing Change Tk. mn Price in Price in Tk. Tk. R. N. Spinning Mills Limited Z 19.50 22.20 (12.16) 153.74 Renata Ltd. A 1,106.30 1,257.90 (12.05) 236.92 EXIM Bank A 7.70 8.70 (11.49) 103.78 Premier Bank Ltd. A 7.00 7.80 (10.26) 40.23 ACI Limited. A 457.60 505.70 (9.51) 327.88 BDFINANCE B 11.80 13.00 (9.23) 93.50 Shahjalal Islami Bank A 11.00 12.10 (9.09) 28.51 SAIF Powertec Limited A 55.60 61.10 (9.00) 527.76 Shyampur Sugar Mills Ltd. Z 6.20 6.80 (8.82) 0.05 Bata Shoe A 1,169.90 1,277.60 (8.43) 101.44

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 59.99 175.46 3.13 16.02 11.46 11.57 21.91 27.82 23.39 22.88

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 13.98 21.54 9.43 3.66 29.81 8.50 2.59 47.98 0.00 9.22

Disclaimer: Dhaka Stock Exchange does not hold any responsibility for these date.

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Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight June 1-15, 2016) Sl. Name of the Securities Category No. The ACME Laboratories Limited N 1 Lafarge Surma Cement A 2 Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd. A 3 Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited A 4 Titas Gas A 5 Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. A 6 Aman Feed Limited A 7 Linde Bangladesh Limited A 8 Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd N 9 A 10 Far Chemical Industries Limited Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight June 1-15, 2016) Sl. Name of the Securities Category No. United Airways (BD) Ltd A 1 Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. A 2 The ACME Laboratories Limited N 3 Far Chemical Industries Limited A 4 Olympic Accessories Limited A 5 BEXIMCO A 6 Keya Cosmetics A 7 Islami Bank A 8 GPH Ispat Limited A 9 A 10 Lafarge Surma Cement

Value in Tk. mn 3,317.04 1,534.30 1,483.91 1,322.25 875.80 797.00 795.31 791.75 776.55 729.56

Volume in Nos.

6 7 8 9 10

Tosrifa Industries Limited The Ibn Sina Paramount Textile Limited Quasem Drycells Reliance One: The first scheme of Reliance Insurance Mutual Fund BRAC Bank Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd. Orion Infusion Ltd. Simtex Industries Limited Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd.

MBL 1st Mutual Fund AIBL 1st Islamic Mutual Fund NBL FAS Finance & Investment Limited Purabi Gen. Insurance Fareast Finance & Investment Limited Gemini Sea Food Modern Dyeing & Screen Printing Ltd. IFIC Bank AB Bank

Value in Tk. mn 628.09 797.00 3,317.04 729.56 640.87 522.74 244.77 534.82 591.44 1,534.30

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

% of total Value 8.25 3.82 3.69 3.29 2.18 1.98 1.98 1.97 1.93 1.82 % of total Value 8.77 2.88 2.53 2.22 2.21 1.94 1.92 1.90 1.82 1.81

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

A A A A A

24.70 229.50 19.40 86.00 8.10

19.30 189.20 16.30 72.70 7.00

27.98 21.30 19.02 18.29 15.71

430.38 518.55 346.75 467.01 16.41

39.13 47.14 31.52 42.46 1.49

A A A N A

53.50 26.20 69.60 22.50 141.80

46.40 23.00 61.30 20.00 126.40

15.30 13.91 13.54 12.50 12.18

341.26 797.00 588.32 111.75 1,483.91

31.02 72.45 53.48 10.16 134.90

Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight June 1-15, 2016) Current Last Sl. Fortnight Fortnight Name of the Securities Category No. Closing Closing Price in Tk. Price in Tk. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

27,664,164 19,789,956 10,602,588 9,148,750 17,841,571 31,480,313 9,913,929 567,761 11,951,794 24,312,449

95,839,653 31,480,313 27,664,164 24,312,449 24,138,068 21,181,196 20,977,097 20,814,203 19,883,147 19,789,956

Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight June 1-15, 2016) Current Last Sl. Fortnight Fortnight Name of the Securities Category No. Closing Closing Price in Tk. Price in Tk. 1 2 3 4 5

Volume in Nos.

A A A A A A A Z A A

5.20 6.80 7.90 8.70 10.80 8.40 823.50 101.70 15.50 15.80

6.30 8.20 9.40 10.30 12.70 9.70 949.00 117.00 17.60 17.90

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

(17.46) (17.07) (15.96) (15.53) (14.96) (13.40) (13.22) (13.08) (11.93) (11.73)

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

63.05 9.89 86.94 8.38 3.02 7.58 54.97 0.72 20.82 47.94

5.73 0.90 7.90 0.76 0.27 0.69 5.00 0.07 1.89 4.36

Source: Dhaka Stock Exchange

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