Contents TIMES
08 From the Editor Word of Mouth 10 State of Affairs 14 Power Moves 18 Banking Corner 121 Happening 16 Column by Shamsul Huq Zahid Ask the Expert 22 Md. Mehedi Reza, Alibaba 26 Op-Ed by Abul Kasem Khan
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Special Report
The Struggle of Man
Towards the Light We must adapt to data driven systems in all development process
T IM E S
Co nt en ts SPOTLIGHT BANGLADESH CHALLENGES OF THE NEXT DECADE:
Essays by 40 Towfiqul Islam Khan on the Annual Development Program 44 Juliet Rossette on Combating Corruption 48 Shahab Enam Khan Counter Terrorism 50 Mehrin Karim on Regional Trade and Connectivity 54 Monira Munni on the RMG Sector 76 Dr. Atiq Rahman on Sustainable Development Interviews 28 Mohim Hassan
Managing Director & CEO, Northern Tosrifa Group
32 36 58
Nation Building
Having better Infrastructures is critical in ensuring prosperity
66 72
Raj Hoq
CEO, Rangs Properties Ltd.
Salman Habib
Director, Habib Group
Kazi Aynul Hoque
Managing Director, Equity Property Management (Pvt) Ltd
The Newscred Team Dr. Ashis Kumar Chakraborty
Managing Director, Universal Medical College Hospital
a global business magazine from bangladesh
Contents TIMES
TIMES
Vol. 7 No. 01 | September 2016
Publisher & Editor Director, International Publications Executive Director Managing Editor Assistant Editor Sub Editor Staff Feature Writer Designer Business Development
: : : : : : : : : : : : :
Finance & Accounts Sales & Distribution
Abul Khair Zeenat Chowdhury Nawshin Khair Tawhidur Rashid Irad Mustafa Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Asaduzzaman Sk. Yeahhia Md. Nizam Uddin Forhad Mohammad Imran Md. Abdul Alim Md. Nazrul Islam Md. Rubel Khan
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a global business magazine from bangladesh
TIMES
An n th Editivers ion ary
september 2016
TK. 100 | www.ibtbd.net
SPOTLIGHT: BANGLADESH
Essays by
Dr. Atiq Rahman Abul Kasem Khan Shamsul Huq Zahid Shahab Enam Khan Towfiqul Islam Khan Mehrin Karim Monira Munni Juliet Rossette
a special report
on how the knowledge based economy will take over
This issue’s Photographs by Din M Shibly Kazi Mukul Mohammad Samiul Wares
Editorial & Marketing Queries
Climate Change
Migrations due to calamities like river erosion are detrimental to development
Features: 62 Pound for Your Thoughts? 86 Curtailing the Cattle Crisis 96 Photo Essay: Holcim Cement Ltd. 100 The Financial Finish Line 103 Saadat Worldwide: Iceland 108 A Chic Statement 112 Solar Salvation 114 Beyond the Business 118 Binary Melodies 120 Special Event: Mastering the Mic 125 Capital Market Update
editor@icebusinesstimes.net, or send us a note at www.facebook.com/icebusinesstimes www.twitter.com/BusinessTimesBD
Be sure to visit our website www.icebusinesstimes.net
Published by Abul Khair on behalf of ICE Media Limited Kushal Centre, Plot 29, Sector 3, Uttara C/A, Dhaka- 1230 and printed at M.K. Printers,189/1, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208 Editorial and Commercial office: 3rd Floor, House: 4, Block: B, Road: 23 A, Banani, Dhaka 1213 Advertising, Sales, Subscription and Distribution: 01812656961, 01715732425, 01759391168, 01850824294, 01881925963, 01881925962, 01611227676 Tel: 02 55035336-8, 09666773313
Not all the views expressed in the columns and interviews are the views of the magazine.
FROM THE EDITOR Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore suggested that, “The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.� Being the prolific writer he was, Tagore is not just an admirable human being, but also a beacon of heritage within Bengal. Knowledge is no longer a commodity but a necessary tool for progress as any maturing nation evolves from the industrial economies to knowledge economies. The world is now demanding hired heads because analytic-skills and expertise is the new artisan. To set forth with our anniversary issue, ICE Business Times has focused on the power of knowledge in the grueling search for innovation. In times of trials and tribulations, the necessity for self-reflection in order to advance as a society is essential. In that lieu, Bangladesh has successfully established itself as a booming entity in the RMG sector and immerses itself in the state-of-the-art technology in order to create smarter investments. On that note, we must do our utmost for a better Bangladesh. This initiative begins with improving infrastructure and ensuring the prosperity of social and economic enterprises. With renewed vigor, we pave the road to an efficient food-water-energy nexus to diminish the downbeat impact of climate changes. These endeavors can only see the light of day in its full potential when there remains no trace of corruption and beauracracy. Only then will there be a renewed faith for the advancement of the nation. Making smart decisions towards a progressive mindset is the foundation towards sustainable development. Despite what may come, let us not steer away from the words of Tagore. We are a nation of untapped potential and the time for drawing from that intellect is now.
WORD OF MOUTH
/ State of Affairs
Vietnamese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Nguyen Quang Thue called on Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina at her office
Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina at the video conference of the innauguration of the Payra Seaport
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated Bangladesh's first-ever eight-lane highway spanning from Jatrabari to Kanchpur
US Secretary of State, John Kerry, met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office. The top US official visited Bangladesh on a tour that is deemed as significantly important by diplomatic quarters
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National Export Trophy
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina distributed the National Export Trophy 2011-12 and 2012-13 to 113 establishments for the their significant role in overseas trade at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium at a program jointly organized by the Commerce Ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau. Commerce Minister, Tofail Ahmed, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce Ministry Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury, senior secretary of the commerce ministry Hedayetullah Al Mamun and FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad attend the program. A total of 52 establishments received gold medals, 37 silver medals while 24 bronze medals for the fiscal years 2011-12 and 2012-13.
FY12 Recipients The twenty-four establishments that received the gold medal for FY12 are Refat Garments, Square Fashion, Square Textiles, Noman Waving, Zaber
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and Zobaer Fabrics, Apex Foods, Popular Jute Exchange, Akiz Jute, Apex Tannery, Picard Bangladesh, FB Footwear, Agri concern, Oran Exports, Rajdhani Enterprise, Karupanna, Rangpur, Bengal Plastic, Far Ceramics, Uniglory Cycle, Thanvir Polymer, Beximco Pharma, Service Engine, Universal Jeans, Shasha Denims and Montrims. The establishments awarded with the silver medal are Ananta Apparels, GMS Composite, Mosharraf Composite, Envoy Textiles, Seamark (BD), F R Jute, Janata jute, S F Industries, R M M
Leather, Farm Fresh, Pran agro, Capital Enterprise, Ever Bright Plastic, Transworld Bicycle, Al Habib Enterprise, Graphics People and jeans-2000. Nine establishments that received bronze medal are Sinha Industries, Four H Fashions, Viealatext Spinning, Paramount Textiles, Kuliarchar Sea foods, Reza Jute, Karim Jute Al-Azmi Trade and Pran Foods.
FY13 Recipients The twenty-six establishments who
received gold included Refat Garments, GMS Composite, Kamal Yearns, Sad Sun Textiles, Zaber And Zobaer, Noman Terry Towel, Apex Foods, Popular Jute, Akiz jute, Apex Tannery, Picard Banglaesh, F B Footwear, Al-Azmi Trade, Pran Dairy, Rajdhani Enterprise, Karupanna, Rangpur, Bengal Plastic, Far Ceramics, BRB Cables, Merin Safety System, Sqare Pharma, Graphics People, Universal Jeans, Shasha Denims and Montrims and Meer Telecom. Nineteen establishments received silver medals. They are Ananta Apparels, Square Fashions, Badsha Textiles, Envoy Textiles, Seamark (BD), Unilarence Textiles, Janata Jute, Reza Jute, S F Industries, MM Leather, Service Engine, Pacific Jeans and Zaber and Zubaer Accessories. The establishments that received bronze medals were Apparel Gallery, Intersoft Apparels, Mosharraf Composite, Talha Fabrics, Jalalabad Frozen foods, Uttara Jute, Sadat Jute, Bengal Leather, ABC Footwear, Footbed Footwear, Alin Foods, Pran Foods, Helal and Brothers, EFL Plastic and Uniglory Papers and Packaging.
WORD OF MOUTH
/ Power Moves
Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman (Nasir) has been unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NRB Bank Limited. Prior to his new role, he was the Vice Chairman of the Bank.
Former COO of Robi, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed will take over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Robi, in Bangladesh replacing Supun Weerasinghe from 1st November, 2016
Md. Mehmood Husain has joined NRB Bank Limited as the Managing Director and CEO. Prior to this he served as the President and Managing Director of Bank Asia.
Md. Arfan Ali joined Bank Asia as their new President & Managing Director. He joined Bank Asia in 1999 as an Assistant Vice President.
Robin Edwards has joined Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View as their new General Manager. Previously served as General Manager/Corporate Director of HR Operations of Howard Johnson New Port Hotel & Resort, Haikou City, Hainan Island
Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud has been appointed as CEO and MD of Sonali Bank. Previously he served as the MD of Karmasangsthan Bank.
Mohammed Shams-Ul Islam joined Agrani Bank Ltd as its Managing Director and CEO. Prior to joining, he was served as the MD of Ansar - VDP Unnayan Bank.
Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan has been put in charge of Rupali Bank as Managing Director. Previously he served as the MD of Probashi Kallyan Bank. (The moves are charted in no particular order)
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FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
SHAMSUL HUQ ZAHID
/ Column
The Omnibus of Opaque Money he observations made by the US State Department’s reports on global fiscal transparency for two consecutive years, 2015 and 2016, about Bangladesh, were identical; the latter was among 64 countries that had failed to maintain the minimum fiscal transparency. The reports said the Bangladesh government’s budget documents highlight allocations and expenditures to different ministries and departments. But those lack information about allocations and details of the fiscal performance of the state-owned enterprises (SoEs). There is also a lack of transparency in the matters of allocations to and expenditures of the executive offices. The US reports find the fiscal transparency situation better in three other South Asian countries: India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The problem with fiscal transparency in the public sector entities is nothing new. It has gone deep into the system as the case is with corruption. In fact, fiscal non-transparency and systemic corruption are twins moving hand in hand in Bangladesh. Volumes have been said and
T
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The problem with fiscal transparency in the public sector entities is nothing new. It has gone deep into the system as the case is with corruption. In fact, fiscal non-transparency and systemic corruption are twins moving hand in hand in Bangladesh.
written about the scourges, but the fact remains that instead of subsiding both have gained strength over time. The impact of such undesirable developments is being felt both in private and public sectors. Barring fiscal non-transparency involving the SoEs and executive offices, as mentioned in the US State Department reports, the problem is very much evident in the development project execution and procurement of goods and services in the public sector. The country’s financial sector and capital market are also not immune to the plague of fiscal non-transparency. The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is not adequately serious in punishing officials involved in non-transparent financial dealings. The CAG makes inordinate delays in placing the audit reports in parliament and this makes the entire exercise largely futile. Starting from the selection of public sector development projects down to their implementation, non-transparency reigns supreme. Alongside selection of routine projects, very often projects are taken up under political considerations. Resistance from the Planning Commission (PC), on most occasions, fails to thwart such moves. The Ministry of Finance has already prepared a draft Public Financial Management (PFM) reform strategy for the period of 2016-21 to ensure proper use of resources and better execution of the national budget. The preparation of an action plan would follow. The government, however, had prepared an identical strategy for 2007-12. But the formulators can hardly claim any major success in meeting the objectives behind formulating the PFM strategy. The non-transparency is not only confined to public sector development expenditure. It is very much prevalent in both revenue mobilization and spending. There were moves in the recent past to reform the public sector expenditure. But there was
Non-transparency has also been playing a dominant role in trade transactions and tax payments by individuals and companies, both local and foreign. Allegedly, large amount of capital is being taken out of the country through miss-declarations in trade transactions and transfer-pricing.
hardly any progress since neither politicians nor top bureaucrats were ever serious about it. As far as non-transparency is concerned, there is a symbiotic relation between the two groups. However, the latter has always been a sly bunch of people who can efficiently wriggle out of any difficult situation, exposing the political elements often to an unsavoury situation. The state of non-transparency in the country’s financial sector has now reached a new height. This is evident from the current high level of non-performing loans (NPLs) both in private and state-owned banks. A good number of public sector banks are scam-hit. The share of their NPL in the total outstanding loans is around 23% and that of private commercial banks is over 5.0%. The share of NPL in the total outstanding loans of the banking sector, officially, is more than 10%. These are the statistics available with the central bank. But it is widely believed that the size of the NPL would be bigger than what the official statistics say since there is non-transparency in the preparation of the financials, allegedly, by a good number of private banks. These banks usually resort to window-dressing to make their balance sheets better-looking. Non-transparency has also been playing a dominant role in trade transactions and tax payments by individuals and companies, both local and foreign. Allegedly, large amount of capital is being taken out of the country through miss-declarations in trade transactions and transfer-pricing. Various mechanisms are used to transfer funds out of the country illegally. But these two are mostly availed by unscrupulous traders and foreign companies for capital flight. Relevant international organizations have reported illegal transfer of funds worth billions of dollars from Bangladesh. Though the government leaders and a few organizations are making loud promises to retrieve these funds, but one does not find
The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at zahidmar10@gmail.com
any valid reason to pin one’s hope on those. The stock market is another important area which is deeply hurt by fiscal non-transparency. Apart from manipulations of all sorts, a section of companies do very often make use of cooked financials at the time of their listings and also later to cheat the shareholders. Some unscrupulous audit firms are found helping an equally unscrupulous section of sponsors of listed companies. The situation with the Bangladesh stock market has reached such a level that investors, both local and foreign, find no reason to put faith in it. After the latest collapse in 2010, the government has tried in various ways to help instill investors’ confidence in it, but the efforts have largely failed. The market has remained stuck-up at one point. One can well understand the state of affairs with the Bangladesh equity market. At the moment, the international investors are pouring in large funds in emerging and frontier markets at a record pace. But Bangladesh is not being able to attract the same since international investors do not have enough confidence, mainly because of the lack of transparency and high level of manipulation in the capital market. The fact remains that the lack of transparency in financial matters is ominously present everywhere. Despite the fact such a major shortcoming has been taking a heavy toll on the national economy, those who occupied power, through democratic means or otherwise, have never tried to straighten things. Rather, they have allowed the situation to worsen.
www.ibtbd.net
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WORD OF MOUTH
/ Banking Corner
United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) signed an agreement with IBAIS University (International Business Administration and Information System University. Under this agreement, UCB will facilitate IBAIS University for their student’s Tuition Fees & Other collection and payment services through its branch network
BRAC Bank Limited and SME Foundation signed an agreement to provide SME loan to the farmers and traders of Agar, a non-traditional export-oriented item for making scent
Dhaka Bank Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Underprivileged Children Education Program (UCEP) to provide financial support of Tk 30 Lacs in establishing Electrical Laboratory in UIST (UCEP Institute of Science & Technology), Dhaka
Recently, the Anti Money laundering Division of Jamuna Bank Limited organized a BAMLCO (Branch Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer) conference on “Effectiveness of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk Management Compliance” at CIRDAP Hall (CICC), Dhaka
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Financial Stability Report 2015 The Bangladesh Bank (BB) recently unveiled their Financial Stability Report 2015, an annual analytical report on the financial sector of Bangladesh. In the report, credit risk has been identified as the primary risk in the financial sector though an upward credit trend. BB Governor, Fazle Kabir unveiled the report at the central bank headquarters. The BB Governor said the report highlights the state of financial health of banks, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) and micro-finance institutions. He said the Central Bank has been putting maximum efforts to reduce
default loans and improve the capacity of the banking system. To this effect, banks have been advised to follow the Comprehensive Risk Management format according to the report. BB Deputy Governor, SK Sur Chowdhury mentioned that they have been pursuing the local banks for the implementation of Basel-III capital and liquidity frameworks which opened up a new era in banking supervision. He added that cyber security has also emerged as one of the major challenges requiring a broad level of understanding of the threats and potential solutions.
Premier Bank Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Praasad Paradise Hotel & Resorts, Cox’s Bazar for offering special discount and other facilities to the cardholders of the bank
For the first time in Bangladesh, Standard Chartered Bank will be providing complimentary Wi-Fi services across all of its branches. Standard Chartered signed anMoU with Aamra networks limited in this regard
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ASK THE EXPERT
/ Digital Marketing
Putting a Digital Foot Forward C
Understand your customer engagement with your brand
Md. Mehedi Reza Product Operations Manager Alibaba Group
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angladesh is the world’s eighth most populous country with a population of 166.2 million out of which approximately 52 million is the youth. Bangladesh is also experiencing rapid urbanization. The total number of mobile phone subscriptions has reached 131.085 million with younger people having greater access to new technologies and gadgets. The use of the internet on mobile phones has increased the allotted time Bangladeshis spend online; around 60 million of locals use the internet through their mobile phones. This very interesting country profile makes Bangladesh an exciting place for newer brands. At the same time, newer brands may face huge challenge in their brand building on the digital platform in Bangladesh. But what can be done to overcome this challenge and how do newer brands make their presence felt?
Customer engagement is very important for your brand success. As a newer brand, you need to find out how customers are engaging with your brand in order to make good marketing strategy. You should know the channels that they spend their time on. It can be on social media, email, SMS or some other platform on the web. You need to indentify the right channel to reach your customer given that not every channel is relevant for your brand. Also focus on real customer engagement; real engagement does not happen in traditional channels like newspaper, magazines, radio, television, billboards. It occurs on digital platforms such as Facebook or Twitter pages, YouTube channels, Applications, Blogs and Microsite.
Participate in conversation
We have seen some brands in Bangladesh that are only focused on their campaign. They do some Ad Hoc campaign plans, they run it on social media and they just disappear after it is over. But the important fact is a brand always needs to engage in a continuous dialogue with their consumers to build relationship: never stop talking to them or sharing your
stories. As a brand the first thing you should ask yourself, is if the content that you are developing is relevant to your audience. Create good content that attracts your audience. Give them a reason to talk about your brand. Let your audience know your story, let them tell their story on social media, listen to them and respond accordingly.
Focus on the “mobile first” strategy
“Mobile First” means thinking strategically about the use of mobile functionality to enhance your brand, service or user experience. Mobile phones are playing vital roles in Bangladesh, becoming the go-to device for the younger generation. You must have a deep understanding of your customers to create optimal content and user interfaces to meet their needs. A properly executed and functioning mobile app will allow you to collect your customers’ data such as their preferences, behaviors, and locations – and then use the information to offer contextual solutions to your customers that makes their life easier while improving your brand.
you know your audience, try to run a paid campaign as per location, interest, age, gender base; whichever suits you. Don’t just depend on the media plan that your agency provides - do some homework, some research because you know your audience better than anyone else.
free medium and every brand, especially newer and smaller brands, should reap its benefits.
Measure your customers’ sentiment
Social media provides the opportunity to obtain feedback from customers. These platforms will provide both negative and positive feedback; the negative comments should not be ignored, as they are a critique for your brand. The reality is that people are having this conversation whether you are listening to them or not. On social media, there is great opportunity for a brand to hear both sides of the conversation. This is how a brand can measure the sentiment of consumers: what they think about your product or your service. Some brands are more interested on acquiring users or likes rather than engagement. The idea of having a million subscribers is rather arbitrary if very few of them are actually talking about your brand.
Paid Media Campaign
As a newer brand you may think of spending little money on paid media campaigns. As
Live Streaming
The growth is out there, and to find it you need to dive into the digital era. Start thinking digital today! These platforms can create an idea beyond the limits of our imagination. Remember the more you engage, involve, and empower your customer, the more your customer will reciprocate the feeling.
One of the biggest current digital marketing trend is live streaming. Facebook Live streaming is rapidly becoming more relevant. People want their information in real time. Go where your audience is hooked, find a way to personalize and humanize your brand by creating interactive content. You can no longer rely on static content like a blog post or even images to make an impact with your audience.
Influencer Marketing The Influencer Marketing is on the rise. Smaller brands are starting to understand that working with influencers can add the necessary fuel to make their content soar. Brands get huge amounts of exposure by linking to the right people in an article upon publication.
Use Facebook
Bangladesh has over 22 million Facebook users and it is no surprise that Facebook is the largest platform for the youth. Facebook can be a biggest social channel for a brand to promote their product or service. Regardless of the size of the company, it can easily reach its target audience on Facebook. It’s a
Give them a reason to talk about your brand. Let your audience know your story, let them tell their story on social media, listen to them and respond accordingly.
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HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY
/ Advertorial
The Place to Be Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View
With the growth of our economy, the demand for business meetings and social gathering places is increasing day by day in the port city of Chittagong. With this in mind, Radisson Blu Chittagong provides the perfect location which can accommodate any event for the metropolitan population mix of the city. Radission Blu Chittagong’s “Bay View” captures the attention of its every growing clientele due to its creative concepts, stunning design and state-of-the-art facilities. With its highly trained team of professional event planners, the Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View will ensure the seamless success of every meeting, conference and function. It houses two well-equipped multifunctional ballrooms on the 1st and 4th floor and
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9 meeting rooms at the annex block with comprehensive audio-visual equipment. The hotel is capable of holding a variety of events, including banquets for up to 1,450 guests, conferences for 1,600 delegates and receptions for 5,000 guests. Their 100% Meetings and Events Satisfaction guarantee promises a truly inspirational and memorable event. “Experience Meetings” by Radisson Blu is a concept that ensures successful meetings by harmonizing the tangibles - breakout rooms, connectivity and food with the intangibles - service, satisfaction and sustainability. An integral part of Experience Meetings is Brain Food, an innovative approach to healthy menus which is developed to support efficiency and the ability to concentrate while lowering stress.
“Experience Meetings” makes it easier for you to go online with free Internet for all meeting delegates. To make the process easier, Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View has made two flexible meeting packages available. Full day meeting package with two coffee breaks, including one lunch or one dinner at Tk 1,800 per person and half day meeting packages with one coffee break and one lunch or one dinner at Tk 1,500 per person. In addition to that, wireless microphones, podiums, whiteboards with flipchart paper and color markers will be provided with complimentary wireless internet access without any venue charges. Full day is counted from 0900 to 1700 hrs and half day is counted from 0900 to1400 hrs or 1700 to 2200 hrs.
OP-ED CHALLENGES OF THE NEXT DECADE
A BETTER BANGLADESH
Abul Kasem Khan
A.K. Khan & Company Ltd.
Abul Kasem Khan Director, A.K. Khan & Company Ltd.
Almost seven years have passed since Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) revealed the Bangladesh Strategy 2030 – a strategy paper for Bangladesh to become the 30th largest economy in the world, and now this vision needs to gain further momentum as we have 13 years to 2030. The major push needs to be in the nation’s infrastructure as it is estimated that $300 billion would be needed to be injected into the economy until year 2030 for its infrastructure development alone. Therefore, for the next decade, we will need to focus on our infrastructure needs very seriously. The government has taken many large infrastructure projects including the Padma Bridge in order to bring about visible change in the connectivity of the country. The metro rail, Dhaka expressway, 8-lane Dhaka Chittagong highway are also some of the project that the Government is planning to fast track. I feel that one of the challenges to our development is bringing about the decentralization of Dhaka. Dhaka needs to be decentralized for not only its improved efficiency as a livable city but also this will lead to the growth of other cities, which would automatically funnel growth in other areas. The Dhaka Chittagong Economic Corridor (DCEC) is the life line of Bangladesh’s economy. Currently, DCEC caters to 16% of land area, 30%-35% of the population, 50% of the GDP and 85% of international maritime trade. Connectivity between Dhaka and Chittagong needs serious improvement, road and rail needs massive investments to cater to nation’s future growth prospects. We must take note the importance of the development of this corridor in terms its contribution to the economy and also help reduce overcrowding of Dhaka and Chittagong metro cities. We need to create a modern and efficient connectivity within the DCED corridor. This will not only play a pivotal role in making Bangladesh competitive but will work as a catalyst for the overall accelerated growth of Bangladesh thus creating new businesses and investments. A strategic road map for the development of DCEC corridor including an integrated transport
A
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master plan must be made to bring about the development of the natural satellite town between Dhaka and Chittagong. The other major challenge is unplanned urbanization in Bangladesh. By 2030 more than 80 million, and by 2050 well beyond 100 million, over half the population (DFID report on Vision 2030), will be in urban centers thus creating serious pressure on all urban centers and mostly on Dhaka. Decentralization of Dhaka City is one of the key and critical steps in order to reduce Dhaka centric urbanization, and this will come by initially developing other cities within the Dhaka-Chittagong corridor. Dhaka may very well be the world’s largest mega city very soon, with an estimated 40-60 million residents but it will be mostly congested and polluted if the right strategies for decentralization are not adopted soon. Proper urban planning needs to be in place to cater to nation’s rapid urbanization, existing urban centers need to have proper planning to cater to this rapidly growing urbanization in Bangladesh. Energy security is another big challenge for Bangladesh. We must have a proper fuel mix for our energy. The government is working very hard to overcome this challenge. We must understand that long-term energy security will be critical to our future growth and prosperity. And therefore, extensive exploration for natural gas must be undertaken as it is our biggest asset for industrialization. Our industries need gas and this need will always be there, and therefore gas exploration should be a top priority for us. If needed BAPEX must be strengthen to explore gas outside Bangladesh so that we can build our gas reserve. On the other hand, power plants, based on our own coal needs, need to be on-stream as our own coal reserves as per energy experts, will be giving us over 70 years of sustainable energy for our electricity. Right energy security will always remain one of the biggest challenges for Bangladesh. The other challenges are inefficiency in doing business which results in high costs; this needs to be looked into so that improved and cost effective ways are introduced and businesses operate under an efficient and tolerable cost level. We need to keep our cost of business low compared to other nations. Zoning laws need to in place as rapid industrialization may lead to loss of agricultural land across Bangladesh, therefore, we must make sure that under our industrialization plan, there is equal growth in agricultural output as agro sector caters to largest employment. With the majority of the country depending on our agriculture as a source of income and trade, there must be zoning laws that protect the lands. The Special Economic Zone (SEZs) will help maintain this balance as many investors will be using the SEZs to setup their industries within the zones for easier and faster implementation. Currently, Bangladesh’s biggest advantage or one can say competitive edge is its low-cost production base, but this alone will not determine her competitiveness as an attractive investment destination; reliable and efficient
Dhaka may very well be the world’s largest mega city soon, with an estimated 40-60 million residents but it will be mostly congested and polluted if the right strategies for decentralization are not adopted soon.
transportation, with modern infrastructure, cost effective and sustainable energy will become crucial elements for remaining competitive in the global investors map. Therefore, key infrastructure issues and areas need to be addressed. Energy security issues, cost of doing business, outdated infrastructure and policy reforms are becoming serious entry barriers and hindering growth and investments. We must take steps to address these issues for higher growth. I believe that, Bangladesh is positioned in a transition point in its history, and it will be interesting to see how this transition and transformation takes shape in the coming years for achieving the desired level of growth and prosperity. There are many challenges in front of us, which we need to address with policies and strategies to take the country into the right direction, however, on the contrary, if these challenges are not addressed adequately and timely, I am afraid that we may fail to reach the desired level of prosperity and growth that we envisioned.
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NORTHERN TOSRIFA GROUP
Mohim Hassan Northern Tosrifa Group CEO & Managing Director
Mohim Hassan is the CEO & Managing Director of Northern Tosrifa Group (NTG). He obtained his MSS degree from University of Dhaka in the year of 1990. During the same year he started his business career with Northern Corporation Limited and now he is heading Tosrifa Industries Limited, Northern Corporation Limited, Fashion Asia Limited, Northern Garments Limited, Hung Tak Northern Garments Limited Enviro Pac Limited, and Printers & Printers Limited. Mohim has special interest in the areas of Organizational Behavior, Ethical Practices in Business, Human Efficiency and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). His commitment into development and improvement of the Group’s business has already seen over 27 years of success and as a sign of his commitment to CSR, he received an award for CSR activities from
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/ Interview
Sustainable Progress
Q
You have garnered clients in Eastern Europe. What are the challenges in maintaining a successful relationship with these clients?
As the per capita income of most Eastern European countries are lower than Western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia, etc., Eastern European countries are usually not that focused on the Bangladeshi manufacturers. Their order volume is small and unit prices are also low. Moreover, in terms of professionalism and work ethic, they are to some extent different from their Western European counterparts. In addition, the Eastern European clothing brands are not as popular as the brands originating from the Western Europe. Due to this, the Western European brands dominate the markets in Eastern Europe. We are working with Western European brands like Lindex, KappAhl, Mango and etc. These brands have their outlets and franchising in Eastern Europe and through them we are reaching that segment of the continent. But regardless of the challenges, I think Eastern European markets can also be of importance to many manufacturers from Bangladesh in the future as their population size is similar to other parts of Europe.
Furthermore, we are building a new dyeing unit which will be another addition to our green initiatives. It will be the first dyeing unit in knit manufacturing which will be LEED certified in Bangladesh.
The textile industry has taken the initiative to become more environmentally sustainable and energy efficient. How are your factories ensuring these innovations? As a Garments Manufacturer, we were the first company to install LED lights on our production floors almost ten year ago. Back then we had to import them from Japan and they used to cost around Tk 3,500 per piece. Now they cost around Tk 600 taka per piece. It took some heavy investing from our part but we thought we should contribute to saving energy especially during a time when our country was in the midst of an energy crisis. Since then we’ve continued with our Green initiatives and just two months ago we received the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification from US authorities. This certification goes to show how far we have come in being conscious about our energy efficiency and environmentally sustainable activities. To qualify for this certification, you have to be compliant in
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We are always expanding. Our export value is around $65 million now, but we hope to reach $150 million by 2018.
certain areas and make the appropriate efforts. For example, one of the projects we undertook involved in installing Energy Management Systems in our factories. This automated system helps us to check which machinery is consuming what level of energy, and in turn, these readings help us become more energy efficient throughout the production process. We are working with our Swedish retail partner, Lindex, to develop this water and energy pact which is called the Sweden Textile Water Initiative. With this program installed, we have made remarkable cuts in the water usage in our dyeing unit. In the past, we used 110 liters of water to dye one kilogram of knit fabric but now we only use 65 liters. Furthermore, we are building a new dyeing unit which will be another addition to our green initiatives. It will be the first dyeing unit in knit manufacturing which will be LEED certified in Bangladesh. In this unit the water consumption will be as low as 26 liters per kilogram and other energy consumptions will be 40% less then what are consumed at regular dyeing units. We are achieving this through a new technology called Cold Pad Batch
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dyeing. With this, we don't have to heat up the water used for dyeing. The process may be a bit more time consuming but it will save a substantial amount of energy. In addition, we are also an ISO 14001 certified factory since 2014.
What is the current scenario of the Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector?
Our RMG sector is experiencing good growth and it will continue to grow despite the rising competition in the global market. India has announced extensive subsidy packages for its RMG manufacturers to further develop the sector. Vietnam is involved in the TPP agreement so they can export their products to the US markets, tariff-free, which is a huge advantage for them over us. Myanmar is also improving their garments manufacturing sector and then there’s China. Despite the growing competition, we still have an advantage in terms of the human capital in our country. Our RMG workforce is still increasing so that's a positive thing that we have to focus on. However, we still have to develop our mid-level and senior level managements. We need to be conscious about this and introduce training programs that will help us in the long-run. We also need to focus on forward linkages as we've already improved upon our backward linkage scopes. We need to come up with our own design concepts which we can then sell locally and/or internationally. If the Bangladesh Government permits then, we can also put a step forward in owning retail brands in foreign countries. Through this we can come closer to the ultimate consumer of our garment products.
Have recent event affected your business transactions?
They have, in the sense, that now our clients are hesitant about visiting us in Bangladesh and for which we have visit our
buyers’ preferred locations which may sometime be in our competitors’ countries like China, India, and Vietnam. This gives our competitors somewhat of an upper hand. But I also believe that this is a short term problem and our business will keep growing in the long run.
Could you elaborate upon the compliance specifications required for your activities?
To sustain in this ever competitive RMG business, every work place must be complaint in terms workers compensation, facilities, safety, and other ethical issues. Moreover, manufacturers all over Bangladesh have become much more compliant since the Rana Plaza incident. And to support the same, various buyers’ representatives, ILO, local labor organizations,manufacturers’ association (BGMEA, BKMEA) are working together to ensure work place compliance. All our production units go through lots of audits and surveillances from our buyers and their designated third parties. Audits are done in accordance to various buyers’ requirements like BSCI, SEDEX, and also local law. In addition, during recent times we are going through very stringent and in depth surveillance and audit from Accord. And as per their requirements, we have to take upa lot of remediation activity.
What is your vision for the future of the Northern Tosrifa Group?
At NTG, we want to be the preferred name for all our stakeholders i.e, customers, employees, suppliers, the society, and our shareholders. If we can satisfy all of them, we believe that we've accomplished our primary goal. We are always expanding. Our export value is around $65 million now, but we hope to reach $150 million by 2018. Market-wise, we are focusing on the Japanese market as we want to build a long-term relationship there.
RANGS PROPERTIES LTD
Raj Hoq CEO Rangs Properties Ltd (RPL)
As the CEO of Rangs Properties Ltd (RPL), Raj Hoq is in charge of the day-to-day operations and management. He has previously served as the Head of Operations, Strategic Planning, and PMO at Shanta Holdings Ltd and a Business Analyst and Technology Consultant at Qantas.
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/ Interview
The Palatial Standard
Q
What are the key components of the success of your business?
The first and foremost aspect of a business is setting up a vision. Our vision is more product and service centric. The cost structure, the business channels (like marketing and sales), revenue streams, competitive pricing, successful promotional campaigns, maintaining great customer rapport, good relationship with vendors, introduction of better ERP and better IT implementation for allemployees; high employee motivation as key components of the success of our business.
In terms of technology being used in the industry, have you brought anything new to the table?
Bangladesh is detected to be very prone to earthquakes; therefore creating strong buildings to withstand earthquakes is a priority. We are hiring Japanese consultants for our superstructures and substructures projects to create more earthquake resistant structure. We are working on smart buildings with Wi-Fi free zone, home automation systems, Building Management System (BMS),and modular kitchen. We are also aiming for fine-tuned Built of Quantities (BOQ)calculation with an excellent set up of ERP from renowned expert agency. This will allow us to set a target for the quality properties we strive to create.
How do you define success? What is the best way to achieve long-term success?
I define success as fulfilling my true purpose and having a positive impact on the lives of people by uplifting them and inspiring them to think and act in ways that they may not have considered before. For me, success is to leave an enduring legacy of having made a difference in the world. There is no one best way to achieve long-term success. In fact, there are many ways to achieve success in the long run. The most important trait is to avoid negativity. When things don’t go your way, it is imperative you keep fighting and never stop. Regardless of the unemployment rate, good employees are hard to find; here we appreciate them and take steps to retain them by developing a good
So far everybody has designed an inside-out approach but we have an outside-in approach. We want the government to provide us with better infrastructures for us to make this possible.
reward system. I believe that if people are content inside your company, they will keep the people outside your company happy. Planning, prioritizing, working, self-motivating and others to reach certain long-term goals are how I believe I can achieve success.
What are your thoughts on the business climate in Bangladesh? How is the real estate sector helping with the country’s growth?
The business climate in Bangladesh is very volatile and unexpected, making it hard to determine at the moment. As far as real estate sector is considered, it is definitely helping with the country’s growth and economy; our sector is contributing to approximately 17% of the GDP. The progress of this sector will ensure that the many related to it will also flourish; this includes rod, cement, furniture, architecture, painting and electrical industries because these entire industries accompaniment our industry. If real estate collapses, it would mean that our economy has slowed down. As it is the biggest sector in Bangladesh after RMG, it definitely generates a notable portion of the income in the country.
How has Rangs Properties Limited contributed to the Bangladeshi laborforce in terms of skill development?
When it comes to the Bangladeshi human resources in terms of skill development, Rangs Properties Limited (RPL) provides ample amount of training and development to the employees – such as, www.ibtbd.net
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We are thinking of newer aspects and thinking out of the box.
RD Center, FC Enclave etc. We have Babylonia whose design is inspired form the historic Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Ivory Tower is stimulated with the modern architecture. We are also building compliance-based factory with all other sister concerns like – Suzuki, Rangs Pharmaceuticals, etc. Our warehouse in Taherbagh maintains international standards. All of these projects are encouraging our architects to produce international standard designs and also give confidence to our civil engineers to think and work from a different perspective.
How has your extensive experience abroad helped you progress?
English Language Development which helps immensely to enhance communication skills,special skill development like CAD, Auto CAD, 3D Max,Microsoft office, customer service and sales trainingand in-house Project Related Workshops to enhance their engineering insight. Architects are often sent abroad to exchange their knowledge with foreign architects which enhances their negotiation skills, on the job training enhance their field work abilities and make them even better at their specified areas of interest. These things along with the job responsibilities themselves teach our employees to be more efficient, proactive, enriched, empowered and increase their leadership skills. A person who develops this way will definitely be extremely valuable as a part of labor force in the context of Bangladesh or anywhere in this world.
Are there any new infrastructural projects that Rangs Properties Limited might be embarking on? How would they benefit Bangladesh?
There are a number of projects that we are working on. We have 3D shaped buildings like Rangs
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My extensive time in Sydney has given me a very global vision. I will try to relate my vision with an example. Harbor Bridge in Sydney was built almost 100 years ago, and it has 12 lanes, 2 more lanes for cycling and walking, 2 others for trains; so in total 16 lanes. It was built with a great vision even at that time and it is still serving us. All the developers of our country are all centric, so if we give standard lifestyle in Mirpur or Shewrapara like those in Gulshan/Banani but with the prices of that in Mirpur, I think we can be the sole company to penetrate that market as well. We know Central Business Districts like Gulshan/Banani have higher prices, so we will provide better lifestyle in decentralized areas in their context, but not compromise with the quality.
To your knowledge, what are the challenges in providing financially feasible properties in Bangladesh?
We came to know high-level information through survey that we have 50,000 apartments required in this city and we have almost 20,000 apartments unsold. In such a high demand economy like Bangladesh, this is happening because of the imbalance of the 4Ps and lack of R&D. High registration cost is also a reason, which should be
very low.We are trying to understand and teach the market and encourage the younger economy to buy these properties with international flavors in Mirpur area. So far everybody has designed an inside-out approach but we have an outside-in approach. We want the government to provide us with better infrastructures for us to make this possible.
What is your vision regarding the expansion of your business?
At the moment, we are the leader of the market and standing among the highest-ranking businesses. We have products for all market segments. We have competitive price and quality. In 5 years’ time, we want to see ourselves as on top of the industry as its truest contributor for all market segments in Bangladesh and maybe in a decade’s time, we want to see ourselves as number one in all of South East Asia. The motto of Rangs Properties is creating lifestyle. So we are trying to provide global lifestyle features to all our projects. The middle class percentage is increasing in Dhaka city and our future vision is to encourage young entrepreneurs/employees and middle class families to buy properties with the lifestyle of Gulshan/Baridhara/Banani standard in a lower price range. We have a condominium project in Shawrapara, Mirpur called Port Heights with the lifestyle of tri-state of Dhaka with affordable/reasonable prices for upper middle class economy. We are also encouraging the government to build infrastructures like MP quarters, metro rail in Mirpur. The location has the stadium so it will give great recreation. If we have projects in Gulshan, Baridhara or Banani, there is not much change in the lifestyle. These are already the centralized areas of Dhaka city. We are taking into account the decentralized areas as well and giving the international flavors. We are thinking of newer aspects and thinking out of the box.
HABIB GROUP
/ Interview
Salman Habib Director Habib Group
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A Century in the Making
S
alman Habib, aged 28 years, is the Director of Habib Group and Managing Director of Regent Textile Mills Ltd. He is looking after the group’s export and power generation sector. He graduated in Business Management, BSc. (Hons.) from Queen Mary University, UK. There are many companies who have established themselves as a name that is synonymous with the business stratosphere. As such, Habib Group has woven themselves into a prestigious position in the textile industry. Salman Habib is modern in outlook and mission. He is very articulate in synthesizing business decisions and a believer of proper delegation of responsibility and building blocks though HR practices; he is competitive in every sense of business. Salman believes modern day businesses have to run with efficiency, competency and agility where corporatization and inculcating values have paramount importance and completion has no boundary in this stage of globalization. ''We won a tender in home textiles earlier this month by competing with China, India
What started as a family venture has now become the efforts of many dedicated individuals without whom the company would not have stood in such a prominent position.
and Turkey '' he added. While continually expanding their company, the Habib family stays true to their legacy for maintaining quality. They have retained the success of the company for generations. Salman elaborates upon the history of his family, “The Company was founded by my grandfather, late Habib Ullah Meah, it was then taken over my uncles Yakub Ali, Mahabub Ali, and my father Yasin Ali. Since its inception, our family has stayed true to the vision that Habib Group would become a defining name in the business atmosphere of Bangladesh.” The company currently employs 21,000 people and has a number of ventures. They strive upon the commitment to expand and create flourishing businesses in numerous sectors. “We firmly believe that there is always room for growth. Our company, which had started with trading, has expanded into various different sectors. We are currently involved in apparels, aviations, banking, cement, textile, paper, steel, power generation,
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If you witness the potential of the RMG sector, you will notice that a small nation such as ours has gained such a name. This proves that we have the potential to be one of the top RMG exporters of the world against nations such as China, India and Turkey.
fertilizers and real estate.” Further evidence of the company’s endeavor for excellence is Regent Airways and the Power Plants that they are running in Chittagong and Narsingdi. “We currently have five aircrafts in our fleet which is covering a number of destinations domestically, as well as the Middle East and South Asia. We strive to increase the number of destinations day by day.” Unfortunately, a climate of mistrust has been developing in Bangladesh and there is an imperative need to bring back the engagement of investors. Habib Group’s commitment to honest business is helping bring back a sense of trust towards businesses. “We want to create a model for other companies to follow. As large entities of business, we cannot just be driven by the means of profit. A company must also focus on terms of employment, payment to the national exchequer and the overall development of the nation.” Habib group may have started as a family affair but it has taken on noteworthy success as results
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of their collective effort. Salman explains, “What started as a family venture has now become the efforts of many dedicated individuals without whom the company would not have stood in such a prominent position. We have the strong commitment of sponsors, an excellent corporate culture and good governance practices throughout the various sectors of the Group.” In the context of Bangladesh, Salman expands that there are a number of challenges that are preventing the country from reaching its true potential. “The culture and literature of our businesses need proper depictions of ethical practices in order to be recognized as powerful entities. This is why we continue to function in accordance with international standards; we want clients from all over the world to realize the potential within our nation.” Proper delegation and corporatization will only successfully occur with adequate job training in every field with an emphasis on education of the respective vocations. Salman adds, “If you witness the potential of the RMG sector, you will notice that a small nation such as ours has gained such a name. This proves that we have the potential to be one of the top RMG exporters of the world against nations such as China, India and Turkey. With globalization, comes a greater degree of competition in the international market. When we recognize a demand, we find both the vertical and horizontal solutions. Sustained GDP growth through impressive economic development is so much dependent of a good political climate, energy security , and adequate infrastructure. If these issues can be addressed by the government our economy would be growing at a much faster pace.” Salman cites the inside components of a company to the outward success. “Your
employees are essentially like the foundation of a building. No matter what materials you may have used, they are not of efficiency without them. We want our employees to be treated with the care that they deserve. It is a company’s social responsibility.” Given that healthcare is one of the main concerns in the context of the industry, the company provides free medical services to all its employees at its own hospital. Having an efficient work force is what has led Habib Group to continually provide standard quality in all their sectors. Salman contributes this to proper management. “The managers and professionals are constantly running training programs in order to properly place the manpower available. We believe that nurturing manpower will optimize worker ethic and efficiency.” He attributes providing them with the due facilities because a healthy employee-worker relationship can only occur if both parties understand the needs and visions of the other. “I believe that Bangladesh will see a better future through education. There are many students obtaining degrees from prominent universities within our country and abroad. If the education system is further emphasized, the country will see a greater number of CEOs from local origins. “Furthermore, if we strongly enforce infrastructural changes, ensure energy security, the double-digit growth that our sectors have set as a challenge, can easily be met.” Salman Habib is hopeful for the future of Bangladesh. He believes that just like his family’s company, the country can also find great potential if it can consolidate its prospects and use policy level support.
CHALLENGES OF The
DECADE
/ Annual Development Program
PROPAGATING DEVELOPMENT By Towfiqul Islam Khan
earth of adequate infrastructure and able human resources are often cited as the key impediments for private investment. If Bangladesh sets itself on the path to attain a higher economic growth and enhanced job creation as tools for poverty reduction and other developmental targets, private investment must be increased. Public investment in developing countries is seen as a catalyst for private investment. The economic history of the current developed economies provides evidence that without efficient public investment it will not be possible for Bangladesh to attain its envisaged developmental targets over the medium term. Thus public investment not only needs to be higher, it must also fulfill the other criteria of efficacy. We need to have a public investment mechanism, which meets the ambition of value for money, provides the desired
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quality of services including durability, allows needs to be delivered in a timely manner and it has to be implemented in a sequence so that it compliments each other. Annual Development Program (ADP) is an important mechanism of the government to help meet the goal of accelerating economic growth, reducing poverty and generating employment. It is the single largest component of public investment. Weaknesses in the implementation of ADP lead to inadequate private investment, and hence, to lower economic growth rate along with limited scope for
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 aforementioned organization.
employment generation. In 1970s, ADP, for delivering public infrastructure and services, was designed when the domestic resource base was small and the country was largely dependent on foreign multilateral and bilateral assistance to carry out its public sector investment programs. These days, the government’s dependence on foreign financing of its ADP has declined significantly. However, public sector resource availability has become inadequate in meeting the rapidly growing demand for physical and social infrastructure. The preset piece makes an attempt to sketch the seven policy priorities to address the ‘classic’ challenges faced by the ADP implementation in Bangladesh. To attain country’s medium term developmental objectives, these challenges need immediate attention.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT NEEDS TO BE RAISED In recent years, the volume of ADP expenditure has increased. Since FY2009-10, ADP expenditure as a share of GDP is rising to reach 4.8% of GDP. However, if we take a medium term view, this level is about one percentage point less than what we had in FY 1999-2000, i.e. 5.8%. Indeed, the government correctly puts a higher allocation of public money for this purpose. In FY 2015-16, ADP allocation as a share of GDP was 5.7%. Inability to implement the annual public investment plan has raised questions over the institutional capacity of the government. Moreover, the demonstrated failure of the ADP-based execution of
projects essentially implies that the traditional way of financing and implementing infrastructure projects will not be able to cope with the burgeoning needs of an economy that should grow at an annual rate of 8% or more over the medium-term.
BREAK-OUT OF ‘FOURTH QUARTER SYNDROME’ TO ENSURE QUALITY OF EXPENDITURE There is a chronic problem that is concerned with the fact that low budget execution during the first three quarters of the financial year, followed by a large spike in expenditures in the last quarter, particularly in June. This raises the question about the quality of spending. On an average, 39.3% of the total ADP expenditure is spent in Q4 (April-June) of the fiscal year while only 10-17% is spent in Q1-Q3. The last month of the fiscal year (June) alone contributes to 22.2% of the spending on an average; this is more than the spending of any of the previous three quarters. It should be noted that on average about 17% of the total ADP allocation remained unutilized over the period of past ten years.
COST-ESCALATION AND TIME EXTENSIONS NEED TO BE AVOIDED Cost and time overrun in the implementation of the ADP projects has become more pervasive in recent years. Of the 233 projects completed in FY 2013-14, only 14.2% projects were completed within the stipulated time and planned allocation. This is the lowest since FY 2000-01. About half (48.9%) of the completed projects
Since FY2009-10, ADP expenditure as a share of GDP is rising to reach 4.8% of GDP. However, if we take a medium term view, this level is about one percentage point less than what we had in FY 1999-2000, i.e. 5.8%.
experienced time overrun which is also the highest since FY2000-01. This type of time overrun led to 51.1% increase of average cost of all completed projects which is the highest in last eight years. Cost escalation and time extension is also observed for flagship infrastructure projects. For example, the timeline of Padma bridge project increased by 42.9% due to successive revisions which led to an increase in cost by 183.3% Dhaka-Chittagong 4-lane project also faced cost (77.8%) and time escalation (22.2 %) while Joydebpur-Mymensingh Road Improvement Project faced a 100% increase both in cost and timeline. The increase in cost and time reduces the efficacy of public investment and private sector users are deprived of timely benefits. Because of non-completion of these projects within the stipulated time and cost, the crowd-in effect as regards private investment does not take place.
LANDMARK SOCIAL SECTOR PROJECTS SHOULD BE PRIORITISED IN LINE WITH THE SDGS There are three major development programs/projects in the social sector in the ADP— two in the education sector [Primary Education Development Program-III (PEDP-III) and Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP)] and one in the health www.ibtbd.net
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sector [Health Population and Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP)]. Two out of these three projects were supposed to be completed by FY2015-16; these projects were not completed in time. Consequently, special attention will need to be given to these important large social sector projects through adequate fund allocation. Furthermore, in the next phase, project objectives will have to be redesigned and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets.
SEPARATE STRATEGY FOR FOREIGN-AIDED PROJECTS NEEDED Foreign-aided projects are often required to follow additional procedural steps in the overall project cycle. Last year, the Planning Minister noted in a meeting, “The project directors often feel discomfort in utilising the foreign aid part of the development projects although they feel much more comfortable in utilising local funds”. This was not acceptable according to him. He spoke of undertaking an effective strategy through consultation with the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance. A dedicated strategy is thus needed, with a more proactive role of the aid effectiveness unit of ERD, to simplify the overall process for fund disbursement and procedural delays concerning foreign-aided projects. Hopefully, the government will soon spell out this strategy.
PROJECT SELECTION AND COSTING NEED TO BE BETTER SCRUTINISED ADP includes a significant number of projects with a questionable rationale, low priority for public investment, or doubtful viability or equity. Questionable projects regularly find their way into the ADP mainly because of the weaknesses in the system of project management. These weaknesses include (i) insufficient scrutiny of projects; (ii) weak capacity in project selection, design, and implementation; (iii) overly long periods for project implementation; (iv) political imperative of satisfying numerous demands through an excessive number of small projects. For example, ADP expenditures under Roads and Highways Department (R&HD) include about 800 sub-projects with annual ADP allocations of about 2-3% of their project cost, implying that it would take 30-50 years to complete these projects. It is also found that cost of constructing roads and bridges in Bangladesh is also substantially higher compared to other regions including India and Europe. Irrigation activities carried out by the Bangladesh Water Development Board lack cost recovery and much of the investment of the other state owned enterprises are questionable on grounds of public sector rationale, priority, viability, or cost effectiveness.
STRENGTHEN IMED BY PUTTING IN PLACE FOLLOW-UP MECHANISMS TO REALISE RECENT INITIATIVES/POLICY DECISIONS Poor implementation of ADP seems to be a combined consequence of three factors: (i) resource constraints; (ii) unrealistic targeting; (iii) lack of implementation capacity. Procedural lapses - from initiation to completion of a project
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life cycle have been identified as the major reason for curtailed ADP implementation. It begins with delays during the approval stage. Incomplete proposals, unreasonable expenditure targets, improper feasibility studies, etc. may delay the approval process. Corruption is also frequently blamed for delayed approvals. Sometimes projects get approved and included in the ADP well after the planned inception date. Post-approval procedural delays in land acquisition and procurement also hold back effective commencement. By the time the project takes off, spending the full fiscal year’s allocation becomes difficult. Some major challenges that were identified by planning ministry in project implementation in July-October of FY 2014-15 include: (i) land acquisition; (ii) preparation of work plan; (iii) frequent changes of rate schedule in construction; (v) consultant/Firm recruitment; (vi) project director recruitment; (vii) manpower recruitment. One may observe a number of features emerging from this self-assessment of ministries and divisions. Firstly, delays both in terms of approval and operationalizing NEC decision, as constraint of ADP implementation is losing its significance. Secondly, and most detrimentally, issues related to early stages of ADP implementation, such as ‘land acquisition’ and frequent change of project directors have emerged as the major bottlenecks. The government has recently taken a number of initiatives to accelerate ADP
implementation. A policy such as the Project Preparatory Fund (PPF), which aims to facilitate timely and successful implementation of the development projects, has been drafted. The main objective of the PPF is to provide funds for completion of preliminary activities before the launch of any development project. One may recall that the Planning Minister announced a number of proposals related to expediting ADP implementation last year. These include: (i) appointing PDs through direct interviews by the line ministries and divisions; (ii) assigning a dedicated official to each government agency for monitoring and evaluating respective projects: (iii) delisting the longstanding ‘non-operational’ projects from the ADP. However, these are not being adequately followed up. It is suggested that the upcoming budget reports progress these proposed actions. The IMED provides a number of recommendations in the annual progress reports on a regular basis based on the challenges faced during the project cycle. But, these are often not adequately followed up with concrete measures. Regrettably, a majority of these recommendations tend to be ignored by ministries and divisions as the IMED lacks legal authority to command compliance. These recommendations should be discussed and followed up in the quarterly progress meetings to monitor ADP progress. These proposals need to be implemented by the line Ministries and other concerned entities.
CHALLENGES OF The
DECADE
/ Combating Corruption
Stronger Youth, Cleaner Hands By Juliet Rossette orruption is a universal phenomenon, which challenges good governance and grinds down economic growth. It is an extensive term covering the exploitation of entrusted power for private gain and is one of the most decisive social problems for developing countries. Bangladesh similar to any developing nation faces over-population, poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment, a backward economy, political instability, weak judicial, legislative and regulatory frameworks and corruption practices in different tires of service sectors and public administration as well. The lack of accountability, transparency and monitoring mechanisms has lead to the poor governance system here. Patriotism can act as a divine virtue which can never indulge unethical activities like corruption. But as a nation, it’s our misfortune that our devotion to the country is now just about lost in a black-hole. Nowadays, socio-economic development, politics and our local culture are badly affected by the corruption which leads to additional costs and problems. Corruption has a negative,
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The writer is a Programmme Manager (Research & Policy) at Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and can be reached at rossettejuliet13@yahoo.com
deleterious and divesting influence on investment and economic growth, administrative performance and efficiency and political development. Continuance of corruption in a country leads to economic malaise and squandering of public resources. It also lowers governmental performance, adversely affects general morale in the public service, jeopardizes administrative reform efforts and accountability measures, and perpetuates social and economic inequalities (UN, 1990). In Bangladesh, about one third of the 158 million Bangladeshis are young (15-30 years). The civil society campaign pushing for a new Millennium Development Goals (MDG) framework estimates that 87% of the population is under the age of 25 in developing countries (Beyond, 2015). These numbers support the argument for the need to involve youth in the struggle for social change. In addition to representing a significant part of the population, young people tend to be more exposed to bribery and therefore are particularly vulnerable to corruption, as they are involved in almost every aspect of society – as students, pupils, workers, customers and citizens, (Transparency International, 2009). According to Transparency International’s (TI) Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) 2013, 27% of people under the age of 30 paid a bribe in that last 12 months worldwide. In Bangladesh, the country results demonstrate the vulnerability of youth to corruption (47% of youth, 37% of adults). The two major obstacles to economic progress are lack of control and corruption.
Corruption is the key reason for our underperforming human capital, poor investments in infrastructure and disastrous disaster management. It is a common attribute of most countries who have failed to develop properly. Due to corruption, the users of political power consider public offices as a profitable source of income. To earn money, they establish a system to promote further corruption. Public officials also get involved into this circle to endorse this structure and to gain their own benefits as well. If we think about the cost of corruption, the direct cost can be measured to some extent. To nourish the corrupt system we have to pay more tolls which lead to increased cost of goods and services for everyone. But the indirect cost is more difficult to quantify where corruption is seriously damaging the culture, ethical values and the economic potential of the country. The younger generation is losing work ethic and developing a false sense of power. Corruption reduces private/public sector efficiency and introduces anarchy into the political process. In the context of Bangladesh corruption is the most alarming reality. The vast majority of the people are victims facing the challenges of corruption on a daily basis. Information means empowerment. In National Youth Integrity Survey 2015 conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) around 89% of youth said that they had very little information and knowledge regarding anti-corruption laws and regulations. Survey findings also indicated that family and friends mostly influenced the youth in building their views, concepts and perceptions on integrity. Nowadays, different programs are focused on raising awareness and strengthening the knowledge of youth through information dissemination. TIB has been engaging the Bangladeshi youth with social movements to fight against corruption through YES (Youth Engagement and Support) groups in 45 districts. A study conducted by the Portland State University in 2005 looked at a variety of factors that have an influence on civic engagement among students, and concluded that having a sense of citizen political control and of community efficacy were the two most important conditions for youth engagement. Both derive from the concept of political efficacy, meaning that individuals feel that political action has an impact on the political process and that it is worthwhile for them to get involved with civic and political matters (Nishishiba, Nelson, and Shinn 2005). In Bangladesh more than 90% are aware of what’s right and what’s wrong which shows their clarity on integrity standards. However, 4% to 10% of the respondents agreed that some wrong doings are currently accepted in our social context as the social system does not always allow them to act on their principles. In spite of having a strong moral perception of integrity, a significant portion of surveyed youth admitted that they would like to participate in corrupt acts for their personal gain in certain hypothetical situations (Khoda and Islam 2015). The youth tend to be more open to wide-scale socio-political transformation and have less vested interested in maintaining the status quo (Transparency International 2009) thus they can play a vital role in reducing poverty.
Corruption reduces private/public sector efficiency and introduces anarchy into the political process. In the context of Bangladesh corruption is the most alarming reality. The vast majority of the people are victims facing the challenges of corruption on a daily basis.
However, 4% to 10% of the respondents agreed that some wrong doings are currently accepted in our social context as the social system does not always allow them to act on their principles.
Young people are an essential element for the success of a cultural change in thoughts and deeds. Endeavors such as youth camps for teenagers in academic institutions, collaborations with youth networks using social media, cultural competitions (art, music, essay or story writing, photography, sports etc.), and launching street theatre can be the gateway use to engage with the youth regarding this burning issue. Transparency International, through its national chapters, has been pioneering youth engagement approaches to strengthen this youth movement against corruption for the last few years. Different chapters of Transparency International like Morocco, Vietnam, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Bangladesh are leading the way in promoting the youth engagement in this voyage. The report, ‘Next Generation Bangladesh 2015 and Beyond’ published by the British Council records inspiring optimism among the next generation. However, it also highlights challenges like political restlessness, infrastructural deficiencies, scarcity of job opportunities, corruption and inadequate healthcare. Yet they remain optimistic. They envision a democratic, equal and green future for Bangladesh. Even a set of goals and objectives in SDG and the Seventh Five Year Plan are focused on youth development and security. All these can help the youth develop into the future of the nation that can take it forward, corruption free.
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CHALLENGES OF The
DECADE
/ Counter Terrorism
In the Wake of Terror By Shahab Enam Khan
Bangladesh has largely been a peaceful country with a tremendous potential for business, trade, and investment. Despite the prevalent political violence over the past two decades, the country has witnessed an average of 6% GDP growth. Much of this is owing to the courageous private sector and of course, public resilience against violence in any form; Bangladesh has managed to maintain a credible trade and investment portfolio. However, the recent series of killings of foreigners, and of course the heinous Holey Artisan attack has marked a deep scar on the trade and investment portfolio of Bangladesh. One would think that acts of such terrorism would have a negative impact on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to Bangladesh. Generally, it is perceived that the loss of foreign investor confidence following acts of terrorism would prompt large outflows of capital from Bangladesh and that if Bangladesh is branded a terrorist target, it would attract reduced levels of FDI. However, foreign investor sentiment is not
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always dictated by general perception. The incentive for good profit and feasibility for productive trade partnerships often acts as a stronger motivational force than perceived political risk as a disincentive to invest. This is precisely the reason why Bangladesh will continue to be a good destination for business and investment. Like many of the Western or Middle Eastern countries, Bangladesh is also a victim of the ongoing transnational acts of terrorism. Although the proliferation of transnational terrorism influences some corporate decision makers when contemplating whether or not to invest abroad, it has not, apparently, deterred many of the MNCs from deciding to invest in the terrorism-infested developed and developing markets. However, this does not mean that business would go as usual in the wake of terrorism. Bangladesh needs to implement zero-tolerance against terrorism and ensure the safety of workplaces for the local as well as foreign investors to beef up investors’
Like many of the Western or Middle Eastern countries, Bangladesh is also a victim of the ongoing transnational acts of terrorism.
The writer is a Research Director at Bangladesh Enterprise Institute and can be reached at shahab.e.khan@gmail.com
confidence. This will require the removal of administrative barriers and an improved investment climate backed by strong law enforcement, and the rebranding of Bangladesh with credible facts, figures, and commitments. A solid foreign investor, in any case, will separate fact from public perceptions and myths to arrive at an investment decision. The investor will make his decision based on the reality on the grounds that it is consistent with its investment objectives. Therefore, the government, along with the private sector, should act together to ensure that the investment climate is sound, and the true ground realities are sent to the investors so that their level of confidence remains steady. This will also require strong implementation of law enforcement along with efficient government agencies to ensure the safety of key installations, infrastructure, and the banking sector. Therefore, countering terrorism and the constant monitoring of terrorist outfits, including its criminal nexus, should remain a priority for the government so that a positive picture is painted for the global community. The partnerships between the government and the private sector, in this regard, will enable a positive environment for trade and investment in the long run.
Bangladesh’s South Asian Regional Quandary
CHALLENGES OF The
DECADE
/ Regional Trade
By Mehrin Karim
B Connectivity has improved in recent times among the four countries with the signing of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) landmark Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger, Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbors.
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angladesh’s strategic geographical location within South Asia provides a unique prospect for the country to benefit from greater cross-border movement of goods and services, along with investment flows. From the early 2000s, Bangladesh’s trade with South Asia has been on the increase and about 40% of its total trade currently takes place within this region. South Asia is gradually becoming a major source of imports for Bangladesh (Table 1). Imports from South Asian countries grew from 15.7% of total imports in 2005 to
20.4% in 2013. However, Bangladesh’s exports actually fell between 2005 and 2013 despite growing slightly in 2011 and 2012. Overall, Bangladesh’s trade with South Asia almost doubled during this report, from almost 10% in 2005 to over 17% in 2013. The scenario also indicates that Bangladesh, in recent times, is largely unable to avail herself to the opportunities by the growing markets of her neighbors. This article highlights Bangladesh’s recent developments in trade and investment situation with regard to India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Table 1: Bangladesh’s Trade with South Asia Trade with South Asia (%of Total Share)
2005
2011
2012
2013
Total Exports
2
2.6
2.4
1.9
Total Imports
15.7
14
18.4
20.4
Total Trade
9.9
12.5
15.8
17.3
Source: UNCOMTRADE.
Bangladesh’s Trade with India
India is the largest economy in South Asia and the seventh-largest economy in the world with a GDP amounting to $2.3 trillion. A member of BRICS and a developing economy with approximately 7% average growth rate for the last two decades; it is potentially a huge market for Bangladesh. While bilateral trade between the two countries has been growing steadily since the early 1990s, exports from India far outweigh imports from Bangladesh, resulting in a vast trade gap. The operation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) since 2006 and duty-free market access for most products in the Indian markets since 2012 have created potential opportunities for higher trade with South Asia, particularly with India.
Figure 1 gives a picture of Bangladesh’s trade with India from FY2010 to FY2014. Bangladesh’s exports to India increased from $304 million in FY2010 to $456 million in FY2014. A lack of product diversification, non-tariff barriers, and inadequate banking facility along the bordering areas of the two countries are the major impediments for increase in bilateral trade. Trade is heavily tilted in favor of India. Bangladesh and India have long shared the common objective of nurturing closer economic integration within the South Asian region. India and Bangladesh intend to build up overall connectivity between them in the next few years. In order to improve cross-border connectivity, India is currently working with Bangladesh on several infrastructure projects. These include construction of a bridge over the Feni
River to access Chittagong port, building a 15 km railway link between Agartala and Akhaura and a 70 km-long road from Sabroom to Chittagong Port, and renovating Ashuganj Port in Bangladesh. The opening up of waterways for passenger traffic will enlarge the connectivity between Bangladesh and India. All the modes of transport air, rail, road and water will then be open.
Bangladesh’s Trade, Tourism and Investment with Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal are regional neighbors of Bangladesh and relations are strong and long-standing. In recent years, these countries have committed to a strategic development partnership, free trade and transport. Bangladesh imports goods worth around $25 million from Bhutan but its exports to that country is only around $2 million. Nepal’s exports stands at $35.6 million compared to Bangladesh’s
Figure 1: Bangladesh’s Trade with India (in US$ million) 7200
1000
6200
Imports
4200
600
3200
400
2200
200
1200 200
FY10
FY11
FY12
Bangladesh's Imports from India Source: Export Promotion Bureau.
FY13
FY14
0
Bangladesh's Exports to India
Exports
800
5200
$26.41 million in 2014. This record shows that the export figures of Bangladesh to its neighboring countries are quite low. There has been also dramatic change in economic ties between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The bilateral trade between the two exceeded $100 million for the first time in 2013. The investment flows have also increased during the last four years. Tourism services play an important part in increasing Bangladesh export earnings from these three nations. Nepal and Bhutan along with Bangladesh should explore the potentials in the tourism sector for mutual economic benefits. There are endless possibilities that need to be explored together since regional tourism is very important. Bringing tourists into a community gives it new life, and creates opportunities for entrepreneurs to establish new services and products, or facilities that would not be sustainable based on the local population of residents alone. It also means more tax dollars, which allows public projects to be launched or developed. This means the infrastructure improves, with new roads being built and parks being developed. Bangladesh tourists’ inflow to Sri Lanka increased significantly from a mere 1,864 in 2010 to 10,037 in 2013. Currently Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal are connected by air only. So, with the start of bus services between Bangladesh and Bhutan and Bangladesh and Nepal, the movement of people between these three countries will be easier and cheaper.
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Implication of Connectivity issues on South Asian Trade
Better regional connectivity is one of the most important fundamentals for growth of tourism and it has certainly opened up the possibility of improved movement of people in the region for tourism purposes. Connectivity remains one of the biggest impediments to improving trade in South Asia, especially in the tourism sector. However, in order to make tourism flourish, there is the need to remove some hurdles in the form of lengthy and needless/excessive travel formalities such as visa and other document hassles which are time consuming. Connectivity has improved in recent times among the four countries with the signing of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) landmark Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for the Regulation of Passenger,
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Personnel and Cargo Vehicular Traffic among the four South Asian neighbors. Nevertheless, there will be coordination challenges both internally within countries and regionally across borders. As facilitating transport and trade connectivity is a multi-sector, multi-agency effort, all the relevant ministries, departments and agencies within a country will need to coordinate effortlessly.
Similarly, at the regional level, the BBIN countries will need to coordinate both at the political level as well as at the technical level as mentioned by experts. The recent agreements and protocols to improve regional connectivity will require changes in national policies and legal frameworks.
Policy Implications
The SAARC region has enormous potential for trade and tourism which is still untapped. The region can cater to every aspect a holidaymaker is looking for. To put into perspective, a small ASEAN country like Malaysia is drawing twice as high a number of tourists than the seven member countries of SAARC put together. It is disappointing that this region receives only about one per cent of the total
world tourists. A Technical Committee on Tourism was established in 1991 but so far nothing substantial in the form of joint marketing of the region has emerged. There must also be action to simplify travel formalities to encourage and expand travel with this sub-region. What is required is political will and sincere concerted efforts to work collectively to promote tourism as well as attract foreign tourists to SAARC
region and relaxed travel formalities to encourage travel within the sub-region. Otherwise, improved and wider connectivity will have no impact on, one of the main objectives-establish people to people contact tourism. Private sector stakeholders will also need to be engaged. Similarly, at the regional level, the BBIN countries will need to coordinate both at the political level as well as at the technical level as mentioned by experts. The recent agreements and protocols to improve regional connectivity will require changes in national policies and legal frameworks. Also, new initiatives are needed to harmonize trade policies and quality standards and attract foreign investment including from within the sub-region. While governments can put in place policies, regulations, institutions and infrastructure that promote greater integration, there is also an important role to play for the private sector, consumers, civil society and others. They all can benefit from more energy, freer trade and shared natural resources, and need to be engaged in this process. We hope Bhutan will ratify the BBIN deal soon as everybody is expecting the practical implementation of the deal by December.
The writer has been working as a Senior Research Associate at Policy Research Institute (PRI), a renowned think tank in Bangladesh. She can be reached at mehrin.karim07@gmail.com.
CHALLENGES OF The / RMG
DECADE
Mending the Seams of RMG By Monira Munni
The leaders of the apparel sectors have set a goal of $50 billion in foreign currency as an earning target from exports in the next five years. The industry sees this as a challenge that is achievable with hard work. In order to reach the target, the country has to focus on some specific key issues. These include factory streamlining, developing infrastructure, attracting investment, boosting productivity while ensuring political stability. The apparel export is currently growing at a rate of 10%. This growth should be at least 11% to reach the target of $50 billion by 2021 that was set by the BGMEA in 2014.
A
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ccording to the official date, the country has earned $28.09 billion from RMG (knit and woven) exports in FY 2015-16, a figure that was $12.49 billion just five years ago. The data has indicated that the nation’s contribution to total foreign currency earnings also increased to 82.04% in the last fiscal year which was only 77% six years ago. Out of the $28.09 billion income in the last year, the knitwear sector fetched $13.35 billion, while woven items brought $14.73 billion. These export earnings from
knitwear and woven were $6.48 billion and $6.01 billion respectively during FY 2009-10. Despite being the second largest producer of garment items in the world, Bangladesh accounts for only 5.90% of the global clothing market, according to industry experts. Immediately after the Rana Plaza building collapse, which killed more than 1,100 workers of which most were women, the western retailers formed two platforms - Accord and Alliance. Accord is a platform of more than 220
signatories that mainly consists of EU based apparel buyers, retailers and trade unions. They have assessed structural, fire and electrical integrity in some 1,600 garment factories. Alliance is based in North American apparel companies and has inspected approximately 700 units. Of the listed factories with flaws identified by Accord, 63% have been fixed while 54% of the ones listed by Alliance have done the same. Some 1,500 units were inspected by a government-International
According to industry leaders, there are a number of advancements that are imperative. Better roads and more efficient port operations are vital for the future development of the sector and its export performance.
Labour Organization (ILO) joint project, under the National Action Plan but the progress is very poor. A recent Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) report showed that only 16% of the structural, 10% of the fire and 14% of the electrical flaws in some 219 amber marked factories have been fixed though inspections were only completed in the past year. There are more 800 factories that are not affiliated with any of the two apparel apex bodies—Bangladesh
Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). No inspection has been carried out in those units, though they are involved in garments export trade and the majority of them do sub-contracting. To ensure workplace safety, all the factories need to be assessed, the Sustainability Compact partners pressed for this. Funding is a crucial issue for the required remediation. According to a recent ILO-IFC joint study, it
was revealed that about $929 million has been required so far in order to fix the identified flaws in the country's RMG factories assessed by the three initiatives. According to industry leaders, there are a number of advancements that are imperative. Better roads and more efficient port operations are vital for the future development of the sector and its export performance. The existing infrastructure needs to be maintained and prevented from quick depreciating and the current model of ‘build, neglect and then rehabilitate’ has to be revamped, according to the Bangladesh RMG Roadmap. A minimum level of investment in infrastructure is needed to get the productivity effects. The organization has suggested that the regulatory framework needs to be corrected, making the institutions responsible for infrastructure services decentralized, accountable and sustainable both operationally and financially. According to experts, Bangladesh would have to make the investment it has made over the last 35-40 years; a
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formidable task that would require a capital-intensive investment to achieve the same output. Bangladesh would have to invest $100-125 billion in the sector at the country's current capital output ratio of 4.5. The BGMEA considered if it would be able to make this amount of investment without foreign direct investment. More importantly, the standards that are being applied in Bangladesh should be applied globally. If it is ensured, the cost of production in Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia will also go up. As a result, Bangladesh will be able to remain a competitor. The sector’s insiders alleged that the country has no long-term energy policy. Primary textile millers alleged that they are not getting any new connection though a good number of factories have set up machinery. Unfortunately, they could initiate production due to gas connection. Moreover, the government proposed a
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130% hike in gas prices for captive power generation. The textile sector, particularly the spinning sub-sector has grown because of the support from the government, as gas prices were comparatively low in the country which encouraged the millers to set up new spinning mills and expand. However, the proposed hike might have a severe negative impact on the sector that supplies raw materials for nearly 90% to the knitwear sector and 40% of the woven segment. The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association leaders feared that if the proposed hike were implemented, the country would lose it competitiveness in the global market. Collectively the textile and garment industry consume 5% of the total gas production. Nevertheless, they contribute significantly to the creation of jobs, earning foreign currency and the GDP. They have sought a long-term energy policy to help the entrepreneurs to plan their investment.
The industry also believes that immediate attention needs to be given with respect to the increasing requirement and use of fresh water across the industries including the garments sector. The Roadmap suggested ensuring the use of Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) by all RMG industries equipped with the latest technology, use of cost-efficient and energy-efficient green technologies for the growth of the sector. Investment in education is required in order to generate more engineers, young entrepreneurs and other skilled professionals including accountants and health and safety specialists. According to experts, foreigners are coming to work in Bangladesh as skilled manpower due to the lack of local ‘skilled workers’ and taking $4 billion away every year. The gap in capacity development needs to be narrowed down through training the owners,
supervisors, managers, and workers. If the four million garment workers can be trained properly and have the experience of dealing with safety issues, it would vastly progress the industry. Some $21.71 billion out of $28.09 billion came from the five major items: shirts, t-shirts, trousers, jackets, and sweaters. This exemplifies that there is a need for a further boost in the product diversification. Export earnings are also confined in traditional markets in EU, US, and Canada that account for 61.06%, 20.02% and 3.55% of total shipments respectively. Earnings in non-traditional markets increased to $4.31 billion in last fiscal year from $3.58 billion in 2013-14. Experts have recommended that the BGMEA provide numerical statistics on how much additional power, gas, land and the number of skilled workers and mid-level managers they would need to reach the target in order to aid the government in its decisions regarding the industry. Labor leaders, however, said labor rights must be guaranteed for the sustainable development of the industry. The living conditions of the workers and their wage have to be improved. In addition, trade union rights and freedom of association have to be ensured. They have postulated that without ensuring the well-being of the workers, the sector will not be sustainable. Ultimately, industrial relations between the workers and the owners have to improve. The writer can be reached at munni_fe@yahoo.com.
Photos form DBL
EQUITY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (PVT) LTD
/ Interview
Kazi Aynul Hoque Managing Director Equity Property Management (Pvt) Ltd
Kazi Aynul Hoque started his career as a doctor, followed by hospital management. He eventually entered the real-estate business in 1999. He is the Managing Director of Equity Property Management (Pvt) Ltd; a company that has completed 39 projects and thousands of homes and are now striving to create a green projects in Chittagong.
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Excellence in Equity Once you have established that kind of equity, the quality and actions of your company from the past to present will speak for themselves.
Q
How were you compelled to pursue the real-estate business?
I am a doctor by profession and established Holy Crescent Hospital in 1986. Afterwards I noticed that there was a deficiency in the real estate sector. I had then set out to establish equity property management with the commitment of providing quality products at reasonable prices at a time when the one real-estate project in Chittagong was Apon Nibash.
What are the challenges for this sector?
The major issue through any sector of our country is within the management. The entire system needs to be monitored and evaluated for efficiency. Our culture traditionally prefers to govern as opposed to taking responsibility. We must first evaluate ourselves and then others. There was a time when laws were strictly obeyed which allowed progress and proper maintenance to flourish, we need to revert back to this.
What was your commitment to your customers? How do you bring this about?
When we started the company we set out with the motive to cater to any and all customers. We live in a nation that frequently ignores the needs of those that have been deprived and I want to make sure that their interests were being met. To have the most uncompromised focused on these customers you must first train your employees and be their guide. Always ensure that your employees understand their responsibilities and objectives towards the customer. During this process, you must motivate them towards completing a task satisfactorily. They must also be inspired to innovate. For example, we have introduced the latest electrical fittings. You must hear the demands of the customer, understand them and take the
necessary action to have it completed in a timely manner.
What ideologies do you instill to ensure quality?
We teach our employees that an apartment is not simply a box with walls. It is the living space where all members of a family will spend the greater duration of their time. Therefore, we have to add value with the resources in our availability. We train them in the newest innovations of the market such as going green. Recently we have introduced UPVC windows from China and it is these small details that instill a sense of trust and confidence in the customer. Once you have established that kind of equity, the quality and actions of your company from the past to present will speak for themselves.
It is critical to maintain quality in this sector. How you are maintaining quality? I follow strict regulations and refuse to compromise on quality. When I am purchasing rods, I always use BSRM because I know I will receive quality materials. I believe in building strong relations with our suppliers and not buying products just because they’re available cheaply. I look to Japan in this case because of their strong supply chain management. They bring in raw materials just before production to ensure that it is not being tampered with or left lying to deteriorate. We
have all the commodities such as mixing plants and sufficient structures to build the capacity that we have promised.
What is your CSR plan and vision for the future?
We are committed to social responsibility within the limited space that we have because building a community allows a company to prosper. Furthermore, we have education programs for our staff wards that help build knowledge regarding their specific vocations. My future plan is to build a Bangladesh that conducts real-estate in the proper manner. With the increase in population on an annual basis, we must create communities that sufficiently accommodate them. They must see their homes as a haven for dwelling and not just a functional space. Our green project has been set into motion to create a better living space. We take a 10 kata property and are creating a living space from 4 katas. The rest is kept for open greenery. There are two elevators and each floor is an individual apartment. This ensures that home-owners and tenants are living in a space of noteworthy quality. Real-estate is one of the most lucrative components that contribute to the GDP and the assurance of quality in this industry is vital to its development and success.
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/ International
CURRENCY VALUE
Pound for Your Thoughts? By Sheahan Nasir Bhuiyan and Kester Clark Brexit. A bold new step in a new direction, taken without maps, compasses, or any idea of where such steps may lead. A stubborn insistence on independence, standing against the flow of the crowd. It’s now been two months since the vote, after which the Pound dropped to its lowest level since 1988, but so far little else has changed since the striking decision. Upon this time, business-as-usual has not yet been much affected. In Britain, the economy has shown signs of a slow-down but remains firmly in growth. The financial services sector, arguably the most important sector of the British economy, seems stable. Key banks, including HSBC and Barclays, announced that they have no plans to relocate from London, a city with a highly developed network of support services and access to capabilities which cannot be easily replicated elsewhere. This said, German financial centres, such as Frankfurt, are likely to make some gains, and German lawmaker Michael Fuchs recently declared that EU passporting rules, which allow a bank incorporated in any EU member state to sell its products and services throughout the bloc, are ‘not negotiable’, thus stifling the hopes of the City of London to be able to maintain current levels of access within Europe. The manufacturing sector, in which Britain remains a world-leader in particular industries such as car manufacturing and aviation, may stand to lose some of its European market share, but this is well offset by the potential gains to be made from a cheap Pound, making British exports aggressively competitive. Indeed, a survey of manufacturers made this month by the business lobby
group, the CBI, found that export orders remained ‘comfortably above the long-run average’, hitting a two-year high. This cheap Pound, which has not yet shown any sign of rising back from the depths to which it dropped, may yet turn out to be a powerful engine, driving growth in the secondary economic sector, and cushioning the UK from the worst of the Brexit fallout. The EU has no such competitive advantage to leverage. Already beset by economic and political woes in the form of the Greek financial crisis, coupled with the ongoing refugee situation, Brexit could hit the EU hard, particularly if it
encourages resurgent nationalisms and anti-EU feelings in other member countries. However, strong leadership has emerged within Europe to counter this possibility, with the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, the French President, François Hollande, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, joining forces to ‘relaunch the powerful ideals of unity and peace, freedom and dreams.’ And yet, uncertainty lingers. Ultimately it is too early to tell how this will all play out. Third quarter economic reports will be telling, and the view from next year even more so. On the financial sector, Standard and Poor’s said in a note that: ‘The direct and indirect implications of Brexit for UK banks' credit profiles are therefore likely to evolve slowly and are unlikely to be substantially reflected in their full-year 2016 results.’ Moreover, in a sense, the real event has not yet happened. Article
50 of the Lisbon Treaty (the clause which needs to be invoked for the UK to formally begin leaving the EU) has not yet been set in motion, and currently, the UK is not estimated to leave the EU until at least 2019. Negotiations of the terms of Brexit hardly seem to have got off the ground, and a critical question remains unanswered. Which will Britain prefer: the ability to control its borders or an arrangement of free and open trade with the rest of Europe? As far as the EU is concerned, only one of these options can be selected. Moreover, though the possibility has been ruled out by the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, who famously said that ‘Brexit means Brexit’, it is still plausible that it may never happen. Opposition parties may yet call for a second referendum or campaign strongly to remain at the next general election. Even now, the prospective new leader of the Labour Party, Owen Smith, is campaigning on a ticket to hold a second referendum, as the Irish did to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in 2002, backed by a petition signed by more than 4 million people. So what does this mean for the Bangladeshi outlook? The UK is the third single largest trading partner for Bangladesh. In the 2012-13 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported $2.2 billion worth of goods to the UK and imported $2 billion worth goods and services from the UK. The immediate effects of Brexit will be felt through the devaluation of remittances coming in from the UK. The UK is the second biggest source of remittance after the United States among western nations and
contributes $1 billion out of $15 billion overall. The Pound Sterling has shown no signs of climbing up to its pre-Brexit value and this has prevented many migrant Bangladeshi workers from sending back money as they await a revival. Those who are sending it are sending it at a devalued rate. The devalued Pound will hit Bangladeshi exports to the UK as well, as Bangladeshi products will be more expensive to the UK buyers under the current exchange rate. Bangladesh exported goods worth $3.23 billion to the UK in 2014-15, enacting a 21.28% growth from the previous year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau. Garments make up nearly 90% of the export figure. The drop in Pound has coincided with a rise in costs in the garments industry, putting pressure on British buyers to minimize expenditure. If this trend continues, demand will fall for RMG from the UK and put pressure on the Bangladesh RMG industry to meet its goal of reaching $50 billion exports by 2021. Continuing with exports, under the current agreement with the EU, Bangladesh enjoys duty-free exports as well as favorable rules of origin as part of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group. This allows Bangladesh to bring in more imported input for its export items to be eligible for free entry into the EU and part of the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. Once the UK leaves, these favorable terms may change when exporting to the UK. Brexit will mean the absence of the UK from the EU-Bangladesh Joint
Commission which is the main legal instrument used to govern issues relating to trade, economic cooperation, development, human rights and good governance. A separate agreement has to be enacted with the UK and Bangladesh will miss the convenience of this one-stop-shop for deals and negotiations with the EU. Immigration was a key topic in the referendum decision. Brexiters want to bring the annual net immigration number down from 333,000 experienced in 2015. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May has set a target of 100,000, a promise undelivered by her predecessor, David Cameron. Due to the high number of immigrants, the British government has curtailed immigration from non-EU countries such as Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan to comply with the free movement of people from EU countries. Migrant Bangladeshis in the UK believe Brexit will lead to a fairer immigration system where everyone will have an equal opportunity to migrate with no special rules for EU citizens. Bangladeshi students, however, will find it more difficult to study in the UK. Ms. May has already proposed rules governing the number of foreign students that apply for British universities. Some universities have been banned from taking in non-British students. A significant degree of how Bangladesh will fare depends upon negotiations and agreements which will take place following Britain’s eventual exit from the EU, scheduled to be around 2019. This gives the Bangladeshi
government ample time to structure favorable deals for the country. Of prime importance will be the continuation of duty-free exports as well as the EBA agreement, both of which are crucial if Bangladesh is to maintain their competitive edge in the global garments market. Other areas that need to be negotiated are the standards of health and safety for imported goods which were set by the EU. Bangladesh exports a significant amount of food products to a large number of Bangladeshi migrants as well as to the many Bangladeshi restaurants operating in the UK. Following Brexit, the UK will adopt their own standards and Bangladesh has to meet them to continue exporting. Negotiations between the UK and the EU will also affect Bangladeshi exporters. Currently, exporters can ship by bulk to a single importer within the EU who would then ship the goods to the UK without any barriers. Unless the freedom of movement agreement is changed, this system should remain in place. Brexit was a vote for change in a world. Above everything else, Brexit can be seen as a reaction to the uncertainty and volatile global pressures which spin and buffet today’s international society. The decision was hailed as a victory by right-wing advocates across the world, from Donald Trump in the United States to Marine Le Pen in France, and grieved by many as yet another way to divide us further. Whatever happens in the coming years, one thing is for certain. The world is entering uncharted territories.
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CONTENT MARKETING
/ Newscred
Connecting Through Content By Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman
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As Shafqat Islam (Co-Founder and CEO) of NewsCred picks up his iced coffee from the regular cart vendor on Park Avenue N.Y.C. to start his workday, his colleagues Rubayeet Islam (Software Engineer) and Razin Mustafiz (Product Manager) have just finished a day of meetings and deadlines in Gulshan. Rubayeet and Razin unwind on the office sofa to video call Shafqat and update him on the exciting events of the day. Such are the dynamics of the multinational content marketing technology company, NewsCred. They stay true to their slogan of powering content that connects brands and consumers around the clock and across the globe.
The idea of content marketing is fairly unfamiliar to a Bangladeshi audience. However, the company’s rapid success speaks volumes regarding this phenomenon. Razin explains that content marketing is a form of storytelling. “We help marketers and brands tell prolific stories that will resonate with their audience. This can take the form of a blog post, tweet, or Instagram photo.” Every year, marketers spend tens of billions of dollars on marketing and with the emergence of digital marketing, it has made the potential of their advertising measurable. The digital era has allowed for messages to be personalized, contextualized and relevant to every demographic of a particular product or service.
DEFY TIME CONSTRAINTS Rubayeet Islam (left) and Razin Mustafiz (right) conversing with Shafqat Islam on Skype.
In this context, Shafqat elaborates, “We believe that content can not only reach people but educate and inspire them. Once a company has achieved this, they are not just bombarding customers with advertisements that they will ignore. By understanding their wants and needs, a company can build authentic relationships with the clients.” With a more informed customer base, 80% of whom are proactively conducting their research online, the right message proves to be imperative. Rubayeet firmly believes that it is not simply about putting your brand out into the market. “Content marketing is a solution to the ambiguity of exposure. When was the last time you looked at a banner ad and were tempted to click it? We believe that there has to be a better way and have dedicated ourselves to help marketers create memorable content that actually enhances the user experience, instead of disrupting it.” NewsCred believes quality is at the center of any good content marketing strategy. “Even companies that rely on search engine optimization (SEO) would need high quality content to rank higher on Google search results,” postulates Shafqat. Google rewards content of superior quality, shares, and longevity to rank it in search results. Razin explains that the company prides itself on creating a pioneering platform that helps marketers conduct all their content marketing operations in one place. “We tackle every stage of marketing; starting from production, distribution on social media, setting an editorial strategy, and managing an editorial calendar. One of our fundamental beliefs is that content marketing is the atomic unit of marketing. Ultimately for all of these channels to work you need the raw material. It works similarly to how atoms are the building blocks of life.” As a one-stop shop for all content related matters, NewsCred’s software helps manage the creation, distribution, and measurement for some of the biggest brands in the world like Pepsi and Visa. Razin articulates that proving return on investment is the Holy Grail of content marketing and why these brands have chosen NewsCred. “Measuring the content to see if that translates to a connection with the customers, ultimately leading to the purchase of a product or service is the most important aspect.” With the advent and progress of technology, the ability to measure the impact of any content has now become automated and easy to convert. He adds, “You can input an algorithm that will save you copious amounts of time and manpower. We can measure how many people are reading your blog and how many of those people are sharing it on social media. We can also calculate if the content is creating a buzz, the kind of possibilities of that buzz for your brand and if that converts to a purchase or sales leads.” The dynamics and behavior of how a customer purchases a product has changed more in the last 5 years than the last 50. Shafqat observes that a vast majority of the buyer’s journey is completed before the www.ibtbd.net
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Building Brands
[The NewsCred Way]
76% 75% increase in monthly views
increase in monthly visits
97,200 unique visitors in
the first 4 months
34,000 36% 21% 90
page views within the first 3 months
increase in repeated visitors
89%
increase monthly page view growth
increase in growth month-over-month
38% increase in monthly visit growth since the launch
70%
increase in site visitors
1,600% 68
provide the right content, through the correct channel in a timely manner.� He stresses that marketers must be ready at all stages, which includes discovery,
22
times the boost in social traffic
54% 9%
increase in page views
buyer clicks the buy button. “When you think of going to a restaurant or traveling, you conduct research through various channels. Therefore the marketer must
seconds average time on site
increase in average order value
increase in assisted revenue from social
awareness, research, and purchasing. “The buying channel has become more nebulous now that the Internet allows the buyer to come in and out of the
purchase funnel. Your content must be ready regardless of whether the customer is buying through a linear or nonlinear buying circle. With this in mind, we
create different content for each stage that tailors to the various channels. Just think of it like Linkedin, as a professional site would have a separate approach than a personal setting such as Facebook. Both must be contextually relevant in their domains.” With the vast library of content that they have built, they are equipped to help brands through any channel. Rubayeet recalls the saying ‘Software is eating the world,’ by Marc Andreessen to highlight this idea. “You need software that runs smoothly for the client. It is a multi-step process that entails planning, sourcing, measuring and discovery. Our library helps them find the content and guarantees that the customer will find it. If the client wants to publish the content on multiple platforms, we are prepared to satisfy that demand.” They have also integrated with multiple partners in order to measure the impact of content within these channels. Rubayeet notes that integrating these technologies and software is a significant support. “For instance, we integrate with Marketo in order to provide our customers with information regarding the conversion of the content in creating an impact on purchase. We partner with Google Analytics to enable our customers to see how many people have read a certain blog post. Through these various tools, we are able to
monitor the reach and effectiveness of any published content.” Despite the various channels, NewsCred considers adding value to be the foundation of content marketing. Shafqat considers value exchange and educating the customer towards a better life to be an essential transaction. “If you look at banks and financial companies, traditionally they would just provide offers for loans and mortgages. We work on a strategy to help them educate their customers on how to save money, improve financial literacy, help them find a loan or pay for college.” He highlights the power of content in impacting important life moments and helping build trust between brands and consumers. Operating a multinational company proves to be a challenge for many companies. Nevertheless, NewsCred sees this as an opportunity for diversity in thought, culture, and approach. Razin sees this as an opportunity to avoid being pigeonholed into a single type of thinking and as an indicator of business growth and innovation. “We do face challenges when it comes to communication because of the three different time zones. But we see this as our ultimate advantage because this makes us a company with a 24- hour office. We are constantly functioning towards the betterments of those we serve.”
5 Laws of Content Marketing In 2014, NewsCred hosted their annual Content Marketing Summit, which brought together 700+ leaders in Marketing, Media, and Technology, and addressed how content is shaping the future of marketing. The five lessons, come from presentations by executives at Buzzfeed, Cisco, Dell, Diageo, Dr. Pepper, Forbes, Havas, Mindshare, RedBull, SAP, Spotify, Target, Twitter, VICE Media and more.
1 Content is no longer a suggestion- it’s a necessity. Content is the only way to comprehensively engage your audience at every step of the customer journey. Marketer needs to create amazing content that is sharable, hilarious, emotional, entertaining, informative- or best, all of these. You should be obsessed with the content you create. If you want to read it, why would your audience want to share it?
“The idea of creating content for content’s sake is borderline psychotic.” -Alex Jutkowitz, Group SJR.
2 Data and Measurement are crucial to content success. It’s essential to have a solid measurement framework in place so that you can try new idea and find out if your content is working. That said, many marketing experts lament the lack of “hard numbers” when it comes to measuring success. 2015 will be the year measurement becomes standardized across platforms. The marketing tools in the (near) future will be highly personalized, letting you know which members of your audience are the most valuable.
“As a team, we talk everyday about what’s working and what’s not and we measure like crazy.” -Dustee Jenkins, Target
3 Authenticity never goes out of style. We’ve heard this a million times but it’s worth saying again. Your brand needs to “know thyself” in all aspects of marketing. Don’t jump in on a meme or trend that won’t jive with your brand or audience. Be funny, everyone loves funny (even B2B), but don’t be fake- your audience is smarter than that.
“Humor evokes positive emotions, cuts through the noise, demonstrates authenticity, and redeems.” -Tim Washer, Cisco
4 Return on Investment (ROI) is crucialbut don’t let it kill something good. While measurement is crucial, don’t kill an idea that you know is a winner from the just because you can’t predict its success. Marketers need to try a variety of messages and products, spend slowly, and measure carefully before picking a clear performer.
5 The future of marketing is more personal. New marketing tools are opening up with a wealth of possibilities to reach consumers. Better understanding their needs and motivations will help you provide a personalized, comprehensive experience. Companies who go the extra mile with content that is desired and not a disruption will succeed. Brands need to think about that fact that every share, “Like” and tweet is created by a real person.
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TECH MANIA
/ Advertorial
O
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nce upon a time, the responsibility of long distance communication was bestowed upon pigeons. As the world has advanced, it has now completely shifted to the mobile phone. With its development we have reached a stage where we cannot go about our daily activities without it. Along with the availability of the internet, it has become an integral part of our every day schedule. Each human being has his/her own needs. Some people need more FnF numbers, some are gripped with frustration when their balance runs out, some people need the right internet connection to share that selfie with a friend. People use phones for many different purposes. Online shopping, ordering food and looking for payment options are but a few activities people engage in from the myriad of opportunities that can be availed from your mobile phone. To help with such activities and to ease the user’s experience, Grameenphone has come up with MyGP App. This App serves as a one stop solution which can be installed from the Google Playstore for Android users or the Appstore for Apple users. Whether to refill your balance at the end of at night’s long conversation or to change an FnF number or even for paying bills, the MyGP App allows users to access these long awaited features with greater ease. What’s more is that installing the app gives you 50MB of free internet for your mobile phone. Whatever the situation might be, MyGP App solutions are now here to solve them!
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
/ Interview
Dr. Ashis Kumar Chakraborty Managing Director Universal Medical College Hospital
Dr. Ashis Kumar Chakraborty started his career in Christian Medical Centre Brahmanbaria. Following that he was appointed the Director of Aysha Memorial Specialized Hospital Pvt. Ltd. He is currently the Managing Director of University Medical College Hospital, Dhaka.
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Holistic Health
Q
What are the challenges in managing a large conglomerate of doctors, nurses and physicians?
Yes, it’s no doubt a significant challenge to manage consultants, doctors, nurses and allied staff as well, because providing health care is a challenge that requires teamwork. Every member of the team is important for doing the clinical and administrative tasks completely and successfully. Additionally, the doctors and nurses are still not very professional in their respective jobs. That’s why it becomes difficult to satisfy patients and their relatives. In order to create a well-reputed healthcare industry in Bangladesh, we should work hard and play dynamic roles.
Given the global context of medicine and medical studies, what are the ideas that need to be incorporated into the syllabus? Are there particular practices that need to be implemented?
The Bangladeshi Medical curricular follows the British medical system. The majority of textbooks are from British Publication
Every member of the team is important for doing the clinical and administrative tasks completely and successfully.
(ELBS) with a few books from other nations. Those syllabuses include almost everything of modern medical science to turn students into professional doctors. However, one aspect should be given more attention to is practical applications. Additionally, an emphasis on doctor-patient relationship should be incorporated into the curriculum. The day-to-day unrest is one of the major reasons behind an inefficient healthcare delivery system.
Medical Education entails practical and applied knowledge; how are you implementing a balance of both? Can you define the significance of each in the curriculum? Medical Education is mostly an applied curriculum; from the admission into the M.B.B.S to completing a medical tour of Physiology, Biochemistry or Community Medicine (both theory, practical, laboratory works and dissection hall). Following successful completion of the 1st Professional examination, the student is promoted to the 3rd Year M.B.B.S where they www.ibtbd.net
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We must first find our lacking and proceed to sort it out through government and private health organizations.
start clinical classes along with theories. The clinical attachment is very effective in a sense that the students have to stay at the bedside of the patients by taking clinical history, examination and investigation for proper diagnosis. In between theory and clinical works students have to face various examinations. For this very, reason Universal Medical College Hospital (formerly Aysha Memorial Hospital) has renowned clinical experts to teach these students sufficiently. Beside this, the medical college has fully professional, skilled and standard technician in its Pre-Chemical sectors.
What are the qualities that make an effective doctor? First of all, he/she must be a good student, because the
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medical curriculum is so vast and it’s not possible to continue this kind of curriculum without a great degree of dedication and knowledge. Besides that, it is tough to continue the syllabus having adequate knowledge of English. I personally believe that before being a good doctor, they must be a good human being. Medical science is the only sector where doctors get opportunity to have direct contact with people, which is very rare in other professions. In this regard, the general populous and patients have greater expectation from doctors. I believe the students of Universal Medical College will gather more practical knowledge parallel to theories because this hospital is specialized with 250 beds that have all modern equipments such as MRI, CT Scan, BMD, Mammography etc. We also have a one stop services from OPD to Cardiac Surgery, Cathlab, CCU, all critical care units, 24 hours cardiac emergency and most modern medical facilities of Cardiac/ICU – Helicopter & Ambulance for transportation for the critical patients. The students will acquire a great degree of knowledge from all disciplines through these provisions.
Health Tourism is causing a sever deficit in the health economy of the nation. What steps, facilities and procedures must we introduce in order to stop this trend?
Health Tourism is a global issue that is affecting a number of countries. It is an individual matter because we cannot control patient’s choices and where they will go to seek treatment. We must first find our lacking and proceed to sort it out through government and private health organizations. Finally, we need to ensure the best treatment facilities are available with 100% commitment from the masses to the aristocrat levels. Nevertheless, it’s a matter of trust upon the health care system of the country, trust upon the doctors and nurses. A rough estimation is that at least more than $2 billion is being spent from Bangladesh to foreign health organizations due to treatment costs. Accountability should be further implemented for the health care providers to ensure great professionalism, patient friendly service and cordiality. Then the mass people will regain interest and trust to take healthcare service from Bangladesh. Universal Medical College strives to provide internationally standard healthcare, health education, cardio care in a very affordable cost to the community of Bangladesh.
CHALLENGES OF The
DECADE
/ Sustainable Development
A Substantial Initiative By Dr. Atiq Rahman
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e have seen the United Nations (UN) spearhead three interconnected milestone events in 2015. Those events were the UN Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Sendai Conference on Integration of
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Sustainable Development, and the Paris Climate Conference. The outcomes of these events will guide the development discourses in the next 15 years and beyond with many new dimensions and adjustments. There is huge scope of building synergy among the three processes and their outcomes to strengthen our national policies and strategies for building resilience to climate
change, reducing disaster risk and achieving sustainable development at all levels. Bangladesh will implement inclusive social and economic development in order stay true to its commitment to achieve SDGs. Even prior to UN Summit on SDGs, Bangladesh has prioritized a set of goals considering the national context and its development trajectory.
on the basis of communities to contribute towards sustainable development.
The Nexus of Food-Water and Energy Securities
In this backdrop, let’s consider some down to earth, but most urgent 10 tasks relevant to sustainable development with an approach for rapid economic growth and institutionalization of good environmental governance, climate change risk reduction; which ultimately leads to effective, inclusive and sustainable development for people across the board. This approach includes three basic elements which are: (a) Poverty alleviation and sustainable development (b) Climate risk reduction (CRR), and (c) Addressing the nexus of food, water and energy security in a pro-poor, pro-environment approach.
Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development Poverty alleviation, disasters management and CCRR, environmental governance and development of skilled
human resources are few of the key emerging challenges towards sustainable development. With consideration to the complexities, growing challenges, context, lack of implementing key policies, strategies, and laws of the country; Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) offer one of the best and comprehensive framework. However, having said that, it does not indicate whether those goals and their localization process should be accepted uncritically. The planning documents, such as the Bangladesh Seventh Five Year plan, the strategic plan for 25 years and the Vision 2021 by the Government of Bangladesh ensures that sustainable development is the top priority of the planning exercises. Rapid economic growth involving inclusive and equitable development for the populous is a context for the sustainable development of Bangladesh. These development efforts will have to be environmentally sound and
socially just. This is absolutely essential but very hard to achieve. One of the central elements of sustainable development is that “there can be no sustainable development without alleviation of poverty�. This is essential for Bangladesh in its march towards achieving SDGs.
Climate Risk Reduction Better distaster management, reducing the risk of climate change impacts, and reduction of poverty are all considerations for a green economy and sustainable development. At the same time, a noteworthy contradiction facing the nation is that climate change impacts will undermine the achievements of poverty eradiction. Therefore, a new group of impoverished persons who are susceptible to climate induced extreme events and climate impacts will arise. Thus it is integral that we must address climate change adaptation, on an efficient and timely manner
The access to food and water is vital for the citizens of Bangladesh, particularly the majority who are poor. Each of these services should ensure beneficiaries entitlement as fulfilling their minimum per capita requirement with maximum quality. Individual development cannot flourish without sustenance. People require food with sufficient calorie and protein; particularly growing children, youth and mothers to be. Safe drinking water is essential for life, and protection against water born diseases. Water and sanitation forms the essential package of basic hygiene. Though every family must have access to electricity, this is unlikely to happen in near future. But significant progress has been made in providing photovoltaic (PV) electricity, particularly for lighting with solar home systems (SHS). It may be difficult to reach all the poorest with PV SHS. But PV lanterns can provide light and a cell phone charging port to all individuals and households within the present financial capacity of the present government. This may not meet the energy security but will rapidly meet an urgent and immediate demand. This is the first and important step towards the access to electricity by all. Climate change impacts are likely to lower food productivity in regions that are specifically prone to the
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effects of saline, though salt tolerant varieties of rice have been developed. Similarly, safe drinking water is becoming inaccessible as a result of saline water entry in the South, while increasing draught is affecting water availability in the North-West region. Hence, this food-water-energy nexus will have to be integrated with climate change resilient efforts.
The 10 Actions The following set of 10 most urgent actions could form a package in environmental governance and contribute to sustainable development that supports rapid economic growth and the human development suitable to Bangladesh in consideration to the phenomena of climate change throughout the world. Bangladesh has many priorities, most of them are competing and yet complementary; problems that entail a number of components. A majority of which needs urgent and immediate attention. The delay in resolves or addressing these matters will result in a multitude of consequential tribulations in solving related issues. Given this broader context, the following 10 priorities deserve immediate and urgent attention. The dynamic journey of the nation towards a sustainable development future in a rapidly changing horizon of enhanced globalization, greater need for employment and sustainable livelihoods, and securing resources for energy, food and water are necessary for the future
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struggles of climate change. These task have been a matter for some time and most of them entail more than one issue and dimension, needing the involvement of several institutions in order to create solutions. A great number have been addressed and incorporated in the planning documents but not in the context of a concerted sustainable development paradigm. It would be a worthwhile effort to address these 10 activities simultaneously to achieve rapid economic growth which is pro-poor and pro-environment. If serious attempts are made, the opportunities for global fund mobilization for Bangladesh from emerging climate change funds and other resources, as well as release the energy of its people, economy and natural resources base will achieve a notable degree of progress towards sustainable development. The allotted amount of time for each of the 10 tasks may vary—say between two to 10 years. However, each of these will complement the other toward the mutual reinforcement of the nation’s sustainable development. Of course, the availability of
Bangladesh requires increased efficiency in the use of water, energy, waste, food items through better post-harvest technologies, monitoring water needs for irrigation and fertilizer use, particularly encouraging use of fertilizing pellets.
the resources for these is within the capacity of Bangladesh. But these will require good implementation, cooperation between the responsible agencies, proper governance and continual monitoring. 1. Converting Population to Human Resource: Bangladesh can be seen as an exemplary model in terms of development. The country’s greatest resource is its people. Nevertheless, the nation is one of the most densely populated in the world. The rate of growth of the population is decreasing; every effort to reduce this rate, enforcing family planning and focusing on the health and education of women and the youth must remain constant. The national plan must take this expanding population into consideration when generating new and worthwhile jobs and livelihoods. To achieve this there has to be an aggressive employment generating and entrepreneurship enabling strategy and plan. Appropriate vocational training and productive person power based education and empowerment of this population deserves the greatest attention. This will greatly improve the emerging garments and associated industries, quality of human resource export and greater agricultural productivity. 2. Light for All: In the second decade of the twenty first century it is hard to accept that in Bangladesh, the fact that one third of the population live without electricity makes it rather unconvincing argument that it is a progressive state with
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an economy that is emerging. Bangladesh has over 3.2 million households electrified by solar photovoltaic technologies and the demand for PV solar technology is growing. The nation has the capability to provide PV based lanterns and SHS to all of the households within the next three years. The initiative would provide light for the entire country with an addition of about four hours of light from individual solar lanterns for each family, a change that was only previously witnessed by the connectivity through cell phones throughout Bangladesh. Given the availability of the technology, there is a drastic need to advance financial and social mechanisms. This is within the reach of the common people. Political will is the need of the hour. 3. Clean and Free the Rivers: Pollution from domestic and industrial sources have severely contaminated many rivers, primarily within the city. There is an urgent need to free the rivers both from illegal encroachment situation, autoloading and pollution. There is an necessity to establish rule of law, government ownership of common property resources and environmental governance. 4. Transfer the Tanneries and Pollution Management: Relocation of 154 tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar that have efficient sewage treatment plants, must be completed immediately. Simultaneously the brick making, textile, garment and ship breaking and other polluting industries must be made compliant of the procedures and law of the country. It’s a good example of environmental
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governance that tannery factories which have failed to relocate within the dateline are being penalized financially. 5. Effective Implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): EIA is obligatory under the Bangladesh Environmental Act and an effective tool to protect the natural resources and for making policies, projects and infrastructures environmentally sound. But its implementation is very weak. To ensure that EIAs are applied rigorously and professionally. It is of utmost importance to ensure participation of the population through an independent panel of experts who review the EIAs. This will enable effective use of this important tool for management practices towards a better environment and ensuring a much needed proponent of environmental governance and institutional development. 6. Ameliorate the Quality of Soil Fertility: The soil of the nation is under stress. They
It is to be noted that almost all the best achievements in Bangladesh have taken place when the central government, local government agencies, research institutes, civil society and NGOs, women groups, private sector, communities and people have worked together.
need to enhance organic matter and a number micro nutrients. Vigilant supervision and matching of crop-soil-micronutrient combinations and their appropriate application will reduce use of chemical fertilizer and enhance food productivity. All soils need to be enriched with more organic matter by using sustainable agriculture practices. Integrated pest management, more efficient fertilizer, utilization of water and harvesting a diverse array of crops and vegetables, afforestation of deforested areas will help in soil quality improvement. 7. Efficient Resource Use: Bangladesh requires increased efficiency in the use of water, energy, waste, food items through better post-harvest technologies, monitoring water needs for irrigation and fertilizer use, particularly encouraging use of fertilizing pellets. Availability and use of improved safe drinking water are essential particularly in those areas that are particularly vunerable. Stoves that use energy sparingly and reduction of line loss of electricity, gas and piped water would allow for the retention of a significant portion
of energy. Standard management of urban traffic will also reduce fuel waste and person hours. Recycling of plastics, polythene, polystyrene, electronics and other wastes will save resources from wastage. Chemical dosing in dye applications must be conducted in a productive manner, fuel in brick kilns are examples of better use of resources. Adaptation and popularizing of 3R (reduction, reuse and recycle) principles and recycling of water, energy and chemicals will improve efficiency. 8. Better Institutionalization of Climate Change Management and Governance: There has been significant progress and many important initiatives have been undertaken to combat climate change. But climate change is complex, and multifaceted phenomena. It involves largely environmental, even greater, and increasing developmental challenges. It encompasses numerous sectors with the influence of a number of factors. The actual strengths in achieving climate change risk reduction require the inclusion of climate change into all policies on a sectoral and national platform, resource mobilization and implementation strategy for each sectors. These include local government agencies and above all the communities. Furthermore, as the Green Climate Fund is developing, the nation needs to insist for the required funding from it to ensure essential resources including technologies. The National Implementation Entity (NIE) must immediately be created through a set of
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independent agencies under the guidance of the appropriate National Designated Authority. The discourse and activities for this body and course of action must be commence in the very near future. The principles of MRV (Measurable, Reportable and Verifiable) activities and demonstrable transparency and accountability are essential for fund mobilization, fund management under this mechanism. This will also enable Bangladesh to mobilize its well deserved claims to large global fund by setting these institutions with transparency and accountability. 9. Bolstering Local Government and Community Based Adaptation: Most climate change related actions and mechanism for adaptation will be addressed at the local level. Bangladesh’s credibility and claim to global funds will largely depend on its capacity to transfer the funds to the climate vulnerable and affected communities to support their adaptation and mitigation initiatives effectively. This will be best served by strengthening the local government and its capacity to deliver development and environmental services to the affected communities in
rural and urban areas. Therefore, it is integral to heighten and enhance efficiency of service delivery of the local government. It may be helpful to make a policy declaration that large proportion of all climate funds, say 70%, should reach the most vulnerable segment of the communities; i.e. women, children, poor, disabled and displaced person. Community Based Adaptation (CBA) needs to be improved through the use of this framework which is to be delivered to the communities. Additionally, proficient decision making processes will guarantee the active participation of communities. This will be a great contribution of Bangladesh to environmental democracy and climate change governance. 10. Planned Urban-Rural Continuum and Spatial Management: The majority of the nation remains in rural areas with the population moving towards rapid urbanization. This urbanization is happening with a rapid population increase in major cities such as Dhaka and Chittagong. There is a second phenomenon of urbanization associated with emergence of small towns at district levels. The third phenomenon is the
access to urban services at the peri-urban areas at the two above-mentioned levels. Rapid urbanization is a component of rural-urban continuum in the nation. Through the socio-economic network, continuity of resource mobilization and demographic transitions from rural to urban migration remains a continuum. This is more significant amongst the poor residing in urban slums; a vast number of whom have been displaced by extreme events, frequently connected with climate change induced events and the phenomena of frequent river bank erosions and floods. This is also continued amongst the middle class. The continuum connects the urban and rural population within the nation. Rural spatial planning must be implemented through the correct framework. Multi-storied buildings that are energy efficient should be given greater consideration in the efforts to save agricultural land. The utilization land and planning to start with a energy-water-food nexus integrated with natural resource planning in urban area in the context of urban spatial planning is imperative. Availing the urban services in the rural areas will make spatial planning more
manageable. The elements to consider in urban and rural spatial planning will have to entail (a) Proper Planning and Innovation (b) Investment and Infrastructure (c) Participation and Information and (d) Good Governance.
Conclusion The 10 proposed actions discussed are an assortment of tasks which require immediate attention. They are very attainable within the financial and institutional framework, but may vary in their stage of progress with consideration to the duration of time for each action. A combination of these actions will enhance rapid economic growth, enhance environmental and climate change governance, ultimately allowing for the proposed sustainable development. Many of these actions will assist in capacity building of
government institution at different levels. Moreover, several of these actions will also be supportive of participatory management approaches where the central and local government agencies, private sector, civil society, NGOs, community groups and citizens would work together to strength democracy in action through sustainable development practices. All these actions will contribute towards a paradigm of being pro-development, pro-environment and reducing poverty at different levels. Though people of Bangladesh are resilient, implementation of the 10 actions will build transformative resilience to move towards a middle income country with high human development and quality of life. This will also protect environment and enhance sustainable development. It is to be noted that almost
all the best achievements in Bangladesh have taken place when the central government, local government agencies, research institutes, civil society and NGOs, women groups, private sector, communities and people have worked together. In achieving the above tasks in a short period will be best achieved by taking a participatory and inclusive approach. Finally, social development process is a science of changing society for the betterment of the people. Nonetheless, this scientific process gets momentum when it successfully captures peoples’ vision of change. SDGs have captured our global vision of transformation. Let’s be innovative to achieve that global vision nationally with 10 magic tasks which are interlinked with several Sustainable Development Goals.
Dr. Atiq Rahman is the Executive Director, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS). He is a prominent environmentalist, scientist, development expert and a visionary thinker in South Asia. He is well-known worldwide for his pioneering role and contribution to environment and nature conservation, climate change, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. He was honored with the highest UN- Environmental Award, the Champion of the Earth, for the year 2008 in recognition of his outstanding and inspirational leadership and contribution globally, regionally, nationally and locally, to the protection and sustainable management of the Earth’s environment and natural resources. As a lead author of the IPCC fourth Assessment, he was a co-recipient of the “Nobel Peace Prize” of 2007, jointly awarded to IPCC and Al-Gore.
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RAKEEN CITY
/ Advertorial
Bijoy Rakeen City Where Luxury meets Nature ave you ever aspired for a little piece of Dubai, Singapore or Malaysia in the heart of Dhaka city? Do you dream of living in a fully secured tranquil environment that provides a stunning backdrop for your kids to play on while you unwind, relax, breathe some fresh air and indulge in the luxuries of contemporary living? To transform your dream to a destination, Rakeen Development Company has launched its flagship project Bijoy Rakeen City near Kochukhet Cantonment, Mirpur adjacent to Police Staff College.
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Why Mirpur?
Dhaka City is continuously expanding to accommodate its ever increasing population; Mirpur is slowly becoming a popular destination to many due to its strategic location. There are standard schools, universities, Sher-e Bangla cricket stadium, Dhaka zoo, botanical gardens, a proposed metro station and a good network of roads connecting to all corners of the city.
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Why Bijoy Rakeen City?
Spread over 50 bighas of lucrative land with almost 60% of which is lush green open area, Bijoy Rakeen City comes with all the offerings of a contemporary and an uplifting residential lifestyle complex. This project consists of 36 residential buildings, each 15 story high. With a fresh green stylishly landscaped environment, it is an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of Dhaka city that is strategically located in the heart of the city itself. An international standard community, enriched with pristine serenity, vibrant activity and best of the amenities of modern day living at the same time. With every need catered to and every desire taken care of, it has everything you have dreamt of. A diverse collection of activities within the compound, it has all the installments of world class living to keep you physically fit and mentally refreshed. There is a vast spread of leisure facilities to choose from temperature controlled swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, badminton court, jogging track and specially designed children’s park. A twelve storied lavish international standard community club with facilities like world class gymnasium, library, ladies corner, billiards lounge and multipurpose community hall will ensure that you remain socially active as well. The huge shopping complex inside the
compound with branded outlets, banks, ATM booth, medical center, pharmacy, chain super shop and food court can be a perfect place for a family leisure time. Access to quality education which is every parent’s primary concern has been ensured with an international standard school within the secured boundaries of the project. A great degree of emphasis has been given on the quality of construction, safety and security. An earthquake is an impending threat for Bangladesh as we are living in a RED Zone. At Bijoy Rakeen City the piling for the buildings has been done by a modern hydraulic drill machine that can pile upto a depth of 70 feet without water. This is highly effective and secured, having an earthquake resistance ability of 7.5 magnitude. Bijoy Rakeen City is the first residential project in Bangladesh to introduce a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to keep the environment clean, healthy and odorless. The DESCO substation inside the project will provide 24/7 power back-up. The senior management team of Rakeen is investing all their dreams, aspirations and years of experience in this prestigious project and they are confident that every single person who will book apartment and commercial spaces in Bijoy Rakeen City will boast of being a part of this wonderful community throughout their life.
INSIDE OUT
/ Domestic Cattle Market
Curtailing the Cattle Crisis By Doulot Akter Mala
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Tightened security to curb informal import of cattle from India has created the scope for the local investors to develop the country’s own cattle market. Due to the immense potential of the cattle market, entrepreneurs have started investing in it. Domestic demand for meat, milk, raw hide and protein intake increased significantly in Bangladesh with the rise of per capita income. Many cattle farmers who had previously given up cattle rearing resumed their farming following the demand spike in the last one and half years.
India has never given approval for the export of cows due to the religious sentiments of the majority of its population. According to Indian media reports, the Indian government has warned its Border Security Forces (BSF) several times to curb informal import of cattle to Bangladesh.
s the informal trade of cattle from India ran rampant in Bangladesh, farmers used to feel uncertain about investing in cattle farming fearing financial losses. Indian smuggled cows were available in the country’s market, especially during Eid-ul-Ajha, at cheaper prices. However, this influx reduced significantly after the BJP Government of India came to power. As per the claim of the Indian Government, previously about 2.3 million cattle were smuggled into Bangladesh every year. In recent times they have been able to bring the number down to around 300,000 to 350,000. India has never given approval for the export of cows due to the religious sentiments of the majority of its population. According to Indian media reports, the Indian government has warned its Border Security Forces (BSF) several times to curb informal import of cattle to Bangladesh. The Indian Express reported last May that the Indian Home Ministry, Rajnath Singh, has urged various states and the BSF to clamp down on cattle smuggling to Bangladesh. Following the Indian Government’s stand, there was concern among the traders and buyers, ahead of Eid-ul-Azha in September, regarding the supply crunch of cows. There was doubt over the capacity of the local farmers to meet the demand for cows ahead of Eid as Bangladeshis were largely dependent on the supply of cattle from the Indian side.
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production, the domestic supply base of meat, milk, hides and skins is weak as per the data from the Department of Livestock Service (DLS) of the government. According to this data, domestic production of milk and meat can meet only 43% and 67.2% of the local demand for protein intake respectively. Thus, a large part of the demand for milk and meat is met by the Indian cattle coming into the country.
How Indian Cows Were Entering Bangladesh: Indian cows entered Bangladesh through different borders as ‘unclaimed’ animals. Customs charge Tk 500 per cow and hand them over to the traders. Although they know about the illegal trade, they keep quiet considering the country’s need for beef and leather and also because of the extra profit they’re making. The cows enter Bangladesh through some corridors at the India-Bangladesh border near Rajshahi, Jessore, Khulna, Sylhet and Chittagong from various Indian states. Customs seize the cows as they enter the country without owners then as per customs formality, they auction them off.
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The Livestock Sector is yet to reach the point where it can satify domestic demand completely. Its contribution to GDP has declined to 1.66% during FY 2015-16 from 2.38% in FY 2005-06, according to the statistics of the Economic Review - 2016 published by the Ministry of Finance (MOF). Although the sector grew by 3.21% in FY 16, investment still remained low. Bangladesh is known as one of the countries with the highest densities of livestock in the world with 145 ruminants per square kilometer but the domestic supply still falls short of the domestic demand. Until February 2016, number of cattle heads stand at 54.22 million. Cattle production increased by only 7.59 lac in the span of eight years, from 2008-09 to February 2016. Production of goat has increased at a much higher rate. It increased to 257.11 lac in 2016 from 224.01 lac in 2008-09. Due to the slow pace of cattle
Table 1: Demand, Production and Deficiency of Milk, Meat and Egg (2013-14)
Milk Meat Egg
(mill. numbers)
15974.4 6.73 14.02 Demand (million metric ton) 10168.0 4.52 6.09 Production (million metric ton) 5806.4 2.21 7.93 Deficiency (million metric ton)
Contribution of the Livestock Sector to GDP:
Reasons behind Slow Growth of Cattle Market:
Source: Department of Livestock Service (DLS)
Cow smuggling from India increased significantly, especially during Eid-ul-Azha. As a large portion of demand was met by the smuggled cows from India, local farmers were less interested in cow rearing. Indian cows were sold at much cheaper prices than that of the Bangladeshi cows. Local farmers found poultry and other businesses more lucrative than that of the cattle farming. After incurring losses on cow rearing, many shifted their businesses to other sectors. Furthermore, cattle are highly vulnerable to various diseases and large scale death and such other sufferings of animal can destroy the farmers. However, restrictions on cattle export from India have changed the situation in recent times. Industry sources said some 50,000 new small and medium-scale cattle farms opened across the country in recent years. They are ready to take the risk with a more positive mindset regarding their return on investment.
Boost in Demand for Local Beef: Beef is now selling in the local markets at an all time high price of around Tk 450 per kilogram which was around Tk
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340 a year ago. Demand for indigenous varieties of beef experienced a massive leap in the market following India's move to stop their outflow of cattle to Bangladesh.
farm owners in those flood-affected areas have expressed their worry over transportation problems for taking their livestock to the markets. Most of the cattle traders in Rangpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Pabna, Narsingdi, Munshiganj, Kustia, Jhenaidah, Chuadanga and other areas of the country target the Dhaka and Chittagong cattle markets where they expect to earn a handsome profit.
Preparation for Meeting Eid-ul-Azha Demand for Cattle: According to the DLS data, some 3.3 million cows were sacrificed on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha last year. Thus, cattle traders recently assured that 3.5 million cows are ready for sale for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. They have reared a million more cows this year expecting a boom in cattle sales during the festival. Also, some seven million goats and sheep have also been reared for the festival. Cattle traders are confident regarding ensuring the adequate supply of the sacrificial animal this year. It has been claimed that investment in cow rearing increased by almost 40% in recent years following the local demand surge for bovine which was assisted by the supply restriction from India. Cattle farmers are coming forward to invest in this sector after they have gained profit last year in the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. However, numerous areas in the country experienced severe flooding this year. The
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Concerns Regarding Cow Fattening:
Local farmers found poultry and other businesses more lucrative than that of the cattle farming. After incurring losses on cow rearing, many shifted their businesses to other sectors.
The reduction in the number of cows from India has also resulted in local farmers using steroids to fatten cows. However, the inexperience of the farmers in using these techniques has raised concern regarding the health of the cows they are selling. It has been alleged that many cattle farmers are using excessive steroids to fatten their cows to increase weight to sell them at higher prices. The meat of those cows may cause serious harm to the public health. There are veterinary doctors’ booths present in the markets to check the health of the cows but they hardly scrutinize them properly. Last year, farmers fattened 30 lac bulls for sale during Eid. In addition, nearly 12 lac bulls
reared by the farmers were also brought into the Eid markets, according to provisional estimates by the Department of Livestock Services (DLS).
Dependence of the Leather Industry on Indian Cattle: Indian cattle heads meet around 50% of the local demand for hides and skins. It is feared that prices of the products may escalate in the domestic markets due to supply restriction on cattle. The local leather industry may be forced to import increased amounts of raw hide to produce their export products. Currently, Bangladesh imports raw hide from India, Italy, UK, Australia, Thailand, Brazil, Taipei, Philippines and Egypt. The local leather companies are already hesitant about procuring raw hide from domestic sources due to certain quality aspects. According to the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), a large stock of raw hide that tanners collected during last year’s Eid-ul-Azha remained unsold. According to the Department of Livestock Services, 48% of the annual demand for leather in the country is met during the Eid-ul-Azha.
The business scope and opportunity created in the country’s cattle market can encourage new entrepreneurs by offering easy term loans, smooth market access and a competitive market environment. He also stated that, “It is fact that there is a huge scope to develop a bilateral supply chain between India and Bangladesh through the cross border trade of cattle. Creating special provisions under its national policy and state acts/rules by allowing cross-border trade, India could facilitate that process.” The business scope and opportunity created in the country’s cattle market can encourage new entrepreneurs by offering easy term loans, smooth market access and a competitive market environment. Easy availability of bank credit at low costs and animal husbandry facilities at farmers’ door steps can also facilitate cattle farming. The government should ensure all support to small and marginal farmers and encourage them to set up cattle farms and rear animals at household level.
Conclusion: Both the government and private sector have to come up with different initiatives to develop the country’s livestock sector. Milk production has almost doubled to 52.30 lac tons in FY2015-16 from 26.50 lac tons in FY2007-08. Meat production also jumped to 46.59 lac tons from 10.40 tons in that period, according to the DLS data. There have been some steps taken by the local authorities to reprimand the situation. This is further facilitated by the likes of the Artificial Breeding Research Center in Savar, the enactment of the Livestock Law by the Parliament and the enforcement of animal feed rules. Dr. Khondaker Moazzem, Additional Research Director of the private research think-tank Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has postulated that attention must be given to developing livelihood in the border areas to stop illicit cattle smuggling from India. “Poverty in the border region forces many people to involve themselves in the risky cattle trading business which may also lead to their deaths near the borders,” he said. It is believed that around 90% of the border shootings are caused due to cattle smuggling from India.
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The writer can be reached at doulot_akter@yahoo.com.
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ng Lord orni to sing or more , Lord, m y g a n mile ond r rin begi ry M ebirds enry a hamme r ring’ e v e e H lu l 's ‘Wel n the b r John Henry 's hamm Whe can hea r John Henry You can hea r John You can hea You
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ne of the characters of American folklore, John Henry, showed the world that the muscle of the human body and its prowess can triumph over that of machines. Henry raced with machines only to die in victory with his hammer in his hand as his heart gave out from stress. However, he was successful in hoisting the drape of humankind higher above the machine. Henry may become a legend but he also personifies an epoch when humankind, especially workers, envisaged machines as their adversary. The tale of that tumultuous time, when industries excelled by the grace of modern
technology, can be found in numerous films and works of literature and proved a pivotal point in the progress of humankind. Economies were boosted, capitalism thrived and most interestingly the machines actually enhanced opportunities for workers. About 70,000 years ago some minor developments in the human brain helped them attain the cognitive revolution which led to Homo sapiens gradually becoming a force to reckon with in the animal kingdom, whereas once their role was quite insignificant. bout 10,000 years ago human beings invented agriculture as their numbers started to multiply. They also started to domesticate various animals and more importantly their lifestyles leading to shifts in economic activities. Since then, most people in the world were involved in agriculture until the rise of the industrial revolution. Even after the revolution, agriculture did not lose its importance and apart from feeding humanity it also backed up the industry and economy, and more importantly the sectoral workforces could be interchanged. For hundreds of years, the working class used to work both in the agricultural sectors as well as the industrial sectors as civilizations grew on the brawn of their workers. However, the cognitive revolution that fueled the human race previously had not been fully realized at that point. Workers like Henry fought against the machine as he realized machines could be more efficient and consistent for physical work thus could replace human workers. Initially, lots of people lost their jobs but in the long run, it was proved that not only was the problem fixed but rather it proved to be
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beneficial for workers. As time progressed, people did not have to break bricks by hands or manufacture things manually but newer technologies still required human expertise. This led to broadened economic horizons which led to larger production capacities, creating various types of new employment. However, even if short-term unemployment was offset by job creations in the long-run, the 19th
welfare systems that could adapt to this shift. or example, in old days or the pre-industrial era the garment products were made by loom and with not requires much division of labor. However, with the invention of modern technology, mass production of garments products was possible and many skilled and unskilled workers were required in the factories to mitigate the growing demand. The complex structure of urban life and ease of communication created plenty of new types of jobs so the fear of machines taking over slowly evaporated. Muscle power remained a driving force, but that all changed during the middle of the last century. Another paradigm shift took place whereby economies shifted from a manufacturing base to a service base. In other words, societies evolved from being industrial economies to knowledge economies. The key component of a knowledge economy is the greater reliance on the intellectual capabilities of its workers than their physical inputs or the country's natural resources. The value addition of the workers changed, thus they were hired for their brains instead of their brawn. Various researches suggest that some of the new jobs that have been created over the past few decades are fundamentally different from the ones that have been lost. The new jobs tend to favor workers with greater education and intellect which has become evident after the improvement of computer technology. anic broke out regarding “technological unemployment� in the 196Os (when firms first installed computers) and
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As time progressed, people did not have to break bricks by hands or manufacture things manually but newer technologies still required human expertise. This led to broadened economic horizons which led to larger production capacities, creating various types of new employment. century taught us that transition phases can be traumatic. Economic growth took off again after a long period of stagnant living standards, but after this, it took a few more decades before this was fully reflected in higher wages. The rapid shift of growing populations from farms to urban factories contributed to unrests across Europe. The respective Governments then took a century to respond with new education and
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the 1980s (when PCs landed on desks). Each time, it seemed that the widespread automation of skilled jobs was right around the corner. But like the previous industrial phenomena, this service-oriented technological and economical shift created more jobs than it destroyed over the long-run. As the automation of one chore increased, demand for people to do the related tasks that were still beyond machines was still going strong. For example, replacing some bank tellers with ATMS has made it cheaper to open new branches, creating many more new jobs in sales and customer services areas. Similarly, e-commerce has increased overall employment in retailing. In short, now the human being has become a different entity and the revolution that started 70,000 years ago is finally reaching its zenith. In the modern day USA, only 2% of population is involved in agriculture, whereas the lion's share is a part of the knowledge economy. owever, developing nations like Bangladesh lacked many of the features and blessings of a knowledge economy. Many of these countries are still in their archaic stages as far their economic activities are concerned. However, due to globalization throughout the world, no one can afford to lag behind. Although Bangladesh is still trying to become a knowledge economy, our system is still playing catch-up with the rest of the world. The avalanche of changes on the technology front hasn't helped the scenario either. Human beings now face competition from the advent of artificial intelligence, sophisticated robots, and even cyborgs. Although we've ultimately seen seen how human effort has prevailed in the past, people will need to be even more proactive and creativity to tackle this new competition. However, this time, the transition is likely to be faster as the impact from the introduction of new technologies diffuse more quickly than they did in the past. Now the strategy must be two-fold; firstly, how to help existing
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Social and character-based skills will gain greater importance as well. When jobs are perishable and technologies can come and go, social skills can build a strong foundation for working people.
workers acquire new skills and secondly, how to prepare future generations for workplaces already dependant on artificial intelligence and other technological innovations. As technology changes, the skills required for each profession also changes, therefore, workers will have to adjust accordingly. This implies that education and training facilities have to be flexible enough to be able to incorporate new programs quickly and efficiently. A greater emphasis on lifelong learning, online training, and on-the-job training will be essential. Artificial intelligence may help by personalizing computer-based learning and by identifying skill gaps and opportunities for retraining. Social and character-based skills will gain greater importance as well. When jobs are perishable and technologies can come and go, social skills can build a strong foundation for working people. They can give humans an edge, helping them to do work that calls for empathy and human interaction—traits that are beyond machines. hat will also open up the new horizon of human economics. In the human economy the most valuable workers will be hired hearts, not body or even mind. To compete against the intelligent machine the human traits those can’t be fathomed through programming will lead to machine. Although a rather utopian concept, we may be fast approaching an era where human economics will be the driving force for nations, where the most valuable asset will be hired hearts, instead of mental or physical attributes. Either way, humans must pro-act rather than re-act to carry on the progress and uphold the power of humanity just as John Henry did, albeit in a completely different manner.
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The complex structure of urban life and ease of communication created plenty of new types of jobs so the fear of machines taking over slowly evaporated.
HOLCIM LIMITED
/ Photo Essay
Holcim Cement Ltd is more than just a company that provides quality cement throughout the globe. They have prided themselves on ensuring that any aggregate that is produced within the country is of the utmost quality. Understanding the importance of retaining standards for structural and economic purposes, they have created a Concrete Innovation and Application Centre (CIAC) in Dhaka.
A Solid Foundation
Concrete Innovation & Application Centre (CIAC) The first and only accredited Concrete & Aggregate testing laboratory of Holcim Cement Bangladesh Ltd.
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Conducting Elongation Index test of Bholagonj Stone.
Conducting Sieve Analysis of Coarse Aggregates.
Displaying crushed cylinder of High and Normal Strength Concrete and Ingredient of cement.
Their CIAC has been awarded the certificate of accreditation by the Bangladesh Accreditation Board. A momentous achievement that was given to them for the highest standards mechanical test of the Aggregate Concrete on World Accreditation Day 2016. The facilities in their lab allow for the multiple tests necessary for
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Stone Chips are being poured into Mixer Machine.
Measuring the temperature of fresh concrete.
aggregate testing for various types of cement implemented for constructional purposes. They allow any company interested in testing a certain cement to utilize their laboratories for testing, free of cost. These test include testing of wet concrete, hardened concrete and aggregate test. The highly qualified professionals are a one-stop solution of creating, processing and manufacturing quality cement. They are able to identify quality trends in products, material in order to
Measuring Work ability (Slump) of fresh concrete.
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Concrete cylinder has crushed by compression Machine.
Concrete Cylinders are being cured at temperature controlled curing Chamber.
Making concrete cylinder for Compression Strength test.
verify the necessary compliance of any respective project. Additionally, they provide recommendations on crack prevention, casting and compaction, quality production and operation, and customized solutions. www.ibtbd.net
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RIO OLYMPICS
/ International Finance
The Financial Finish Line By Saniat Choudhury
The Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil this year concluded recently, and while the seemingly grandiose and lavish ending ceremony may have given the impression of a financially successful and affluent event, the story behind-the-scenes has actually been quite antithetical. The Olympics has certainly never been a cheap event to host, and long before the event kicked off many questioned the economic and infrastructural capability of a socio-economically struggling Brazil to organize what has been appropriately dubbed ‘The Greatest Show on Earth". Now that the curtains to the Games finally receded, a post-event scrutiny of the whole thing reveals that those doubts have been thoroughly justified. While Goldman Sachs named Brazil as one of the fastest growing economies in the early 2000s, largely due to its longstanding position as a BRIC nation,
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the recent global economic downturn made its mark on the country as well. The nation has been facing the worst recession in recent history, with the GDP plummeting by a 25-year low contraction of 3.8%. The results have been adverse: unemployment has amplified greatly, while inflation has reached double digits. Amidst such economic turmoil, the nation has been drowned in a scandal of gargantuan proportions whose twisted veins have allegedly reached the highest echelons of the Brazilian political scenario. Prosecutors found executives from the state-run oil company Petrobras and other such institutions guilty of working in conjunction for more than a decade to manipulate inflation rates, and the rewards they reaped were shared by lawmakers and political denizens alike. The accusations have even reached President Dilma Rousseff, who was temporarily suspended and iconic ex-President Da Silva. Petrobras, once Brazil’s shining beacon of economic prosperity, had its investment diminished from $48 billion in 2013 to $23 billion last year, and these cutbacks have resulted in massive negative ripple effects across several sectors. All of this resulted in a national deficit of more than 9%, with multiple rating agencies downgrading its debt to absolute garbage. Brazil was forced to cut its initial Olympic budget of $5 billion by almost 20%, and this saw amenities such as food provided to the athletes be reduced in terms of
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standards. While it is true the hosting of such events generates temporary employment, spikes tourism and foreign investment, Brazil’s present economic predicament, which has been further aggravated by the event itself, has meant that much of these positive effects had been largely nullified. Most of the profit from the event will not go back to the public, but to the shareholders and investors. Studies have shown that these benefits would only impact the wealthy – the supper-PACs who are responsible for bearing much of the cost. Furthermore, the hosting of such an event has meant higher taxes and spending cuts in other areas to simply break even. In terms of infrastructure, Rio has been painfully inadequate. While the games have attracted over a million tourists, the city could only house about 52,000. Housing facilities, therefore, had to be indemnified by large cruise ships docked at the port, which had to be refurbished as well. Hotel accommodations had to be upgraded as well. An estimated $5 billion had to be allocated to improve transportation. A large amount of resources had to be dedicated towards security facilities as well, as Rio de Janeiro has been infamous for its splurge in crime. This has meant more increased police forces, larger salaries and the installation of facilities such as closed-circuit cameras for better supervision. The Organizing Committees of Olympic Games (OCOG) reported that the nations hosting the games since
The Olympics has certainly never been a cheap event to host, and long before the event kicked off many questioned the economic and infrastructural capability of a socio-economically struggling Brazil to organize what has been appropriately dubbed “The Greatest Show on Earth". 1984 have always broke even, but the statement is true only in terms of operating costs. It does not take into account, for example, the stadiums, Olympic village and the development of other such infrastructure. In fact, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics has been quoted repeatedly as the only economically successful one in recent history, with many of the other nations left in financial debt after hosting the Games. Brazil may just
have to list itself among the latter. Furthermore, the projected multiplier effect for the Rio Olympics has been largely exaggerated. Normally, it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact economic impact of any such mega-scale event, and there are a large number of studies by different firms with varying numbers. One source projected that for every $1 invested, $3.26 will be generated by 2027. Normally, these numbers are inflated by the influence of the government to make them more appealing towards the public, whose taxes are the major source of the event’s investment. In reality, the economic impact of the games has been just under $10 billion. Additionally, the infrastructure built for the events, including grand stadiums and other facilities, may go largely unutilized in the future, as has been the case with Greek Games. If that is the case for Brazil, the projected economic benefit for the long-term may be much lower than what has been calculated so far. While the Rio Olympics has certainly been a memorable one, with superb demonstrations of athleticism in the form of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, the breaking of social barriers, and fantastic shows of sportsmanship and comradery, the resultant economic impact that it will have on a politically, financially and socially fraught Brazil can be adversely overwhelming. What is left to be seen is how deep this impact will reach before its effect is overturned.
SAADAT WORLDWIDE
/ Iceland
Let the Northern Lights Guide You Words & Photographs By Saadat Chowdhury
T his is the first installment of my travelogue and I have chosen to write about the very unique and fascinating Iceland. The nation is rapidly becoming a popular tourist destination that is yet to be discovered by Bangladeshis.
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Upon arrival, I was unimpressed with their modest airport. However, as I stepped out of the airport, I was left utterly speechless. The landscape is magnificently paradoxical: for instance, despite being a “cold” country, the Icelandic people are very adventurous and most activities involve the outdoors. Additionally, the genuine friendliness and hospitality of the locals made my whole experience superlative. The saying that the warmth of the Icelandic people keeps them alive in the sub-zero weather was evident throughout my vacation. Contrary to its suggestive name, Iceland is opulent in natural splendor. I can confidently assure readers that the nation is far more dramatic and breathtaking from the limited scope that is seen in movies. Though there is a great deal to cover, I have decided to focus on the attractions that cannot be missed.
THE JOURNEY FROM BANGLADESH TO ICELAND IS A CUMBERSOME ONE AND CERTAINLY NOT ONE OF THE CHEAPEST.
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How to get there
Any airlines, such as Qatar/Emirates, will take you to a major European city (e.g. Frankfurt, Brussels, etc.). This is followed by a flight with Wow Air, which is relatively cheap and gets you to Reykjavik-Keflavik Airport in 3+ hours. A convenient and cost-saving option would be to stop over at Iceland on your way to USA.
Do’s
1. Bring comfortable and sturdy shoes for the copious amount of walking and climbing. 2. Pack heavy-duty winter wear, preferably waterproof. This will prove to be a necessity if you visit the two other major waterfalls – Skogafoss and Seljalandfoss. 3. DSLR is a must. If you do not own one, borrow one.
Don’ts
1. Avoid shopping at the city center; they are tourist traps and everything is overpriced. 2. Never ask for mineral water. It is deemed offensive as Icelandic spring water is among the purest in the world. 3. If you are an inexperienced hiker, do not go on glacier hikes offered by the tour companies. 4. Do not refer to the Icelandic breed of horses as “ponies”, despite a resemblance to the latter. Only try horse riding if you are experienced.
Reykjavik
The Capital, Reykjavik (pronounced “rake-ya-vik”), is rather small even by Bangladeshi standards; nevertheless, it is a trendy cosmopolitan with a vibrant nightlife. You can cover all the popular landmarks on foot or you can rent a bicycle if you like. It is astonishing how there are virtually no cars for miles, thus keeping carbon emission to a minimum and the air superbly fresh. • The Hallgrímskirkja is a majestic church in the heart of the city that resembles a spaceship. The aerial view of the houses from the top of the church look like something out of a fairytale– quaint & cozy, painted in bright colors, they create a kaleidoscopic view. • The Harpa is a grand concert halland conference center right by the Atlantic Ocean. The crystal-clear glass façade and bold geometric patterns in steel reflect both the sky and sea. • The extensively long durations of sunlight are an exclusive feature of Icelandic summers. The Old Harbor provides the ideal platform for witnessing one of Mother Nature’s most magnificent shows, the setting of the midnight sun. • Leisurely walking along the coast, you will come across the Solfar Sun Voyager – a striking piece of grand art made of steel, resembling a Viking ship. This sculpture is an ode to the sun, setting the stage for the dramatic view of Atlantic Ocean and Mount Esja. www.ibtbd.net
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Golden Circle Tour The Golden Circle Tour is the most popular day tour, which takes you from Reykjavik to the key locations on the south coast. Tourists are picked up on a huge all-terrain capable Mercedes-Benz minibus and are taken through picturesque lush green valleys against snow-capped mountains;the surreal view that has become a rather ordinary sight for the locals. • The tour starts with Thingvellir National Park, a very popular film location that includes various spots seen in Game of Thrones. Moreover, the park houses used to be the oldest existing parliament in the world and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. • This is followed by Geysir geothermal area where you will see the Strokkur geyser that shoots a jet of water up to 40 meters every 8-10 minutes. • After this, you will be taken to the Gulfoss (“Golden Falls”). This waterfall seems magical with an almost permanent rainbow. • It is concluded with a visit to Langjökull Glacier where you are given the opportunity to ride a snowmobile. This destination was the most memorable part of the entire adventure. The track monitoring assures participants that snowmobiling is an adventurous sport that is also safe. As you ride your snowmobile, the mystery of snowy landscape with breaks in the form of lakes – that surprisingly are not frozen – takes you aback. If I could, I would have revisited this truly life changing experience.
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Reynisfjara This iconic black sand beach came to limelight of the South Asian region from the Shahrukh Khan and Kajol starrer, Dilwale. It is no less than an art gallery with exquisite sculptures in the form of basalt columns and caverns emerging from the Atlantic Ocean.
Accommodation
It is wiser to stay in the city center, near the Harpa and Harbor. Accommodation is rather basic but more expensive compared to other parts of Europe.
Food
Hands down, Iceland has the best seafood in the world. Any restaurant will serve you a wide variety of the freshest seafood. They are also reasonably priced. As for dessert, Icelandic Skyr is a must; it is a unique low-fat dairy delight infused with berries and chocolate. You will come across plenty of dairy farms on the way; be sure to stop by to taste the creamiest ice-cream you have had in your life, which is freshly churned every day. Saadat Chowdhury is an explorer, entrepreneur, and educator. He is the CEO of Saadat C. Ventures, Chairperson of Zurhem Limited, and can be reached at szadat@hotmail.com
A CHIC STATEMENT Concept by Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Photographs by Kazi Mukul
CORPORATE CASUAL
/ In The Club
With the holiday season right around the corner, the necessity to innovate your wardrobe becomes a duty. There are no shortages of invites and work related events; the Punjabi at Illiyeen provides the balance between traditional and chic eastern wear. And no look is complete without the perfect footwear; Plaire brings you the latest in sandals and loafers for your every ethnic look.
Tk 5,600
All of the exquisitely designed punjabis are
Tk 2,950.
Tk 3,200
Tk 5,600
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Tk 3,950
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Tk 3,950
PLAIRE House 5, Block G, Rd11, Banani, Dhaka, 1213
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SOLAR ENERGY
/ SolarCity
Solar Salvation By Antony Rahman wo months ago Elon Musk, the CEO and product architect of Tesla Motors made a move to purchase SolarCity, an American provider of energy services. This month, Tesla and SolarCity have finalized their agreement to join together, giving birth to the world's first vertically integrated sustainable energy company. With this combination, Musk has declared his intention to introduce a new Solar Energy product, called the "solar roof". This will differ from current solar energy solutions in the fact that it is not simply a solar panel or some solar modules installed on the roof. Instead, the entire roof will function as a solar energy module. The transaction is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of this year, pending shareholder and regulatory approval. This has obvious implications for American consumers since many people who may be interested in solar power are leery of putting solar panels on roofs that may be nearing the end of their lifespan, or are simply planning to build a new home in the near future. This new innovation combining Teslas battery packs and SolarCity's solar roof grids could also mean that homeowners no longer have to fear the need to switch back to the grid when it gets dark, and will allow them to rely entirely on solar energy. In January of this year, the United States Department of Energy gave $18 million to several
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projects that intended to use this combination of battery packs and solar technology to help solar energy replace nonrenewable sources of energy such as fossil fuels. Although the possible benefits of this innovation are evident for American citizens, the same idea if properly implemented could be vital to solving the energy problems we are facing in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has set the goal of ensuring electricity is freely available to all its people by the year 2020. However, this may not be possible only through currently pursued avenues. Less than 4% of our country's total energy production is renewable energy, and unless this ratio improves it will not be sustainable moving into the future. An estimated 40% of the population in
Although the possible benefits of this innovation are evident for American citizens, the same idea if properly implemented could be vital to solving the energy problems we are facing in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh does not have access to electricity, which means an absurd amount of people have no energy on a consistent basis. To improve the situation, the government introduced a plan by the name of Solar Home Systems in 2009, wherein electricity could be made available to households without grid access. Though the program has been inarguably quite helpful, with an average of 50,000 systems being installed per month between the years 2009 and 2014, current projections do not expect to meet universal energy needs for every single household in Bangladesh by 2020. Current solar shingle/roof technology has already reached the same level of conversion efficiency as the silicone cells utilized in solar panels, and Tesla and SolarCity's joint product is expected to improve on that conversion efficiency in leaps and bounds. SolarCity's new module, unveiled in October 2015, has been lauded as generating more power per square foot than any rooftop solar panel in production, with a 22% module-level efficiency (measured by Renewable Energy Test Center, a third party certification testing provider). These panels produced 30-40% more power than any contemporary solar panel technology. Given the time that has passed, and their integration with Tesla, higher efficiency solar modules are likely to be used in their upcoming 'solar roof' installations. If the Government of Bangladesh wants to reach its goal of having a 10% share of renewable energy
in electricity generation by the year 2021, this new technology from SolarCity may be exactly the answer they've been looking for. Long-term data analysis has yielded that the insolation in Bangladesh changes from 3.8 kWh/m2/day to 6.4 kWh/m2/day at an average of 5 kWh/m2/day. What this means in layman's terms, is that Bangladesh is in an excellent position to benefit from Solar energy. Given these facts, if the technology were to be introduced in Bangladesh it would likely see widespread use, not only in government facilitated projects but also among households of the homeowners own initiative. It would no longer make sense to pay for electricity from the Grid, as it would be far more cost efficient to simply make an investment in a solar roof. As their efficiency is expected to rise further and further, and as Bangladesh enjoys so much unobstructed solar irradiance, it would no longer take months or even years for the return on investment. Many would likely make the switch simply to avoid the dependence on grid energy that often leaves us without electricity for hours at a time, even in the capital, Dhaka. It remains to be seen how this concept of solar roofs will play out, but with the government's current problems and concerns with Renewable Energy Sources and their efficacy, they should be keeping a close eye on how the product develops, as it may just be what we need to reach the goal of unimpeded energy production for every single household nationwide, sooner rather than later. www.ibtbd.net
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BEYOND THE BUSINESS
5
LinkedIn Articles to Read
By Sakib Hasan
3 11 SIMPLE CONCEPTS TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER
1 YOU CAN’T FAKE PERSONALITY, PASSION OR PURPOSE
2 HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE STAY CALM BY Dr. Travis Bradberry
by Richard Branson
This article is based on what Richard Branson believes are the traits a person must have in order to be a part of his business. The article is written in an informal manner, almost as if he is talking to you in person. He uses examples from his personal experience which adds to the more personal tone of the article. After reading the article I feel as if I have an insight into the mind of a successful entrepreneur. This information will be valuable to both job applicants and business managers.
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This may be a slightly older article but the advice I have gotten from it is needed now more than ever. In today’s hectic lifestyle people are constantly under extreme stress. This article provides a balanced argument on why stress is both a hazard and necessity in life. It follows that up by a list of strategies to help keep your stress levels in check. Dr. Bradberry is a world renowned author and expert in emotional intelligence so you can be certain what he says will have a meaningful impact on your life.
by Dave Kerpen
“Being likeable will help you in your job, business, relationships, and life.” The first line of this article perfectly summarizes why you should read it. Each concept is concise and includes a quote from either a famous personality or entrepreneur to add merit to it. Most of the points focus on how to improve your interaction with people and why that will benefit you. The advice the article offers isn’t just going to help out your work life. It will help you succeed in life.
uccess
Subscriptions to S
Behind the Brand 4
THE BIGGEST MISTAKES I SEE ON RESUMES, AND HOW TO CORRECT THEM by Laszlo Bock
As an executive of Google’s HR department Laszlo Bock has gone through numerous resumes. From his experience he summarizes 5 common mistakes and why those mistakes will eliminate you from consideration as a prospective employee. I learnt that the way that a resume is written can be just as important as what is written on it. It is worth a read as it will help you eliminate critical errors which can ruin the first impression an employer will have about you.
5 7 LIES EMPLOYERS USE TO TRICK YOU INTO WORKING FOR THEM by J.T. O’Donnell
Sometimes employers can be desperate to hire new talent in order fix problems within the company. They can outright lie to you to get you to join. This article lists 7 common lies that they may tell you. What differentiates this article from others is that it also includes questions that you can ask to check if what they have promised are lies. The questions are framed in a manner which makes it seem as if you are asking because you are genuinely interested on how they promise to deliver on their promises. It is important to know if the recruiter is lying to you so that you don’t end up in a dead end job.
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Bryan Elliot hosts this insightful program that looks into making your idea, vision and passion into a reality. The program focuses on both traditional and non-traditional brands. While Elliot features a number of celebrities such as Jamie Oliver, Russel Simmons and Jessica Biel; he also focuses on the businesses that have come up with innovative and non-traditional ideas.
Google Small Business Technology has brought business methodology into an entirely new dynamic; it has made communication, advertising and marketing into an interactive and global experience. Google started off as a search engine and has now become an integral tool for business efficiency. The channel teaches both small and large businesses on how to put their brand on the “Map”. It also provides insight into the success of local businesses and creating the digital outlook of your business.
Startup Grind
To experience a vast diaspora of business throughout the globe, tune in to Startup Grind, hosted by Jason Calacanis. The channel hosts a number of events throughout many nations. They feature a number of innovators, investors and educators. The personal stories, advice and experiences shared by these entrepreneurs help support and inspire. It may also help you connect with the business venture that can lead to a flourishing partnership.
I Will Teach You to be Rich
New York Times bestseller Ramit Sethi brings the 101 on saving and earning money. His experience and approach are not simply lectures; they entail interviews, ‘how to’ guides, healthy work psychology and allegories from those you have made the bank. His friendly approach to provide advice makes him relatable. Furthermore, he provides links and follows up on videos to further your understanding of the topic discussed.
Marie TV
What more needs to be said of an entrepreneur and philanthropist who was named as a future leader by Oprah! With one of the fastest growing companies in the world, Marie has devoted her channels to help you find your potential and showcase your talents. Her zealous approach to answering your questions, providing insight into better mental health and work ethics is truly contagious. By Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman
AURAL ENTERTAINMENT
/ Tech
Binary Melodies Music production on the digital frontier – for everyone! By Abhijit Asad Finding amazing music online is one of my favorite things about the internet. Although it started as a video sharing platform, YouTube has proven itself to be a veritable treasure trove for even the most obscure music genres, with songs getting uploaded as one-picture videos (typically the album art) by fans and musicians alike for free listening. The experience is only made better by the fact that YouTube’s own algorithms automatically make genre-savvy suggestions for other videos based on what you watch (or in this case, listen to), which makes discovering great new music even easier. Anyway, I’m digressing. A few days ago, I stumbled upon an outstanding atmospheric album called ‘Unity’ by a Russian band called Skyforest (http://skyforest.bandcamp.com) and was completely blown away by its amazing compositions and unbelievably high quality of production. Long story short, I tracked down the mysterious band leader B. M. after a semi-long chase through the bowels of social media and was astounded to subsequently discover that Skyforest was actually the solo project of Bogdan Makarov, a Russian multi-instrumentalist fresh out of his teens.
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A rather reclusive young man, Makarov hates being in the limelight so much that he has no intention of ever performing live (despite having the skills to play everything on his own), and very few people are aware that he is the same ‘B. M.’ who has been spawning such ethereal music across a wide gamut of genres over the years. He has no lust for fame or wealth and releases his mind-blowing music on the internet for people to freely download and enjoy. And he is far from the only one of his kind. There are many musicians out there who have been spreading their brilliance across the web from the remote sanctuaries of their minds without feeling the need to perform before an audience or even show their faces. But surely something that sounds so good requires the support of a proper professional studio behind it? I asked Makarov about his setup, and the response floored me – every single one of his songs is mixed and mastered at his rather average home, on a rather average home computer, using rather average-priced off-the-shelf gear bought from rather average music stores. Nevertheless, there was nothing even remotely average about his cinematic sound. For one thing, the advent of modern technology has made solid and high-quality recording gear affordable for users of all financial abilities, and it gets even better when combined with the high-end yet affordable and easy-to-use DAW (digital audio workstation) software that users can get. As long as you have good ears and a halfway decent
For one thing, the advent of modern technology has made solid and high-quality recording gear affordable for users of all financial abilities, and it gets even better when combined with the high-end yet affordable and easy-to-use DAW (digital audio workstation) software that users can get.
hardware setup, it is now surprisingly easy to achieve CD-grade audio quality even on home recordings. Gone are the days of wheezy multitrack tape recordings and messing around with scissors in a studio. Splicing and editing digital recordings and applying effects has never been easier. The whole process is made even more exciting with the prospect of the computer being capable of playing the role of actual samplers, synthesizers, and effects
processors, which were previously left to expensive studio hardware. If someone wanted to add reverb (a kind of decaying echoey effect) to a recorded track, instead of recording the track in a large hall or routing the track through an expensive reverb unit, simply load up a reverb effect in your DAW and run with it. Even most trained ears fail to tell the difference between the emulated software effects and the real thing. Sampling and physical modeling has made a great number of instruments available in software form to aspiring musicians, who can now whip up tracks featuring the sounds of exotic musical instruments with ease, or add realistic-sounding instrumental backing tracks to their compositions without requiring a single actual instrument to be played in reality. That amazing drum line you heard in some random song might just be nothing more than excellent programming with meticulously ‘humanized’ notes. Speaking of which, want to feed notes to your software synthesizer by playing something like a piano? Get a MIDI keyboard, hook it up to a computer, play it, record the notes to your favorite synthesizer. Or are you a rock guitarist who wants a raw analog sound? Simply plug your guitar into your sound card and use a physically modeled amplifier simulator (software, of course) to coax the perfect tone out of your guitar without requiring any expensive amplifiers and stompboxes. It just doesn’t get any better than this for the financially
constrained musician. Even the amount of free music production software and plugins available on the internet is simply astounding. In fact, for certain genres of music, such as electronica, it is entirely possible to produce entire albums on a computer without using a single real instrument. Even musical input options are far more interesting now. Instead of restricting yourself to standard keyboards, fretted instruments or percussion pads, you can now go for strange grid-like sequencers, touchscreen-based interfaces (many musicians now use iPads as regular features of their instrument arsenal) and so on. Some of these options have even been married to other instruments -- just check out the RGKP6 guitar by Ibanez which comes with a Korg touch controller that lets you play with its sound in wondrous ways in real time, helping you to create sounds which you would never dream of hearing from a standard electric guitar. While you still need to have innate musical talent if you are to touch hearts with your melodies (it is unlikely that software or hardware that can grant musical talent to its users would emerge anytime soon), it has never been easier to produce professional-grade music with minimal hardware while sitting in the comfort of your home. So if you feel like it, go out there and grab yourself some decent gear and play around with a few DAWs. Who knows, maybe you’ll turn out to be the next Bogdan Makarov!
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SPEAK UP WITHOUT HICCUP
/ Special Event
Mastering the Mic Don Sumdany Facilitation and Consultancy presented “Speak Up without Hiccup”. The event was held on August 6th, at the EMK Center, serving as a daylong workshop for individuals longing to improve their public speaking skills and unleash their true potential. Essential issues such as the secrets of public speaking, how to present from corporate POV, use of humor in public speaking, how to be charismatic in presentation, 4Ps of public speaking, the ways and methods of interesting beginning of a presentation, tips and tricks of engaging the audience were addressed during the workshop. Experts from diversified fields came under one banner to assist, enrich and guide the participants to become masters of the mic. "Power, presence and warmth - three things needed to be charismatic," said Rubaba Dowla addressing the youth at the EMK Center regarding the importance of being charismatic. The event saw young minds, professionals from various industries and enthusiastic individuals gather under one roof to enrich their knowledge regarding the
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art of public speaking. Emphasizing on the necessity and significance of presenting oneself efficiently in front of an audience, the event focused on creating a common ground where the experts from various fields shared their experience, tips and tricks on how to captivate an audience. The panel of guests included Rubaba Dowla, Chief Service Officer, Airtel Bangladesh; Naveed Mahbub, Founder, Naveed’s Comedy Club; Syed Tanvir Husain, Director, COE, Grameenphone; Rezaul Hossain, Chief Commercial Officer, bKash; Quazi M. Ahmed, CEO, FutureLeaders; Ayman Sadiq, Founder & CEO, 10 Minute School; Nafees Kausar and G. Sumdany Don, from Don Sumdany Facilitation and Consultancy. “Your story must include your audience,” said Syed Tanvir Husain; indicating the importance of making the story relatable for the audience. Emphasizing on the importance of humor in presenting oneself, Naveed Mahbub stated “Humor is the ice breaker as it enables the speaker to connect with the audience properly.” Quazi M. Ahmed, one of the country’s most renowned trainers, advised
listeners, “The attention of the audience has to be captured at the very beginning of your presentation.” The youngest of the speakers, Ayman Sadiq, enthused, “Tell a story to connect with the audience.” Rezaul Hossain, from his experience in the corporate world focused on setting the right priorities while young public speaker Nafees Kausar focused on the 4P's of public speaking (practice, purity, pace and people). “We all have the potential to become what we dream of, we just have to reach down and unleash our true potential”, said G. Sumdany Don to focus on the significance of self-development. Participants from every walk of life attended the event including Government officials, young professionals, students of private and public universities and even individuals from outside Dhaka. They were all united under one roof with the sole intention to learn and develop themselves. The workshop was successful through the 360 degree support of the sponsors and partners of the event. The event was sponsored by Bombay Sweets Co. Ltd with ICE Business Times as the magazine partner, along with other media partners such as GTV, Dhaka Tribune, bdbews24.com and ColoursFM 101.6. Other partners for the event included Cooper’s (Food Partner) and Ticketchai.com (online ticketing partner). Don Sumdany Facilitation and Consultancy aims to bring bigger and better platforms in coming days to facilitate the youth of this nation towards a skilled and optimistic future.
DISCOVERY TOURS & LOGISTIC
/ Advertorial
Finding Bangladesh and Beyond
"The First Ever Trans-Siberia Group From Bangladesh Leaded By the CEO of Discovery Tours & Logistic" Every man or woman dreams of making the world his ‘oyster’; with endless beauty and diversity throughout every region, there are many pearls that one must visit during their lifetime. Fortunately, the dedicated travel agency, Discovery Tours & Logistic will accommodate all of your travel needs. We believe that your vacation should be as wondrous as each and every destination; therefore we take the hassle of every part of the trip from visa processing to hotel accommodations. Our services include Domestic and International Ticketing, Hotel Reservations, Transport facilities, Interpreters, Guides, Visa Processing, Tour Guides, Airport Transfer and Meet & Greet services. Our dedicated and experienced team will make your Travel Dreams a reality. With our vast array of exotic destinations throughout the globe, we can satisfy your every travel need from the Sunny Beaches of Miami, the Historic Nomad Camps of Mongolia to the Snowy Caps of Moscow. www.ibtbd.net
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WORD OF MOUTH
/ Happening
General Pharmaceuticals Limited has recently subscribed to Robi’s corporate solution. In this connection, General Pharma’s Managing Director, Dr. Momenul Haq and Robi’s Managing Director & CEO, Supun Weerasinghe signed a corporate agreement on behalf of their respective organizations
Rangs Limited- The sole distributor of Mitsubishi Motors revealed its most advanced SUV “Pajero Sport” in Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi publisher BanglaPrakash has launched a series of pocketbooks written by G. Sumdany Don, professional corporate trainer and public speaker from Bangladesh, at the 23rd Beijing International Book Fair 2016, in Beijing, China. The three pocketbooks are titled, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” “CV Writing & Interview Skills,” and “The Art of Communication & Public Speaking.” Mezbah Uddin was honored for being the best Deputy Commissioner, Chittagong Division of the country through a ceremony organized by the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry
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Mahbubul Alam handing over a crest to Alok Ray, visiting Chairman of Confederation of Eastern Chamber of Commerce, India
To organize Digital World 2016 successfully, Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
SSG signed a Corporate Medical Services Agreement with United Hospital recently. Khandoker Golam Azam, Head of Human Resources of SSG and Dr. Shagufa Anwar, Chief of Communication & Business Development of United Hospital inked the agreement
With just over a year of operation in its history, Le Méridien Dhaka won the 2016 Today's Traveller Award for “Best International Business Hotel in Bangladesh”.
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BOURSE UPDATE Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
/ Capital Market
Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight July 16-31, 2016) Name of the Securities
Category
Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited The ACME Laboratories Limited Islami Bank Delta-Brac Housing Grameenphone Ltd. Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd. MJL Bangladesh Ltd. Beximco Pharma Square Pharma BRAC Bank
A N A A A A A A A A
Value in Tk. mn 2,069.69 1,993.57 1,776.27 1,559.27 1,360.57 1,303.97 1,270.98 1,242.72 1,170.86 832.56
Volume in Nos. 13,013,741 16,751,117 54,109,628 13,866,543 4,977,756 8,564,387 12,266,433 14,507,428 4,405,743 14,170,751
% of total Value 4.26 4.10 3.65 3.21 2.80 2.68 2.62 2.56 2.41 1.71
Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight July 16-31, 2016) Name of the Securities
Category
NBL Islami Bank United Airways (BD) Ltd Evince Textiles Limited City Bank IPDC Social Islamic Bank Ltd. National Feed Mill Limited BDFINANCE BEXIMCO
A A A N A A A A A A
Volume in Nos. 56,964,938 54,109,628 33,068,178 29,276,995 23,761,181 21,243,425 19,533,998 19,118,070 17,587,370 17,564,363
Value in Tk. mn 522.30 1,776.27 200.13 545.48 574.47 589.98 281.32 411.77 219.53 422.13
% of total Value 4.60 4.37 2.67 2.37 1.92 1.72 1.58 1.55 1.42 1.42
Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight June July 16-31, 2016) Sl. No.
Name of the Securities
Category
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Renwick Jajneswar & Co. (BD) Ltd. National Tubes Northern Jute Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Eastern Cables 8th ICB M.F. Monno Stafllers Hakkani Pulp & Paper Wata Chemicals Ltd. Rahim Textile EXIM Bank 1st Mutual Fund
A A A A A A B A A A
Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 558.60 112.00 294.40 178.60 84.70 539.80 54.80 157.40 278.80 8.20
Last Fortnigh t Closing Price in Tk. 288.70 81.60 218.00 140.70 67.90 433.70 44.60 131.70 237.50 7.00
% of Change
Value in Tk. mn
93.49 37.25 35.05 26.94 24.74 24.46 22.87 19.51 17.39 17.14
51.21 362.02 130.89 287.29 26.72 19.22 104.09 112.34 41.20 6.46
Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight July 16-31, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Name of the Securities Pragati life Insurance Sunlife Insurance Company Limited Bd.Thai Aluminium National Feed Mill Limited Emerald Oil Industries Limited United Airways (BD) Ltd Tosrifa Industries Limited SEML Lecture Equity Management Fund Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Ind. Ltd.
A B A A A A A A
Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 78.90 18.40 23.10 19.00 37.80 5.50 19.90 10.10
Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 135.90 28.00 33.00 23.70 46.20 6.40 22.90 11.50
N
56.80
A
24.90
Category
Disclaimer: Dhaka Stock Exchange does not hold any responsibility for these date.
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Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 4.27 30.17 10.91 23.94 2.23 1.60 8.67 9.36 3.43 0.54
% of Change
Value in Tk. mn
(41.94) (34.29) (30.00) (19.83) (18.18) (14.06) (13.10) (12.17)
136.64 59.30 355.78 411.77 352.49 200.13 151.22 16.43
Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 11.39 4.94 29.65 34.31 29.37 16.68 12.60 1.37
64.60
(12.07)
338.65
28.22
28.30
(12.01)
277.54
23.13
Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight August 1-15, 2016) Name of the Securities
Category
MJL Bangladesh Ltd. Titas Gas Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited Lafarge Surma Cement Square Pharma Delta-Brac Housing BSRM Steels Limited BSC The ACME Laboratories Limited Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited
A A A A A A A A N A
Value in Tk. mn 1,512.01 1,461.23 1,078.14 999.21 981.03 911.31 905.80 838.09 824.84 757.30
Volume in Nos. 13,963,358 29,157,227 6,511,803 13,163,638 3,619,295 8,154,791 8,951,000 1,959,077 7,283,598 6,723,822
Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight August 1-15, 2016) Name of the Securities
Category
Titas Gas United Airways (BD) Ltd Uttara Bank Islami Bank NBL Alltex Industries Ltd. IPDC Keya Cosmetics National Feed Mill Limited Olympic Accessories Limited
A A A A A A A A A A
Volume in Nos. 29,157,227 26,962,898 21,421,702 20,387,228 19,576,228 17,915,905 17,420,286 15,953,057 15,743,372 15,469,963
Value in Tk. mn 1,461.23 155.67 508.82 653.28 177.11 359.45 547.74 186.33 326.35 364.80
% of total Value 3.46 3.35 2.47 2.29 2.25 2.09 2.07 1.92 1.89 1.73 % of total Value 2.78 2.57 2.04 1.94 1.86 1.71 1.66 1.52 1.50 1.47
Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight August 1-15, 2016) Sl. No.
Name of the Securities
Category
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ambee Pharma Gemini Sea Food Renwick Jajneswar & Co. (BD) Ltd. Beach Hatchery Ltd. Pharma Aids Prime Textile Sonali Aansh Alltex Industries Ltd. Envoy Textiles Limited Deshbandhu Polymer Limited
A A A B A A A A A B
Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 472.40 1,425.20 706.70 11.60 277.10 20.40 161.20 21.10 39.20 11.90
Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 328.10 1,105.60 558.60 9.60 230.40 17.40 137.60 18.10 33.70 10.30
% of Change
Value in Tk. mn
43.98 28.91 26.51 20.83 20.27 17.24 17.15 16.57 16.32 15.53
212.55 265.40 107.75 31.85 363.43 135.19 173.97 359.45 361.76 43.59
Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight August 1-15, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 195.90 8.40 8.20 10.10
Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 21.26 26.54 10.78 3.18 36.34 13.52 17.40 35.95 36.18 4.36
Name of the Securities
Category
National Life Insurance Peoples Leasing & Fin Services EXIM Bank 1st Mutual Fund SEML Lecture Equity Management Fund Vanguard AML BD Finance Mutual Fund First Bangladesh Fixed Income Fund Rupali Bank FAS Finance & Investment Limited Prime Islami Life Anlima Yarn Dyeing Ltd.
A Z A A
Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 160.00 6.90 7.00 8.70
A
8.70
10.10
(13.86)
15.83
1.58
A
6.40
7.30
(12.33)
3.22
0.32
A A A A
24.50 7.60 56.40 31.50
27.60 8.50 62.50 34.90
(11.23) (10.59) (9.76) (9.74)
32.03 15.27 27.65 157.89
3.20 1.53 2.76 15.79
% of Change
Value in Tk. mn
(18.33) (17.86) (14.63) (13.86)
46.14 49.05 9.02 14.29
Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn 4.61 4.90 0.90 1.43
Source: Dhaka Stock Exchange
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