ICE Business Times, November 2017 by ICE Media Ltd.

Contents TIMES

From the Editor

WORD OF MOUTH 08 State of Affairs 22 Happening 18 Digital Marketing Summit 106 International Health COLUMN 10 Shamsul Huq Zahid 14 Ask the Expert featuring SPECIAL REPORT 94 Present Condition & Future Prospects of Real Estate in Bangladesh by Muahmmad Ariful Islam FEATURES 76 The Ins & Outs of Homeloan 80 Striking the Right Chord 87 One Stop Total power Solution 88 Wiring the Prospects 100 Park Heights: Your New Business Address 102 BTI: Pioneering Bold Innovation 104 Unfolding Sophistication with Innstar 108 Crafting A Billion Dollar Success 116 Windows Phone: End of An Era 122 Capital Market Update

a global business magazine from bangladesh

Contents TIMES

TIMES

Vol. 8 No. 03 | November 2017

Publisher & Editor Director, International Publications Executive Director Managing Editor Sub Editor Business Development Manager Designer Business Development Finance & Accounts Sales & Distribution

: : : : : : : : : : :

Abul Khair Zeenat Chowdhury Nawshin Khair Tawhidur Rashid Ishrat Jahan Asaduzzaman Sk. Yeahhia Md. Nizam Uddin Forhad Mohammad Imran Md. Abdul Alim Md. Rubel Khan

This issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Photographs by Din M Shibly Kazi Mukul Mohammad Samiul Wares

Editorial & Marketing Queries INTERVIEWS 28 M Humayun Kabir 36 42 48 52 56 64 68 90

Former Ambassador

Mustaque Chowdhury, Ph.D.

tawhidur.rashid@ibtbd.net or send us a note at www.facebook.com/icebusinesstimes www.twitter.com/BusinessTimesBD

Be sure to visit our website www.ibtbd.net

Vice Chairperson, BRAC

Abrar A Anwar

CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, Malaysia

Alamgir Shamsul Alamin

President, REHAB

Dr. Toufiq M Seraj

Managing Director, Sheltech (Pvt) Ltd.

Md. Manwar Hossain

Managing Director, Anwar group

Mufakkharul Islam Khasru

Managing Director, Finlay Properties Ltd.

Kazi Golam Nasir

President, Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB)

Abu Sayeem Chowdhury

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, 01615732425, 01759391168, 01850824294, 01611227676 Tel: 02 55035336-8, 09666773313

Director, Baizid group

112 Md. Saiful Islam

President, Leathergoods And Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh

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

FROM THE EDITOR What's the future of Dhaka? A city that's teeming with people from all over the country for various purposes is, as many claims, on the verge of extinction. In the global livability index, our beloved city scored 38.7 out of a 100, a figure that is constant since 2011. In ranking, Dhaka is the 4th least livable among the 140 cities that made it to the list. Unplanned urbanization, pollution, one of the worst traffic conditions and above all an ever-expanding burden of the population have earned this 400 year old city all these negative points. Still, to tens of thousands of people, Dhaka is a city for fulfilling their dreams. Dhaka is the hub of all sorts of better opportunities - be it education, employment or entertainment. This is thanks to your reluctance to decentralization. In this issue of ICE Business Times, mavericks of the real estate, infrastructure, and construction industries echo the aforementioned facts and warn us about the impending doom that's waiting if the right steps are taken to save the city. The good thing is they also tell us that not all is lost. There are still avenues we can take to prevent our city from hurtling towards this tragic fate. Since the problems are multidimensional, the solutions won't be easy. A massive collaboration between different departments of the government; namely housing, planning, water management, etc. will be needed to implement several plans that can breathe new life into Dhaka. In a nutshell, these industry experts have mentioned several topics like sustainability, innovation, compliance, environment, and inclusiveness as some of the building blocks of a future, livable Dhaka. It gives us hope to know that various government projects are looking into the matter of conserving the environment and playing fields for children. The social aspect of architecture is gaining more and more traction in mainstream discussion. When it comes to town planning initiatives like Detailed Area Plan (DAP) will give us ample data about not only the surface of the land but also it's inner strength, risk factors associated with earthquakes, etc. We also came to know about the concept of vertical living which is becoming popular as there is a severe scarcity of lands in Dhaka. Innovation and quality building materials will be of huge demand to materialize that skyward growth of the city. In addition, realtors have mentioned the enormous possibilities of satellite township in the outskirts of Dhaka. Nevertheless, the question remains how feasible and attractive options those will be? It's the difficulty of commuting to and from Dhaka that compels people to look for an abode inside the city. Which is why, if we talk about satellite township, we must solve that connectivity problem Dhaka severely suffers from. Another important aspect of Dhaka which came into consideration was the exclusivity of housing facilities. It's relieving that the realtors have started thinking about middle and low-income people for whom existing home loan or installment facilities to buy an apartment were beyond imagination. With the guidance and financial allocation from the government, the private sector can fix this issue undoubtedly. This ultimately will solve the problem of lack of inclusivity in the housing facilities, be it public or private. We all want to see a future Dhaka which can be regarded as a great and livable city. Otherwise, all our hopes of having a developed nation will be nipped in the bud.

S TAT E O F A F FA I R S

Word of mouth Zunaid Ahmed Palak visited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with the Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) award. The ICT Division recently won â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Digital Government Award 2016â&#x20AC;&#x2122; in a ceremony at Yangon in Myanmar.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presiding over the meeting at Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The committee approved the 'Dhaka-Ashulia Elevated Expressway' project involving an estimated cost of BDT 16,901.32 crore aiming to ease traffic congestion in and around the capital. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presiding over the Cabinet meeting at her office. The cabinet has given final approval to the draft of the "Sheikh Hasina National Youth Development Institute Act, 2017" aimed at creating efficient manpower through giving necessary training and education to the youth.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presiding over the meeting at Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The committee approved the 'Development of infrastructures of countrywide rural bazaars' involving an estimated cost of Tk 1,730 crore to set up 520 rural bazaars across the country to facilitate marketing of farm and non-farm products.

Column

OUTPOURS OF THE PROPERTY BUBBLE BURST By Shamsul Huq Zahid A number of factors add to the current moribund state of real estate market; some are beyond the control of the builders and some self-made. The real estate sector first saw success back in the early 2000s. The increase in purchasing power and the emergence of the greater number of nouveau riche in the country led to a boom in the sector causing it to reach its peak during 2009-10. The overheated stock market back then also benefitted the real estate sector substantially. The success of any particular sector in Bangladesh generally attracts many players who want to benefit from the situation. The real estate sector was no exception. During that period an estimate of 100 new builders entered the market and took up highly cost-intensive projects. However, the existence of too many builders in the market later led to the abnormal hike in land prices, which led to an unsustainable market situation. The collapse of the stock market also came as a death blow to both the existing and new builders. Simultaneously, the property bubble burst and political conflict centering the general elections in 2013 and 2014 made the situation even worse. An increase in the figure of unsold flats and apartments has been observed from the early 2011 and rose to nearly 15,000 during 2015-16. However, this figure only included constructions that belonged to the members of the Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) and would have increased if other realtors were taken into account. The property bubble burst has forced the builders to lower their prices notwithstanding the fact that land price in Dhaka City continues to be high on an average. One of the major reasons to trigger this is the scarcity of land. Besides, the builders have been following a sluggish trend for their huge backlog of unsold apartments and flats.

The wait for the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Real Estate sector to turnaround appears to be a never-ending one. The expectation of people that is yet to be to be fulfilled, largely banks on the apparent political stability and price correction of property. Thanks to the unstable political situation, the Real Estate sector has seen a downturn in the period between 2012 and 2015. The scarcity of bank loans at affordable rates, highly fluctuating stock market and problems in attaining commodities like gas and power also contributed much to the low growth of this sector previously. Although a considerable improvement has been noticed in such factors in the later years, the real estate sector is still short in demand. The problem lies in the expectations of many who think that the apartments offered by the builders are over-priced and need further price-correction while builders claim it to be difficult to afford such a solution under the prevailing circumstances.

THE WRITER

I S A S E N I O R J O U R N A L I S T. H E C A N B E R E A C H E D AT ZAHIDMAR10@GMAIL.COM

C O L U M N S H A M S U L H U Q Z A H I D

In today’s context, it can be said that the situation has improved lately but not up to the desired level. The builders have tried engaging with their customers through housing fairs where flats and apartments are offered at a discount. However, the number of visitors has gone up, but no notable change was observed in the sales. Moreover, there exists an abnormal difference in property prices of different locations in Dhaka City. The sale prices of residential as well as commercial spaces in posh areas like Gulshan, Banani, and Dhanmondi are abnormally high compared to that of other areas. There is no denying that facilities and overall environment in posh residential areas are better than those in other parts of the city, but that cannot be the only justification for the high price. On the other hand, the small builders are now experiencing a good time as the demand for residential flats priced between Tk.3.0 million and Tk.6.0 million has gone up. The price of commercial spaces in Banani and Gulshan had remained stagnant over the years despite the bubble burst, whereas it has gone down significantly in other areas. The builders having saleable spaces in commercial localities like Motijheel and Dilkusha have also lowered their price level, but the number of takers remained the same. The various opportunities to invest undisclosed funds in real estate offered in the past budget also failed to buoy up the sector as a whole. The banks are now offering housing loans at a single digit rate of interest, which too, has not worked out as a feasible solution to the price issue regarding

The problem lies in the expectations of many who think that the apartments offered by the builders are over-priced and need further price-correction while builders claim it to be difficult to afford such a solution under the prevailing circumstances.”

residential and commercial spaces. While the problem with power generation is now over following the substantial improvement in the recent years, the availability of natural gas to households still remains a problem. However, people have now started depending on LPG cylinders for cooking and made peace with the unavailability of options. According to an estimate, nearly 3.5 million people are involved in the housing sector and its linkage sub-sectors as a whole. This sector makes a notable contribution to the gross domestic product of the country every year. Besides, a number of sub-sectors are dependent on it as well. Experts feel that the demand for flats and apartments should have gone up by now; as the banks are offering housing loans at interest rates as low as 9 percent and prices of apartments have fallen to half in real terms in many areas of Dhaka. The fall in inward flow of remittance for the last three years may have been one of the significant reasons behind the decline in demand of the housing sector. Investment in the real estate sector is one major choice for the Bangladeshi expatriates. Therefore, a downswing in remittance inflow is bound to have some impact on the demand of the housing sector. Another important factor, it seems, is the substantial rise in capital flight. The annual illegal outflow of funds from the country now hovers around $9.0-$10billion. An affluent section of the population is involved in transferring wealth illegally to invest abroad; a substantial part of which is invested in the real estate. For instance, the investment by Bangladesh nationals in ‘second home scheme’ in Malaysia is now known to all. The policymakers are yet to find out the reasons behind the abnormal rise in the flight of capital. Although, the increase in opportunities of attaining wealth illegally and the unwillingness of its holders to keep it at home, may have contributed much in this regard. The government has still not taken any effective measures to retrieve the outflow of funds through various means, including trade transactions, or restricting the illegal flow of funds abroad. Such circumstances might enable the policymakers to consider offering people, the opportunity to invest funds in real estate, without being queried upon by any agency. However, many economists would oppose the proposal for considerable reasons. But a move made might help stop a chunk of the illegal fund from flying abroad.

Ask the Expert

STEELING THE SHOW By Enamul Hoque

We have reasons to feel positive about emerging as a global player in the steel industry

Bangladesh has a proud heritage for the art of steel making and shaping for a long time. Even in the Pakistan period the largest steel mill of Pakistan was established at Chittagong in 1967. Currently more than 400 angladesh has a consistent economic steel factories are in growth over the last decade and operation, among which maintained an average GDP growth top 3 companies supplies more than 6%. According to the World more than half of the Bank forecast average GDP growth of nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand. Bangladesh in 2016-2018 will be 6.8%, Bangladesh has an which is much higher many countries estimated market size of in the world who boast to have better Tk 300 Billion in the steel economies than ours one. The sector and experiencing International Monetary Fund (IMF) has an upsurge in demand. recognized Bangladesh as the second Some steel demanding fastest growing major economy in the industries like ship world after India. Bangladesh building, automobiles, government has taken many initiatives home appliances etc. are to encourage the development of triggering the demand of infrastructure sector of the country to steel even more. become an industrialized nation, Bangladesh is considered moving forward from from its as one of the most agriculture and service based economy. densely populated The demand for steel will inevitably countries of the world grow in pursuit of achieving that goal. In recent years it has been observed that, and stands on 8th largest Bangladesh government has invested in the development of roads & highways, populated country. For its railway networking, power sector, Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and other huge population and facilities needed for industrialization. All these development activities are sure to scarcity of land area, boost up the steel industry. Bangladesh is in the need of vertical infrastructural growth for the housing. For this reason real estate and developer industry emerged in Bangladesh after 2000. Housing THE WRITER industry had a great boom in 2005-2010, but eventually it started to fall in is the Director of recent years due to the price hike of land and building materials; scarcity Marketing & Sales at of utility connection like gas and electricity, lack of reliability on the KSRM Steel Plant developer company, untapped middle and lower middle income group and Limited many other reasons. Even though domestic steel demand is growing depending on the individual initiatives. The growth of steel industry is driven mostly by government spending on infrastructure projects, which accounts for 40% of steel consumption in Bangladesh. Now the top steel producing country of the world is China with

THE WAY BANGLADESHI STEEL PRODUCTION CAPACITY AND DEMAND IS GROWING WE CAN HOPE THAT, IT WILL NOT TAKE TOO MUCH TIME TO HAVE A POSITION ON THAT

LIST. TOP

808MnT/year. Japan is in the second position with 104.08MnT, followed by India in the third position with 95.6 MnT. Ukraine positioned tenth with 24.2Mnt and Belgium owns twentieth position with the production of 7.7Mnt on the top 20 steel producing countries by World Steel Association (WSA)-2016. According to the projection of WSA, Bangladesh is going to have a 50% growth in steel production in 2017 compared to 2016. WSA also forecasts that Bangladesh will produce 4.5Mnt in 2017. The gap between the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top twentieth steel producing country and Bangladesh is narrow which is only 3.5Mnt. The way Bangladeshi steel production capacity and demand is growing we can hope that, it will not take too much time to have a position on that top 20 list. Bangladesh has one of the largest ship breaking yards of the world which is one of the major sources of raw materials of steel production. In addition to this, Bangladesh already positioned in number 8th in top most scrap importing countries of the world and 4th among the Asian countries. Bangladesh is now considered as a country of huge opportunity and a role model for countries with similar economic structures. Steel industry undoubtedly will play a vital role in that ballgame. This industry is not only helping to enhance the total GDP of the country, but also creating huge employment. In addition, some multinational steel producing companies are showing their interest and trying to avail land areas in Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to establish their steel manufacturing facilities, which shows glaring prospects of foreign direct investment in this sector. In conclusion we can say that with a better strategy from the private sector and policy and infrastructural support from the government, Bangladesh can emerge as a major player in the global steel industry.

BANKING CORNER

Word of mouth BRAC Bank Limited made a contribution of BDT 5 crore to the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund to help the Rohingya refugees under the initiative of Bangladesh Association of Banks Adeeba Rahman, ACII (UK), Chief Executive Officer (cc) of Delta Life Insurance Company Ltd. inaugurated the mobile application of the company, namely “Delta Life Smart Advisor”.

National Bank Ltd. Rajshahi branch, under the auspices of Bank’s special credit package ‘Daridro Mukti’ has arranged a program for lending credit facilities to the poor women farmers of Rajshahi district for buying calves on 18th October 2017.

Dhaka Bank Limited achieved the milestone of US$2.0 Billion (both import and export) in foreign trade business. In this connection, Central Processing Center (CPC) of the Bank celebrated the occasion through an event at Banani Club on last Saturday, October 14, 2017. Managing Director & CEO of the Bank Syed Mahbubur Rahman was present on the occasion. Among others, Md. Abu Jafar, DMD (IB); Syed Sazzad Haider Chowdhury, EVP & Head of Operations; Md. Aminul Islam VP & In Charge CPC/Trade Operations along with senior officials, Branch Managers and CPC Trade Operations executives and officers were present.

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B A N K I N G C O R N E R H A P P E N I N G

NRBC BANK OPENS 54TH BRANCH AT IMAMGANJ,DHAKA

HAPPENING

NRB Commercial Bank Limited has opened its 54th Branch located at Imamgonj, Dhaka on 23 October, 2017 with state of the art banking services. Honorable Directors of the Bank Loquit Ullah and Tamal S M Parvez jointly inaugurated the Branch. The inaugural ceremony was attended by Sponsor Shareholder Dr. Rafiqul Islam Khan, Deputy Managing Director Kazi Md.

Talha, Vice President Mohammad Mostahaque, Vice President Asif Ahmed and Branch Manager Muklessur Rahman. Among others Abu Taher Sarder, Managing Director of Taj Pastic Industries, Md. Farouque Iqbal, Member FBCCI and leading business personalities and local elites were also present on the occasion.

CEMS is going to organize the '21st Con-Expo Bangladesh 2017'; '19th Power Bangladesh Expo 2017'; '14th Solar Bangladesh Expo 2017'; '18th Real Estate Bangladesh Expo 2017'; & '2nd International Safety & Security Bangladesh Expo 2017' from 26 to 28 November 2017 at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB), Dhaka.

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Chef Marco Boscaini, the most celebrated Italian chef in Thailand and one of the leading chefs in the world for genuine rustic Italian cooking, is visiting Amari Dhaka from 2nd to 10th November 2017 for Italian Week.

State-owned finance provider Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) organized Housing Finance Fair-2017. The main objective of the fair was to bring all industries related to the housing sector under one roof.

The directors of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industries recently met Xiaojun Xia, General Manager of Chinese Sanhua Holding Group. Both the parties discussed about Chinese investment in Bangladesh and other bilateral business topics

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and United Nation Development Program (UNDP) jointly organized IMPACT BANGLADESH FORUM 2017 to discuss Private sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement and policy reforms as a key to achieve SDG

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GROWING FACETS OF DIGITAL MARKETING By Ishrat Jahan

Thanks to the digital world, the distance between countries has been eliminated now to a great extent, virtually, if not physically. Digital marketing has played a significant role in introducing and engaging the thriving brands of one part of the world to people of the other and exposed the generations to a better lifestyle. As the healthcare marketer Yacine Baroudi would quote, “Our digital future is about enabling better productivity and decision making to enjoy a better quality of life.” In an attempt to promote a platform where the marketing enthusiasts, professionals and digital marketers of tomorrow could engage in sessions that would bring out the best marketing practices, Bangladesh Brand Forum hosted the “The Digital Marketing Summit 2017” presented by Meghna Group.

The summit consisted of four keynote sessions held by Farhan Qureshi, Head of South Asian Frontier Markets at Google; Zaved Akhter, Director – Marketing Transformation at Unilever, South Asia; Dan Clarke, CEO & Founder, Disruptient and Sanjay Vaghasia, Chief Digital Officer at Banglalink Digital Communications Ltd.

SANJAY VAGHASIA, CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, BANGLALINK DIGITAL COMMUNICATIO NS LTD.

FARHAN QURESHI, HEAD OF SOUTH ASIAN FRONTIER MARKETS, GOOGLE Farhan is his speech focused on the importance of connectedness between pre and post-purchase activities of a brand using digital media. He further mentioned that with a lucrative population of 170 million, the internet penetration in Bangladesh would soon reach 80 million by 2020 which is currently at 40 million. This is an

excellent opportunity for the brands to explore, he mentioned. According to his research, 65% of the people prefer using mobile-friendly versions while ordering products. Thus, he suggested that brands should develop mobile-friendly sites along with the web-friendly versions to reach out to a greater audience. He also stated that long gone are the days when the promotion was limited to TV, cinema, and radios. Brands nowadays should get the best out of the new normals like YouTube and social media to increase their reach.

Sanjay Vaghasia expressed his views about how only 25% of the companies in our country have a clear understanding of the new or underperforming digital touchpoints. The speaker also mentioned the importance of brands to be aware of the changing trends in the market continuously and gave examples of failures of brands like Kodak and Blockbuster Cinema for the same reason. Vaghasia also put forward the growing facets of the e-commerce worldwide and how retail businesses must collide with an online platform to survive in the digitally growing world.

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ZAVED AKHTER, DIRECTOR – MARKETING TRANSFORMATION, UNILEVER

understanding consumer psychology and catering to it and with the existence of digital platforms it has become much more comfortable than before. Marketers must make the best of use of new platforms to derive benefits but should also work Zaved surprised the audience with his denial to better at understanding human psychology. This call this practice as digital marketing and instead referred to it as “marketing in a connected world.” will help them deliver the right product. His speech was followed by a small interview session He mentioned that marketing is all about with ICE business times where he answered the following questions. The FMCG industry includes many low involvement products. What kind of role can digital marketing play when it comes to engaging people to such products and services? As I mentioned earlier, it is all about understanding the consumer and marketing products in a connected world. A lot of our low involvement brands like ‘surf excel’ earn a considerable revenue for the company. Digital marketing can help brands to the reach the potential target base using an integrated system of both online and offline channels. It can also help us to enhance consumer knowledge about such products in a better way. Since you’re working as the Director-Marketing Transformation for Unilever South Asia, how well do you think is Bangladesh doing regarding digital marketing and what are its future? Bangladesh has been doing pretty well regarding digital marketing. In the past few years, a lot has been done by the brands to promote the products on a digital platform beyond the traditional practices. However, there is a lot more is still left to pick up. How is Unilever coping up with the change in the digital atmosphere? Our aggressive team has always been on the run to involve new technologies as we progress in a digitally changing atmosphere. South Asia has undergone a lot of changes in the way things operate here compared to how it was in the past. Unilever has been continuously monitoring these changes and coming up with practical ways to brand its products. The same can be said true in this case as well.

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In-Depth M. Humayun Kabir Former Ambassador

Behind the backdrop of radical Buddhist nationalism, the recent Rohingya genocide in Myanmar, witnessed by the world, demeaned all aspects of humanity. The fundamental orthodox belief that led to such an atrocity dismantled every bit of sanity amongst the homeless who are now residing at the very heart of Bangladesh. While various opinions about this crisis are spewed into the air, the world eagerly waits to see, what’s next? Deeply saddened by the situation, the former Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States (2007-2009), M. Humayun Kabir shares his viewpoints about such inhuman treatment of Rohingya community by the Myanmar government and military in an interview with ICE Business Times. Humayun, a career diplomat, had previously served as Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji (2006-07) and as an Ambassador to Nepal (2003-06). Retired with the rank of Permanent Secretary to the Government in 2010, Mr. Kabir sums up his basic judgment of the circumstances to us in this interview.

Analyzing the Rohingya Exodus

Substantial evidence exists regarding the Rohingya presence in Myanmar over centuries. But the military junta and government are set on ignoring them. What possible reasons, can exist behind this?

Well, a couple of things come to mind when talking about the recent atrocities unleashed against the Rohingya community by the Myanmar

authorities. As a matter of fact, the Rohingyas have been living in Myanmar from as early as the Mughal times for almost five to six centuries now. This, in itself, turns the Myanmar government’s claim of them being recent arrivals from Bangladesh, untrue. Besides, the Rohingyas have previously laid the foundation for many historic achievements in that part of the world, of which the Arakan kingdom is a shining example. Strong evidence of Muslim contribution in the Arakan kings’ court as recorded

by journals and publications of famous poets also validates their existence. The problem lies in the relentless efforts of the Myanmar government to redefine the region’s nationality matrix over the past 50 years. Although Myanmar initially emerged as an independent country with a strong commitment to civic nationalism, the nation started restating everything in the light of radical Buddhist nationalistic frame since 1962. The justification for such actions was articulated through the deliberate attempts to redefine the national identity, citizenship, and social processes for ethnic groups in Myanmar, of which Rohingyas www.ibtbd.net

radical Buddhist narratives have not only framed the Myanmar nationalism in the recent years but have also coloured the perception of the Myanmar society against the same Rohingya communityâ&#x20AC;? 30

are an essential component. The culmination of this process in recent years resulted in the manufacturing of the entire Muslim-Bengali immigrant agenda for the Rohingya community in Myanmar. The authorities have also taken several exclusionary measures in the past 30-40 years to deprive the legitimate rights of the Rohingya community, among others. In the year 1982, the Rohingyas were legally disenfranchised for the very first time, and certain rules and regulations were set up in an attempt to delegitimize their rights to citizenship. Moreover, since 2011 these radical Buddhist nationalists took full advantage of the open political system to promote their toxic and divisive agenda which weighed heavily against the Rohingya community. The consequence was the outbreak of series of communal violence against the community beginning in 2012. Recently, the Myanmarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Army Chief of staff mentioned that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;this is the time to finish the unfinished task of 1948.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; His comments clearly demonstrated the inner thoughts of the Myanmar military and elites towards the Rohingya community as a whole. Apparently ignored by the State Counsellor, the complete denial of genocide perpetrated by the military and Rakhaine militia gave these barbarous actions an artificial cover. Luckily, the international community did not miss the plot and saw this tragedy unfolding in the recent weeks. Besides, other underlying forces, such as the tension between the military and the civilian administration also influenced the current crisis. What makes us worried is that radical Buddhist narratives have not only framed the Myanmar nationalism in the recent years but have also coloured the perception of the Myanmar society against the same Rohingya community, who had previously fought for the independence of Myanmar and contributed vastly to its societal progress since then. In the name of clearance operations, the entire Rohingya community has now been subjected to inhuman atrocities and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the Myanmar military and their local allies. This has also resulted in the influx of half a million plus Rohingyas into Bangladesh within the short span of six weeks. This is a problem created by the myopic policies of Myanmar government, but unfortunately, the consequences of their thoughtless and cruel actions have fallen over Bangladesh. www.ibtbd.net

one can anticipate that a million people in distress, homeless and expelled from their home state, could be piled up in anger and eventually create security problems for both Myanmar and Bangladesh.â&#x20AC;? 32

Myanmar is attracting a lot of foreign attention and is set to become a business center with its booming economy soon. If the Rohingya crisis threatens to destabilize the country, what in your opinion can be the reason behind the government still allowing such atrocities?

Yes, Myanmar has been attracting a lot of attention in recent years, particularly after 2011. There has been an increase in the inflow of FDI in Myanmar and government needs to ensure stability to keep the foreign investors happy. It is possible that Myanmar authorities considered the Rohingyas as a threat and hence wanted to get rid of them through an extremist approach. A road map was already in place long before the current crisis unfolded. Muslims in general and Rohingyas, in particular, were excluded from participating in the political process, and the elections in 2015 did not have a single Muslim candidate nominated by any major political party. In parallel, legal initiatives added more to the humiliation process for the Rohingyas; in 2015 alone four discriminatory laws were passed against the Rohingya Muslims regarding their family size, the intermarriage between Buddhists and Muslims, separation or divorce in the Muslim family, etc. This might also be an attempt by the Myanmar government and military, made to create space for advancing their political ambitions of endearing themselves to majority Barman community, who looks down upon all minority communities, including the Rohingyas.

A recent news report suggested that Bangladesh will require additional development funds to provide better care for the refugees. What are your views on that?

Firstly, this is a problem triggered my Myanmar which needs to be solved by them. Unfortunately, Myanmar has diverted the responsibility upon us. So far, more than 500,000 Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh, and as you know, since 2012, 400,000-500,000 Rohingyas have already been residing inside Bangladesh which brings the total to roughly about 900,000 to 1 million. Now, on a moral point of view, the question remains that, why should Bangladesh bear such responsibility of feeding them and giving them a place to stay? However, it has still been doing it for so many years: since 1992 (when almost 30,000 plus Rohingyas were living in Kutupalong and Nowapara camp). We are not only taking that burden for the registered people but also of the unregistered ones. Thus, practically keeping the budget constraints in mind it wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the

www.ibtbd.net

right option to give shelter to more than 1 million displaced Rohingyas for an indefinite period. Again, from a humanitarian perspective, our country has given shelter to these people and taken the measures of providing them with the necessities like food and shelter to survive. However, I think it is also the responsibility of the international community to come forward and support Bangladesh in this noble cause since it is practically quite difficult for Bangladesh to keep doing it alone for too long.

recommendations of Annan Commission could be a good starting point for finding a sustainable solution for the Rohingya issue in Myanmar. The international community has also given similar advice to Myanmar government on several occasions.

As despicable as it may sound, can Bangladesh benefit from this situation in any way?

The humanitarian crisis that already exists from beforehand doesn’t allow Bangladesh to benefit from such a situation. Rather, one can anticipate that a million people in distress, homeless and expelled from their home state, could be piled up in anger and eventually create security problems for both Myanmar and Bangladesh. This has now also become an environmental burden on our country as the forests here are being destroyed. Besides, the local economy is also suffering from a number of negative consequences in this regard. A couple of recent reports speak of the labor wage depression in the areas that are constantly affecting the local economy. The Rohingyas, for instance, are taking up jobs at a lower rate making the local labor force unemployed. This can have a direct impact on our local economy. Furthermore, being a developing country, we also have our share of problems. Also, redirecting the resources for meeting the immediate needs of the Rohingyas is diverting us away from meeting the economic goals that we have

Redirecting the resources for meeting the immediate needs of the Rohingyas is diverting us away from meeting the economic goals that we have set for ourselves. “ International support is much needed to help feed and send these displaced Rohingyas back to where they belong. The international community’s responsibility firstly should be to ensure the Rohingyas residing in Bangladesh get some provisions which the country is currently trying to gather on its own. Secondly, they must influence Myanmar government, both the civilian and military leadership, to create an environment for the displaced Rohingyas to return to their homes and homeland with a sense of dignity and rights. The implementation of

set for ourselves. Therefore, supporting this cause is overburdening our situation, where there are very few incentives for us to continue with it. Sending them back to Myanmar to live as dignified citizens and giving them their rights of living in an environment of peace and harmony back, will help both Bangladesh and Myanmar to forget such anarchy and look forward to a friendship.

Some fear, a rise in militant activities with the rush of refugees in the country. Is this fear legitimate?

Well, as I have mentioned earlier, this situation has led to the rise of a tide of aggression inside the Rohingyas. They are frustrated and full of revenge. So, a rise in militant activity is possible. However, we haven’t come across any such information yet. But this cannot be denied that there are chances that these angry people can create difficult situations. Hence, from the national security viewpoint, we have made our teams alert about this from beforehand. When Muslims as a community are being persecuted, a kind of reaction is expected; although, we are glad that with the combined efforts of the government and the society, people are still very calm here. Besides, some motivated quarters may still exist and exploit the situation for narrow purposes. However, almost after six-seven weeks of this genocide, I am glad to say that Bangladesh has maintained its composure and communal harmony.

What would you say the international community should do to stop these atrocities in line? They could pair up to do

many things. For example, one of the agendas that came up in the discussion is that many countries have demanded that the Myanmar government should allow the media people to visit the affected areas – this is a point that would bring out the facts and figures. Moreover, the UN Human Rights Council had already set up a fact-finding mission last year, and the Myanmar government has not allowed it into the regional boundaries yet. Thus, a push can be given to ensure that the UNHRC fact-finding mission can operate in the Rakhine state and visit affected places to conduct an independent investigation to ascertain the nature of human rights violations and atrocities committed in that state. Besides, the General Assembly is also in session, and member states could adopt a resolution condemning the atrocities and demanding Myanmar government to take back the Rohingyas as soon as possible for assuring a peaceful settlement of this issue. We also expect the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution of enforcing the safe zone within Myanmar so that the Rohingyas who were sent to Bangladesh can return and the international community can ensure their safety and security within Myanmar itself. The international community may think of other measures as well. For instance, a number of countries investing in Myanmar should now review their investment portfolios, against the backdrop of systematic violations of human rights, unleashing violence against civilians, killing, arson, rape and such other crimes against humanity. Time has now come for the international communities to rethink their links with Myanmar.

Interview Mushtaque Chowdhury, PhD Vice Chairperson, BRAC

Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury is the Vice Chairperson and advisor to the Chairperson and founder of BRAC. He is also a professor of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York. During 2009-2012, he served as a senior advisor and acting Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation, based in Bangkok, Thailand. He also worked as a MacArthur/Bell Fellow at Harvard University. Dr. Chowdhury is one of the founding members of the two civil society watchdogs on education and health called Bangladesh Education Watch and Bangladesh Health Watch respectively. He is on the board or committees for several organizations and initiatives, including the Advisory Board of the South Asia Centre at London School of Economics, Lead Group for Scaling Up Nutrition Movement at United Nations and is the current chair of the Asia-Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health (AAAH). He is also the President of the Dhaka University Statistics Department Alumni Association (DUSDAA). Dr. Chowdhury was a coordinator of the UN Millennium Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health, set up by the former Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, along with Professor Allan Rosenfield, Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University, New York. Dr. Mushtaque had previously received the ‘Innovator of the Year 2006’ award from the Marriott Business School of Brigham Young University in the USA, the PESON oration medal from the Perinatal Society of Nepal in 2008 and Outstanding Leadership Award from Dhaka University Statistics Department Alumni Association. He has a wide interest in development, particularly in the areas of education, public health, nutrition, poverty eradication and environment. Dr. Chowdhury has published several books and over 150 articles in peer-reviewed international journals. A Ph.D. holder from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr. Mushtaque completed his MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA with Honors from the University of Dhaka.

Leading by Example

nominations from prominent people from across the world and decides on the winner from a shortlist of outstanding candidates. Recognition is the central aspect of it, but it carries prize money of $100,000, which will be donated to another charity of my choice.

You have been a development professional for forty years and have recently been awarded for your achievement. Please elaborate the details of this global recognition.

The award I received recently is called the “Medical Award of Excellence’ which is given annually by the US-based Ronald McDonald House Charities. Connected to the McDonald’s restaurant chain, the Charity was initiated in 1974 and has been providing

support for compassionate care to children and their families worldwide. As of now, it works in 64 countries serving over five million families annually. This award, initiated in 1990, was won by many eminent personalities in the past, including former US President Jimmy Carter, former US First Ladies Betty Ford and Barbara Bush, Queen Noor of Jordan, Tennis star Andrea Jaeger and Health Minister of Rwanda Agnes Binagwahu. I am probably the first South Asian recipient of this prestigious award, and I feel very proud about it. An Award committee invites

You’ve been a part of BRAC from its inception. Tell us something about its situation back then.

When I joined in 1977 as a statistician, BRAC had only been operating for five years with its headquarters located in a small office at Moghbazar in Dhaka. But the main activities were in the field, in the remote areas of Sunamganj district. Soon after joining I was sent to the Sulla Project in Sunamganj. BRAC had been carrying out community development activities in about 200 villages of the haor region since 1972. There were projects on health, family planning, nutrition, education, agriculture, and microcredit. All the projects were geared towards empowering the poor and women. As the haor population did not grow or consume many vegetables, one of the projects promoted its cultivation and www.ibtbd.net

use. My first assignment was to evaluate the outcome of BRAC’s vegetable promotion in the villages. I spent a week in different communities trying to understand what the project was all about and how the villagers accepted it. I developed a simple questionnaire and tested it as a pilot. I was a fresh graduate from Dhaka University, and my knowledge or experience of how to design such an evaluation was rudimentary at best. Ultimately the idea of evaluating this program was abandoned as there was no baseline to compare with. However, this failed exercise taught me about the value of experimental design and non-quantitative ethnographic methods in research. More importantly, this first trip to Sulla gave me an immense opportunity to learn about the problems that the poor and women faced in rural Bangladesh, particularly in the backward haor areas, and see how BRAC was trying to address them through innovative means. The villages where BRAC was working had a very low literacy rate, less than 20%. BRAC designed an innovative adult literacy program called functional education. Following Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educator-philosopher, a significant part of the technical education program was to make people conscious of themselves and their role in society. I was deeply moved and pleasantly surprised by seeing how BRAC was making poor women aware and empowered. I attended several village meetings in which I found the women very vocal and articulate in explaining how they were being exploited in the family and the society. I was convinced and impressed that BRAC was doing some fundamental transformational work in changing the rural community. Such Freirean work that we did in the 1970s and 1980s laid the foundation for BRAC’s work in the years to come. The transformation we see now in the lives of women in Bangladesh has had much to do with what other NGOs and we did during that time. After the Sulla trip, I was asked to work in BRAC’s second integrated project, Manikganj. Supported by EZE of Germany, the project required a baseline survey to be done. I spent three months in the project and devoted all my knowledge and energy to do a good survey. There was no looking back afterward. I initiated many studies including a survey on Gonokendra, a monthly development journal that BRAC was producing for primary school teachers with UNICEF support. At the

same time, I also started collaborating with a researcher at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) to do some sophisticated analysis of data that we had collected on family planning in Sulla. I used to spend my daytime in BRAC and evenings at BIDS working on the family planning data. The results were dramatic – Sulla had the highest contraceptive prevalence and continuation rates in Bangladesh. I realized that my role is not just about collecting data, but it is to make the work of BRAC known to broader development community within and outside the country. We then started giving attention to publishing the success (and failure) stories of BRAC through scientific publications. The family planning results were published in the BIDS journal, The Bangladesh Development Studies, in 1978. BRAC is an action organization but my first few years of experimenting with research led to the quick realization that there was an appetite for evidence and its use in the organization. My purpose in BRAC was already determined – to help BRAC become an evidence-based organization!

Tell us the story behind BRAC’s success.

The recipe behind BRAC’s success has always been its robust, dedicated and uninterrupted leadership. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, whom we fondly call Abed bhai, with his vision of a free and exploitation-free Bangladesh, has always been at the helm. He is a versatile genius with immense knowledge about everything. When I shared a draft report of the Manikganj baseline survey, my first output in BRAC, he took two days to read it. While giving his feedback, he asked me a few questions, which surprised me, of course very pleasantly. The questions he asked were about my use of different statistical methods and whether the use of specific other methods would strengthen the analysis. That was the day that I decided to stay in BRAC for the rest of my career and work with Abed bhai. I knew I would have the opportunity to learn and utilize my knowledge here directly. I sympathize with my many colleagues who did not get such opportunities to work with him directly. Many observers have attributed BRAC’s success to its exceptionally

efficient management system. The internal audit department, for example, employs nearly 300 staff. BRAC is large with almost one lac staff, but the management is sufficiently decentralized with a clear information sharing system in place between the field and headquarters. Observers have also pointed out BRAC’s continued and unfailing emphasis on women. Most of the program participants, be it in microfinance, education or health, are all women. BRAC believes in scale. If a solution is effective at a small scale, we feel it is an imperative to bring it to as many people as possible. ‘Small is beautiful but large is necessary,' as the saying goes in BRAC! BRAC’s programs are large and now reach about 120 million people, most of whom are in Bangladesh. BRAC works closely with the government but doesn’t shy away when needed to challenge any government action that BRAC thinks goes against the interest of the poor. BRAC also works in close partnership with the development partners. Some of the donors of BRAC have continued supporting it since its inception. BRAC has achieved such trust of our partners. The other distinguishing feature of BRAC is its insistence on sustainability. BRAC has been establishing enterprises since the 1970s. The enterprises support its development programs and generate a surplus for use in other development activities. 80% of the $1 billion annual budget of BRAC is generated internally. BRAC is often its fiercest critiques. The investment in research and evaluation has made BRAC one of the very few evidence-based NGOs globally. And last but not the least is BRAC’s continued commitment to its purpose. It has remained true to its goals but has changed course and strategies based on the changing needs of the poor and the national and global realities.

What is the reason behind the success of NGOs in Bangladesh?

The War of Liberation has brought a massive change in the mindset of the people of Bangladesh. Most of the large NGOs such as BRAC and Gonoshasthaya Kendra are the direct fruits of the War. The NGOs

made good use of the changed mindsets. The prestigious medical journal Lancet has recently published a full series of articles on Bangladesh’s progress. Interestingly, one of the reasons attributed to this success is the Liberation War. The promotion of family planning is cited as an example. Before the war, conservatives created obstructions against family planning. However, after liberation, the conservatives were defeated along with their viewpoints, and others were free to live based on their own beliefs and philosophies. The work of NGOs and, of course, the government has led to the family planning revolution in the country. This social reform brought by the liberation war was hastened by NGOs whereas such improvements are not visible in Pakistan or India. In case of sanitation, on another example, Bangladesh has done tremendously well. The rate of open defecation in Bangladesh is 1% compared to India’s 50%. Bangladesh has I realized that my role worked in a similar direction is not just about from the 1970s collecting data, but it is and created a base, which is still to make the work of contributing to BRAC known to issues such as broader development family planning, sanitation, and community within and microcredit. The outside the country. NGOs are still working to empower and make people conscious, and I believe this has contributed significantly to their success in the country over time.

What social impacts do the “Ultra poor” and “Adolescence Girls Club” projects run by BRAC have on the society?

BRAC’s program on ultra-poor focuses on the bottom 10 to 15% of the population in poverty scale. They do not have access to microfinance. Initiated in 2001, this program offers a package of interventions including participatory identification of the ultra-poor families, transfer of assets such as cows, goats, chickens or small grocery shops, training on how to take care of the assets, and coaching. We also give them a stipend so that they can concentrate in rearing the assets, as well as health services. Till date, we have been able to reach around 1.7 million families. According to research studies done by the London School of Economics, the participant family members have continued their upward march to earning more income and assets and improving the nutritional status of their children. Experiences suggest that 95% of the participants are able to graduate out of

ultra-poverty within two years and gain access to microfinance and other market-based poverty reduction tools. In 2004, the Ford Foundation and the World Bank replicated the model in ten countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America, which produced similar positive results as Bangladesh. At present, this model is being implemented in 40 other nations of the world. This is an example of how a model developed by BRAC in Bangladesh is being used to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally. BRAC Adolescence Girls Club model has also been replicated in many countries where BRAC works. In Uganda, for example, thousands of Ugandan adolescent girls are participating in over 1200 such clubs. Research done by the London School of Economics found that participation in adolescent clubs has resulted in higher use of family planning and in lowering fertility rate. This is quite significant in a society where the large family (with 6+ children) is a norm. A vast social change is being ushered in the process.

What measures have you taken concerning the health sector?

Bangladesh has done reasonably well in recent years in improving the health status of its population. This has been possible because of selected public health programs are undertaken by the government and NGOs. Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) program done by BRAC is a good example. Other successful programs include immunization, tuberculosis and family planning. However, there are other issues in the health sector that need to be addressed to reach the SDGs. These include non-communicable diseases such as cancer, hypertension, and diabetics, etc. which is responsible for 65 percent of deaths nowadays. To address such issues we need to have a good health system and definite and sustained steps towards ensuring Universal Health Coverage (UHC). We are currently working on some areas including maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), TB, nutrition, primary health care, eye care, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), malaria, etc.

BRAC has a significant contribution in the country’s educational sector. What new things is your organization planning to bring forward in this regard?

The literacy rate in Bangladesh has gone up over the years, but effective literacy is still not more than 50%. BRAC is doing its part of bringing children to schools. Fortunately, almost all children are enrolled in schools but, unfortunately, many drops out before passing the primary level. The transition from primary to secondary is low. The quality of education remains a major issue. BRAC is experimenting new ways of financing primary and secondary education. We are also in the forefront of using modern technology in classrooms, and in instruction and this respect, we are working closely with the government. We are also experimenting new models of delivering early childhood education from birth to age 5. The BRAC University has already become a major destination for the new generation. It is one of the top universities in the private sector. In a recent rating, BRAC University is third in Bangladesh after Dhaka University and BUET. The University’s School of Public Health is attracting students from over 25 countries of all the continents.

What is the future of prospect of the Bangladesh economy?

Like most Bangladeshis, I am very optimistic about the future of Bangladesh. The poverty situation has improved significantly – proportion of population poor has declined from about 60% in the 1980s to less than a quarter now. This, however, means that 40 million of our citizens are still poor by any standard! This is unacceptable. The recent HIES released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics shows some alarming trend. The gap between the rich and poor is growing very fast. In 2010, the poorest five percent of the population had 0.78% of the national income, which has now reduced to 0.23%. On the other hand, the share of the wealthiest five percent population has increased from 24.6% to 27.9%. There is no alternative to shared growth.

exclusive Interview Abrar A. Anwar

CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, Malaysia

Abrar A. Anwar joined the Standard Chartered Bangladesh in 2011 as Head of Corporate & Institutional Clients. Abrar has more than 25 years of experience in Corporate and Investment banking in Bangladesh, India and the UK. With an MBA from IBA, his achievements include setting up the first â&#x20AC;&#x153;Syndication & Structured Financeâ&#x20AC;? business in Bangladesh (for the then ANZ Grindlays Bank), along with the successful closure of milestone transactions in the Energy & Power, Infrastructure, Telecom, Aviation, Domestic and Export-oriented industries. Before joining Standard Chartered Bangladesh, he was the Managing Director & Head of Global Corporate & Commercial Banking, Citibank NA, Bangladesh and Head of Specialist Finance & Advisory Services, ANZ Grindlays Bank. Recently posted as the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Malaysia, Abrar A. Anwar was the Chief Executive Officer of SCB, Bangladesh since January 2015. In an exclusive interview with ICE Business Times, he shared his experience as a banker, how he envisions the banking of tomorrow and why he wants to come back to Bangladesh.

Making of a Global CEO

How did, the aspiration of becoming a CEO someday, nurtured your personality as a whole?

Tell us about your journey of switching from a science background to a business one. I was a science student back in school and college. However, I took up commerce later and graduated in the year 1987. Afterwards, I completed MBA from Institute of Business Administration (IBA) started

off with the banking profession in 1991 as a management trainee in ANZ Grindlays Bank. Probably, I preferred being a business professional rather than becoming an engineer or a doctor because of my father, who was a CEO of a multinational company, Reckitt & Benckiser had a greater influence on me back then. Although, I can now say it was indeed a turning point in my life.

Initially, when I entered the bank as a management trainee in 1991, I aspired to reach higher. It was one of my dreams to become the CEO of one of the most renowned banks in the country. I continuously worked on everything starting from my skills, organization adaptability and started taking up more challenges now and then. It enhanced my learning opportunities as well as demonstrated ways of operating in a changing environment. This is what made me took up the Investment Banking opportunities abroad and www.ibtbd.net

I realized that if only I can solely transform and bring these products to our markets, it will add new dimensions to our work. Therefore, I established investment banking and came up with many innovative solutions immediately on my return to Bangladesh.â&#x20AC;? move outside Bangladesh to India and UK in 1997 and 1998 respectively. Afterwards, I came back and opened a corporate banking wing. Working in the global market added much to my learning, and I learned that there were a plethora of advanced products in the outer world, yet to be introduced in our country. I realized that if only I can solely transform and bring these products to our markets, it will add new dimensions to our work. Therefore, I established investment banking and came up with many innovative solutions immediately on my return to Bangladesh. The introduction of corporate investment, project financing, and merchandise exhibition in this country added much to my standing as I could contribute a little in changing the landscape of financial sector of this country through this.

Strategically our geographical position and also the growing population of the demographic dividends in our country makes it a quite lucrative market for investment. Where does Bangladesh stand in the future if these factors are to be considered? I believe that our population is not a liability but an asset, provided we could drive that young generation into

productive activities. Talking about the demographic dividend, 75% of our population is in the bracket of 35 years, and if we are to lean on this, Bangladesh has a vast potential. On the other hand, if industrial demand and the working capacity of the population are to be considered, this is where we have a comparative advantage. However, the biggest challenge now lies in the development of the skills of this massive population. Therefore, it is vital to invest in infrastructure development in the next 10 to 15 years to create viable employment opportunities. Ensuring an investment-friendly business climate--which encompasses many things such as a legislative environment, infrastructure, trained and skilled human resources-would enable Bangladesh to prosper in the long run. To come to think of 10 million migrant working abroad and they are the backbone behind the 15 billion dollar remittance that is helping us build reserves on top of the export growth. If we look at the readymade garment industry, 82 % of the export pie, a figure of around 4 million women are behind this working practice. They are not only supporting the households but aiding the backward linkage of the industry as well. Thus, it can be said that all of this was possible for the lucrative demographic dividend that exists in our country. I would say that opportunities reside alongside challenges in our market so our strategy should aim to transfer the obstacles into opportunities.

If we are to talk about structured finance, the contribution of the stock market is very low in our country. We only have stocks and bonds but lack the derivative. How can we introduce such derivatives into the local market?

Only 15% to 16% of our GDP comes from the stock market whereas comparably the figure is 100 percent or two times the GDP in many other countries. This indicates that a lot of listed companies are now approaching the capital market for raising funds and that the demand for it is increasing. Capital market also plays an essential role in other emerging or more developed economies in the world. These economies are not bank led; as for large-scale investment we need the capital market, and banks can be considered for commercial market. Furthermore, new derivative and other things are yet to enter our market. Currently, if you look at the capital market, 20% of comes from the institutions and 80% from the retail. The entry of institutional players into the market will help it flourish and the analytics brought by them, then, will push the management or board of the companies to be well-governed. There is no doubt that we will soon reach an inflection point when mega projects will rush in, and most of the corporates will be looking for funds, for which capital market will be the solution.

A number of 58 banks exist in our country currently. Do you think the number of existing banks exceeds its market size? Despite the exciting number of available banks, it is a matter of fact that a large part of the population is still unbanked. Thus, it is essential to address this unbanked population. Maybe there are many banks but which bank will survive in the long run depends on how efficiently they run their balance sheet and on the amount of workforce they can train, retain and motivate to contribute in a meaningful way to the banking sector.

What sort of challenges and risks are we exposed to in modern day banking and how have you tackled such problems as it occurred during your time as a CEO? A lot of challenges reside in the banking sector which requires you to have a diversified workforce. The team under my guidance has helped me much to deal with adversities over time and tackled the challenges efficiently in respective areas of concentration. We have had specialists who helped out with technical things while I led their way. One such challenge the industry faced is the obvious impact of the geopolitical

What are your views on online banking and mobile banking?

Online banking, mobile banking or any other new concept needs to be regarded as an opportunity instead threat. Banks will exist alongside the technological advancements we invent or choose for our financial transactions. Tomorrow's world will be data-driven and understanding data with proper analytics will help us fathom the consumer behavior. Since everything is heading towards automation and with the rise of concepts like Artifical intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), we must be ready to adapt to the changes. I firmly believe

The exposure, empowerment, and freedom that employees get from this bank give them the opportunity to expand their thought horizon and enable them to innovate within their boundaries.” situation in the country. For instance, the change in the geopolitical situation of Europe and US engagement in Bangladesh made it more externally exposed to risks. As an exchange regulated economy, so far we have not been exposed to the 2007-2008 financial crunch and Asian crisis of 2009. Moreover, different kinds of risk exist in a bank internally among which the increase in Non-Performing Loan (NPL) is called the credit risk. Apart from the credit risk, there are many other risks like cyber security, money laundering, and terrorist financing or financial crimes.

that banks will remain at the core of the entire financial eco-system even though one-day paper money may become a thing of the past.

You are also representing ANZ Grindlays’s generation of leading bankers. What is the recipe for the bank’s production of so many successful bankers?

Banks are a people-centric business, and I believe one of the primary reasons behind our production of successful bankers is the way the human resources are nurtured here over time. The exposure, empowerment, and freedom that employees

get from this bank give them the opportunity to expand their thought horizon and enable them to innovate within their boundaries. Furthermore, employees here are exposed to a challenging environment which helps them to tackle bottleneck situations and any other challenges thrown upon. Grindlays refers this to as adding value as it develops a drive in individuals, helping them to maximize their potentialities. Besides, such an environment also allows employees to grow leadership capabilities and thus, Grindlay makes the best use of the opportunities to produce leaders.

As we look back in time, what according to you led to the success of Standard Chartered Bank in Bangladesh under your influence? As I look back, I think one of my most significant achievements is that I am leaving behind a top-notch team here. I was here for seven years out of which I have worked three years as a CEO. It is no doubt that Bangladesh franchise is one of the best franchises of our group and it feels great to recall how our challenges and performances have been recognized. My greatest satisfaction lies in the way we have successfully managed to satisfy our clients and maintained a right image as a universal bank over our years of operation in this country. We have served customers in all the sectors, be it retail or corporate. During my time as a CEO, our team has incessantly tried to engage the clients and customers with our offerings and prioritized the needs of our human resources. This, I

think, is what led to the success of our bank over the last few years.

You have so far come up with a lot of new products and working practices in the banking industry. Is there any piece of advice from your side that the next generation can reflect upon?

One thing I have always believed is that nothing in this world is impossible, you just have to keep learning. Today’s young generation is exposed to a vast sphere of opportunities that weren't available previously. With everything at their fingertips, the generation must learn to utilize the existing opportunities and develop themselves as much as possible. There is a high need of interpersonal skills to establish a network consisting of clients, customers, peers; anyone aspiring to become a high-achiever should master those skills.

Whom have you drawn inspiration from to go ahead with your banking career?

I have come across many leaders who have guided me on many occasions. If I am to name a few, ace bankers like Rumee Ali, Anis A Khan, Kazi Mahmood Sattar, and Shafiqul Alam are the people I look up to.

Do you want to come back to Bangladesh after finishing your job abroad?

Definitely. My roots are here, and I aspire to return as a more experienced person. All this is a part of my learning that I wish to utilize it, someday, in my own country.

Interview Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal) President, REHAB Director, Shamsul Alamin Group

Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal), the second son of a legendary businessman late A. K. Shamsul Alamin is taking the lead as the President of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB). He is also the Director of The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). Alamgir Kajal is an eminent personality and leads as the Director of other business units like S.A Spinning Mills Ltd., Fuad Spinning Mills Ltd. ALENCO Limited, Global Source & Consulting Ltd., Shoppers World Ltd., Akash IT Limited, Samco Retails Ltd., OKARA Auto Bricks Ltd. He also holds shares in companies like Sonar Bangla Insurance Company Ltd. (PLC ); Pioneer Insurance Ltd.( PLC )., Alfa Islami Life Insurance Ltd., Marker Pharmaceuticals Ltd., and Alamgir Trading. This notable personality completed his education from the United Kingdom. However, on attaining a BBA from the USA, Kajal along with two of his brothers joined the family business in 1990 and instilled new values and ethical practices to take them to the next level. With its expertise in textile, SAG Group started its journey back in 1958 and completed 60 years in the business with exceptional records. Shamsul Alamin Real Estate successfully entered the market with the promise of delivering better homes for a better life.

Building at the Core of Customer Satisfaction

What is your primary motivation behind having ethical business practices?

Even though some of the ethical standards are hard to comply with, SAG has always been following such business practices. We try to work within the framework produced by the government and have thus, managed to retain customers over an extended period both locally and internationally. Our loyal consumer base has what made us stick to such ethical practices, and we strive to deliver them with better products every passing year.

How many sectors is your group currently looking after? Our primary business is textiles. But we do have other units like real estate. We are also the shareholders of a few leasing companies, export, and import and have a retail business like Shopperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World. So, it is a diversified business entity.

Shamsul Alamin Group (SAG) group has a business legacy of 60 years. Elaborate on the dynamism you and two of your brothers have brought into the business for the past three decades?

My father started the business back in 1958 in an environment, which had many challenges ahead. There were 22 families in the business, and the Pakistani government suppressed most of the Bengali businessmen who searched for opportunities but were deprived of their rights. However, my father with other Bangladeshi entrepreneurs

fought against the regime to develop their enterprises. Our business previously exported textiles, leather goods, and tea overseas in countries like Russia, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. My father created not only a business legacy but also a brand name. The name I inherited that exposed me to a lot of opportunities wherever I went. I joined the company 28 years back, a year after which my father retired. Since then, the three of us, my elder brother being the chairman and the younger one is the Director of Finance, have been continuously trying for almost three decades to bring in new ideas and nurturing whatever our father left for us.

You entered real state with a promise to provide better homes for a better life. How far have you been able to live up to that?

Housing is one of the primary needs of people. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commendable that our honorable Prime Minister is trying to reduce the infrastructural lacking and providing affordable housing for a living. More than 1200 of our members are working hand in hand to fulfill her commitment. With a strong marketing policy, REHAB is trying to develop a sector that is environment-friendly and caters to the needs of the society. Providing affordable housing is what stands at the core of our operations. We have been trying to bridge the gap between the social statuses of different classes to offer affordable living since inception and would continue to do so in the future. www.ibtbd.net

REHAB is amongst the front ranking and well-resourced associations which can strongly influence the government policy. What challenges are you are facing to maintain the interest of different stakeholders in this sector?

We are delivering 10,000 units on an average every year. A lot of changes have been brought to Dhakaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skyline thanks to REHAB, and vertical living was also first introduced by our members. However, we lack a good rapport with RAJUK. Although, both the entities are working to sort the differences; it is difficult to operate when RAJUK is a competitor as well as a regulator alongside. The past trends speak that the land that they previously handed over to individuals in Purbachal at a price of Tk 22 lacs costs the developers more than a crore to acquire. This high rate is ultimately passed on to the customers. Thus, RAJUK should not develop apartments and hand it to individuals, but can acquire lands and pass it to the realtors for further processing. Since Bangladesh faces land scarcity, properties must be disseminated amongst developers. Moreover, we are a country of 160 million people and providing them with food security is our priority. Thus, to achieve all those, it is essential to building vertical living opportunities.

Dhaka has a unique topography and is surrounded by all the necessary space to build Satellite Township. Why are we still lagging behind?

Satellite city is not a one-day process; it involves a lot of things. To build a satellite city, the crucial factors in the scenario are infrastructure, road connectivity, access to electricity and availability of energy. The government must encourage the initiative of building roads, culverts, and bridges which can link the citizens to the satellite town. Only then a project as such will be profitable. There is no doubt that every day thousands of people are migrating to Dhaka because of the better jobs and living facilities. However, it is

The government must encourage the initiative of building roads, culverts, and bridges which can link the citizens to the satellite town. Only then a project as such will be profitable.â&#x20AC;? imperative to build satellite towns to reduce the pressure of the overgrowing population from the city. We can draw inspiration from the satellite town in Gurgaon, India made by Delhi, which has been possible only using the highway that connected the two places. REHAB has already initiated a project in Kalshi and land has been provided by the National Housing Authority (NHA), and two of our other members have committed to the construction which is a pilot project. Once we complete the pilot project, we plan to do more with the government on the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) basis and develop affordable house projects for middle-class people.

Due to the real estate sector, the home loan opportunities in the market have grown over the years. What else can be done in this context? REHAB demands that the government must fix a flexible home loan policy. Recently, we did an exhibition in collaboration with the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC). The exhibitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main idea was to inform our customers that home loans can be availed at a single-digit rate over a period of 25 years. We have negotiated with the government over the past few years and put forward the idea that without flexible home loans the middle-income group will not be able to purchase a residence. Thus, other financial institutions like Delta BRAC Housing (DBH), Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), National Housing, International Finance Investment and Corpora-

tion Bank (IFIC) and even Sonali Bank are coming up with such solutions. Maybe you are also aware of the fact that REHAB is demanding a special fund from the institutions that will be available to the borrowers for a long term. However, the approximate time for home loans must be 25 years. We have vouched for a special fund of around Tk. 20,000 crores which will be utilized by the institutions. Unfortunately, this decision is still under process, despite the pressure from the housing ministry itself.

Since Real Estate is providing durable products into the market, it is vital for the realtors to balance, between maintaining compliance with regulators and coming into negotiable terms with the service providers, in a market where price is competitive. How are you meeting both ends? Well, our efficiency has made us meet both ends. We are moving at a fast pace when it comes to acquiring lands. We are giving people quality products and negotiating the price about that. This will help us benefit in the long run. Also, it is essential to provide the right kind of apartments for the right areas. Our range of work stretches from locations like Uttara, Baridhara, Mirpur, Kakrail, Shantinagar, Gulshan and Banani and we work for both the high end as well as mid-income level clients.

Do you have a plan of making any high rise residential area? We are building a high rise project but the buildings there are mostly commercial. We have done a similar one in Shyamoli which is also a commercial-residential project.

What is your future goal?

Our company is always devoted to providing consumers with their desired satisfaction. We want to continue with this motto and keep coming up with various solutions for affordable living.

Interview Dr. Toufiq M. Seraj Managing Director, Sheltech(Pvt.) Ltd.

Changing Aspects of the Real Estate Environment Dr. Toufiq M. Seraj is the Founder Managing Director of Sheltech (Pvt.) Ltd. and its associated companies. An engineer and urban planner by profession, Dr. Seraj obtained his Ph.D. in Civic Design from the University of Liverpool in the UK as a Commonwealth Scholar. Earlier he completed his Masters and Bachelor degree from BUET. He also held academic positions there. Dr. Seraj has extensive professional experience in Real Estate Development, Construction, Management, and Planning Consultancy. He has a wide range of publications including several books on Town Planning, Housing, and Real Estate makes him one of the most prestigious personalities in this sector. Besides Real Estate, Dr. Toufiq is also involved in other businesses which include Consultancy, Hospitality Industry, Construction of Industrial Buildings, Manufacturing of Concrete Products and Ceramic Tiles. He was also the former President of Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) and the President of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) for three consecutive terms.

Three decades ago the annual delivery of apartment was less than 100 units, which has now soared up to 10,000 units. It can be seen that this incredible achievement in the real estate of Bangladesh is mostly private sector driven. What is your observation on this? The economic development in Bangladesh has had an

enormous impact on the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real estate sector. This industry goes through a cycle in every country. Our neighboring country has reached the peak of this period 5 to 10 years ahead of us. For instance, Thailand was once a very congested city with enormous traffic on the roads, and Kolkata was no different either. However, from our independence till now Kolkata has survived many hurdles and attained a better position than before. If we are to talk about

Dhaka, the population density in this city has increased tremendously from 1972 till 2017. Such population pressure on a single city is rarely observed in this world. Back in the early 80s housing was a huge problem in Dhaka which led to the entrance of private sector in real estate, sometimes in the middle of this decade. During that era, only three to four operators namely Eastern Housing, Ispahani, BTI and Property Development reigned the market. Sheltech commenced its operations in 1988 and then came the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) in 1991. Initially, REHAB only consisted of 8 to 9 signatories amongst which I was one. Today, the official figure of delivered www.ibtbd.net

apartments has gone above 10000, and the demand for it in Dhaka is approximately 50,000 units each year. Around 2000 companies are operating in the market. Of those, the first 100 companies, it can be noted that the first 20 companies in the industry deliver half of the total units of apartment sold each year with the remaining 80 firms providing the rest 50% of the apartments. Some non-institutional developers also exist in the scenario, but the delivery of the next 1900 companies is entirely negligible to that of the first 100 and has a figure of about 4 or 5 units in a year. However, the pace of delivery has slowed down to a great extent in the past two years due to the sluggish trend in the real estate sector and only businesses, operating for more than 15 years are doing well. Ethics and timely delivery are other factors that have contributed to their success and made the sector come a long way.

It is observed that a lot of compliance issues arise in this sector as it has a lengthy backward linkage. What can be done in regards to this?

Initially, every business faces a few limitations in the market in which it is operating. Compliance issues from the design or construction point of view in our country are mainly raised by the Bangladesh National Building Codes (BNBC). A lot of companies claim that they abide by those regulations, but no strict monitoring is done to ensure that. The regulatory bodies, in this case, must place an effort towards making the real estate industry more compliant and enforce businesses to increase efficiency and human resources. This may require a lot of work to be done within a rigid timeline.

Modern day living and urbanization are interrelated with vertical living. New trends and architectural development have also contributed to the adaptation of this style of living.”

Vertical living has become quite popular in our country recently. What is the motivating factor behind it and how exactly are you tapping into the potentials of this new trend?

I feel it is the scarcity of land that made vertical living come into existence. The soaring price in Dhaka city has limited the procurement of property only to the elite class of people unless someone from the lower or middle-income group inherited or was allotted one. It has become quite unimaginable to own a 0.09 to 0.15 acres (3 to 5 Kathas) of land in 2017, and this isn’t by choice. With the growing

consciousness, Dhaka has now become a metropolitan city, and people here don’t have the time to manage property-related hassles. Modern day living and urbanization are interrelated with vertical living. New trends and architectural development have also contributed to the adaptation of this style of living. Our research and development department has been working very hard. Besides, our projects are the creations of our fully-fledged design and technical team. Our highly competent team of professionals includes architects and planners who work incessantly to come up with new ideas. Amongst many of our other projects, we have successfully met the compliance standards in the Mirpur Mazar Road. Dhaka is continually going through a transformation and a lot more changes are about to happen.

We have a surplus of land surrounding the outskirts of Dhaka where Satellite Township is possible. Why aren’t we heading in that direction yet?

I believe we have miserably failed to show the required farsightedness back in 1972. Dhaka Metropolitan Area Integrated Urban Development Plan (DMAIUDP) published in 1981, but we failed to implement the proposal. After that, the plan titled Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (1995-2015) in three tiers like structure plan, urban area plan, and detailed area plan has some directives. However, considering the long time horizon in Bangladesh, many may have had doubts about the feasibility of implementing such programs. If we are to think of Satellite Township, it’s high time that we should move out of the political boundaries and work on implementation alongside planning. However, Purbachal might be a success story.

How is the support from banks and other financial institutions helping to boost the growth of this sector?

Previously, Delta BRAC Housing Finance Corporation (DBH) and other lending agencies had a lending interest rate of about 18%, which has now dropped down to a single digit. Moreover, in comparison to that of 2010, the price of an apartment has gone down by an impressive 20% in the year 2017. This is a lucrative opportunity for the clients, as it requires them to pay a lot less interest on the borrowed sum than they used to and enabled them to invest more in buying an apartment. Such support from banks and financial institutions can boost further development of Real Estate sector in the long run.

What is your take on urban planning?

There is a lack of city governance in Bangladesh. The utilities in major cities like London or New York are mostly governed by the City Council. In our case, the Local Government Rural Development (LGRD) ministry has no monitoring over the utility serving organizations. We are hopeful that the

The regulatory bodies, in this case, must place an effort towards making the real estate industry more compliant and enforce businesses to increase efficiency and human resources.â&#x20AC;?

development of metro rail and other scopes in communication will add new dimensions to urban planning. However, it is equally important for us to practice the existing laws and implement the new changes that will be brought to the current Detailed Area Planning (DAP).

Where do you see the Real Estate sector of Bangladesh in the future?

We have progressed a lot since the past ten years. Many useful amendments have been brought in the laws and regulations lately. It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t only the price of land that has gone down, but our stakeholders have also been directed to the development and implementation of compliances. Monitoring of such measures along with media assertions for raising consciousness in this regard would do a great deal to develop the sector in the long run. www.ibtbd.net

Interview Manwar Hossain

Group Managing Director Anwar Group of Industries (AGI)

Manwar Hossain is the Group Managing Director of Anwar Group of Industries (AGI), the oldest business entity of Bangladesh. Born in 1968, Manwar Hossain is the eldest son of Al-Haj Anwar Hossain and Bibi Amena. Anwar Hossain, Chairman of AGI, is a self-made business legend of Bangladesh. Following his father’s death, Anwar Hossain joined the business at a very early age. Manwar Hossain grew up carrying his father’s attaches in his early childhood and was sent to St. Paul’s School Darjeeling, India under the tutorship of Harry Dang, once teacher to Indian Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Later, he went to the University of New Hampshire, USA and completed his MBA in 1992. Manwar joined the family business in 1993 after his short services with BAY Bank in the USA. Elected as Vice Chairman of the City Bank Limited, Manwar Hossain was one of the youngest persons to hold a position of that stature. Chairman of BD Finance & Investment Company Ltd., Manwar Hossain is also the Director of Modhumoti Bank Ltd., BD Finance Securities Ltd., BD Finance Capital Holdings Ltd., and City General Insurance Company Ltd. Anwar group has a legacy of 184 years, boasting great entrepreneurial history. The group is also recognized by D&B as the most diversified group in Bangladesh. The business was started by Lat Miah, Anwar Hossain’s grandfather, who was involved in manufacturing ivory combs and buttons and trading them to the distributors in Calcutta. Anwar Hossain’s father, Rahim Buksh, soon took over the business after the death of Lat Miah, and then helped the company to expand to the extent of becoming one of the largest Taxpayers of the undivided Bengal. Manufacturing took place in various places of Dhaka from Rahmatganj to Hazaribagh, and the products were then sold to wholesalers located on and near the then Harrison Road in Calcutta. Manwar’s siblings Hossain Mehmood and Hossain Khaled are also very active in the business of AGI. The foundation of the present Anwar Group is traced to back 1952 when Al-Haj Anwar Hossain steered the family business entity towards diversification. The group now boasts business divisions like textiles, building materials, polymer, jute, automobile, real-estate, furniture and home decor. Amongst the famous companies of the Group are AG Auto Ltd., Anwar Ispat Ltd., Athena’s Furniture, Anwar Cement Ltd., A-One Polymer Ltd., Anwar Silk Mills Ltd., Anwar Landmark Ltd., Anwar Galvanizing Ltd., Anwar Cement Sheet Ltd., Mehmud Industries (Pvt.) Ltd., Anwar Jute Spinning

Unleashing the Power of Legacy

Your family has been holding a legacy when it comes to business. Do you happen to join the family business by choice or as part of the family tradition? I would say it’s a combination of both. I knew it from the very early days of my childhood that I’d become a businessman and my father groomed me as such. I always looked at my father as a prodigy and followed his footsteps in the business. That grooming has made me who I am today, “A Businessman.”

The portfolio of your group is increasing rapidly. Considering the growing competition, modern-day compliance issues, and the fast-changing business environment, how does Anwar Group plan to move forward? Anwar Group has so far introduced thirty-six new products in Bangladesh. My father belonged to the first generation of industrialists so, back then it was his responsibility to bring in as

many new technology and products into the market as possible. At this stage of operation, we are going through a consolidation process and trying to give our company a professional, robust structure that can stand the test of time. Our main aim at this moment is not just about doing well but ensuring sustainability to keep doing what we are best at. We are becoming more structured, and people-centric.

Anwar group is escalating on a massive scale today, and more people are being employed by your business. Tell us something about your human resource and succession planning.

Each of our Strategic Business Unit (SBU) is run by professionals, either headed by a Chief Operating Officer(COO) or a Managing Director. However, a little disappointment lies in the quality of fresh graduates we are getting these days. They are not ready for challenges in the industry and lack the sense of passion towards work www.ibtbd.net

Most importantly we supply our cement, rod and other necessary things for the projects and work with the best architects in the country to deliver the best experience to our customers.â&#x20AC;? compared to what used to be back in the 80s or 90s. I feel the education in our country has suffered drastically over the last two decades. We continuously try to improve the skills of our employees through different types of training, but if the foundation is weak, then the molding process takes much longer. As far as succession planning, we are the fourth generation of the company, and we will soon be in a transition phase from ours to the next generation. I have sent my children abroad for higher studies like my father sent me to the US. I would like my both sons to gather experiences from the international job market before they join the family business. I want to ensure they are familiar with the international standards, develop global connections. Also, I would not place them in my chair right away. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d rather take professional help in this transitional phase to ensure immaculate succession.

You happened to enter the Real Estate market in 2001. What specialty do you plan to put forward in the market with your Real Estate development wing- Anwar Landmark? It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a delightful feeling being in this sector, to be honest. I feel we are placing a burden on this city a lot more than it can take. I remember growing up in an environment where there were more greenery and space for the natural

habitat to thrive. However, the modern-day residential areas seemed to have lost touch. This greenery and tranquility are precisely what we are trying to bring back into the residential areas through Anwar Landmark. Most of our projects are now focused on building an environment-friendly atmosphere apart from just building some concrete structures.

Dhaka being the central hub for facilities in Bangladesh, a lot more pressure is placed on the city by building infrastructure to support the horde of the migrating population. What can be the possible solution to this?

As I mentioned earlier, unplanned construction is taking a toll on the beauty out of Dhaka and Chittagong city. It cannot be denied that it is now necessary to build new sub-cities and encourage people to move there. I strongly feel it is high time that we start exploring the suburbs and developing on the outskirts of the Dhaka city. The government has highlighted Dhaka as the central hub for every and all our operations. Thus we revolve around its very boundaries. We must not forget that one single catastrophe may bring Dhaka to its knees. A revamp in the policies of the government, and the permission to construct satellite towns in the suburbs can help halting further choking of the city..

As compliance and ethics go hand in hand, it has now become significantly crucial for companies to be ethical to survive. What ethical practices is Anwar Group following at the moment?

Our group follows a very stringent policy. We have been in the construction business for over 50 years now and were only the second ISO certified company in the country. We go through a compliance check at every step of our operation. Besides, we continuously send our materials to BUET for tests and our engineers make sure works are done as per

SOP. Most importantly we manufacture construction materials like cement and rods ourselves, besides work with the best architects in the country to deliver a home to our customers.

Considering the situation the country is facing now, what suggestions do you have for the other industrialists?

I think Bangladesh is in a critical situation at the moment. The fundamental problem we have now is the dearth power, gas and the infrastructure as a whole. A lot of established industries await the infrastructural support to start production. We have probably added on quite a few megawatts of power, but quality power is still a far cry. There are a lot of resources yet to be explored. Our cost of production is increasing due to infrastructural weaknesses, and we are becoming less competitive in the world. Thus, We should not only focus on building new infrastructure but also work towards the development of existing ones, increasing current efficiency levels. According to a Russian research in 1975, Bangladesh was stated to have as much reserves as to be sufficient enough for the next hundred years, then why do we not have gas today? Why does Tripura invite investors to set up gas-based projects where our reserves are feared to be dried out already? I think we are running helter-skelter in trying to focus on too many projects at the same time rather than working on our weaknesses. Trepidation exists that these inefficiencies may someday build up as much to restrict us from becoming an efficient nation. Thus, addressing our present incompetence of inadequacies is of utmost importance now.

Interview Mufakkharul Islam Khasru

Managing Director Finlay Properties Ltd.

A Holistic Approach towards Housing Facility Mufakkharul Islam Khasru is the Managing Director of Finlay Properties Ltd, an affiliation of James Finlay (JF) Bangladesh Limited. Earlier worked as the Chief Executive Officer of SANMAR Properties Ltd, Khasru finished his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Dhaka during 1989-1993. Besides, he was also the secretary of REHAB Chittagong and the Director of Eastern Bank Limited. The notable personality is also the member of Chittagong Club, Bhatiary Golf & Country Club, and Chittagong Boat Club.

in the product quality, time frame, customer service, and aesthetics and we ensured our customer get value for money. Greater understanding of customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; requirement, the timely handover of projects, dedicated customer service, and reliable financial strength have what led to the success of our business.

What were the key components that contributed to the success of your business? It was very challenging when we first decided to start the real estate business in Chittagong in 1999. Back then, people were not much accustomed to apartment living and preferred procuring a piece of land to build their own house. Hence, we had to put in a lot of effort to change their mindset and demonstrate the benefits of community living. Our commitment has always been

As Chittagong is a cosmopolitan and port city, how do you plan to develop real estate sector there?

Chittagong has a huge potential in the real estate market. But, wrong planning and policies, centralization of commercial activities towards Dhaka and lack of political feasibility have made the economy suffer. People do not buy apartments as an investment since the rental market is insufficient and not at all lucrative. It canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be denied that generally, the port cities around the world are the most vibrant ones. However, this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t true in case of Chittagong. We are www.ibtbd.net

centralizing everything in Dhaka and making it uninhabitable. But, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high time that the government should now come up with final decentralization plans to ensure the holistic growth of the Port City as well. We must follow the Chinese model to develop various cities of the country and provide equitable growth by implementing infrastructural projects like physical connectivity, education, and medical facilities. This will, in turn, create employment and allow the real estate business to sustain.

What technological advancements concerning Real Estate, is your company looking forward to bring?

Bangladesh is far behind its regional partners in terms technological development in the construction industry. In fact, the size of the economy, purchasing power, investment, and demand for space determine the use of advanced technologies for faster delivery of space. Cost optimization can be done using advanced construction techniques such as modular construction; pre-fabricated steel structure, etc.

What possible challenges, is the industry facing in providing financially feasible properties in Bangladesh?

Some challenges exist while moving towards an investment feasible real estate market. The government must come forward with land bank to construct affordable housing for mass people and should act as a regulator rather than a developer. Moreover, the trust in developers is diminishing nowadays as some Sunday developers have entered into the market without any commitments and financial strength. They have misplaced the market by providing unrealistic ratios to landowners and offered low prices to collect cash that will eventually make both landowners and buyers

Demand for commercial real estate is directly correlated to investment in new ventures and expansion of existing business. Unfortunately, Chittagong is facing a challenge in renting or selling commercial (office) spaces as not enough investment has been made to develop it into a commercial capital of the country due to lack of govt. policies. bankrupt. Besides, customer invests less as the rental market is not that great considering the inflation that ultimately slows down the sale of real estate.

How does your firm plan to distinguish itself from other real estate companies in Bangladesh?

Finlay is committed to unparalleled quality and customer service in all aspects. We believe in a bunch of core values, which will help our people to distinguish us from other real estate companies: Long-term customer relationship; Trained and knowledgeable human resources (HR); Integrity of Colleagues; Delegation of Authority; Transparent Transactions; Value-added services; Good Interpersonal skills; Sharing information and Self-Motivation.

How do you see the commercial real estate market evolving in the future?

Demand for commercial real estate

is directly correlated to investment in new ventures and expansion of existing business. Unfortunately, Chittagong is facing a challenge in renting or selling commercial (office) spaces as not enough investment has been made to develop it into a commercial capital of the country due to lack of govt. policies. But the demand for retail space is still not met the saturation point.

With an average demand of about 50,000 apartments per year, the scarcity of sellable land in the country causes the land price to be high. Is there a chance for the price to drop in future? Bangladesh has a scarcity of land. Unless the government comes up with land bank and ensures accommodation facility for the citizen, the land price will never go down, and affordable housing will only remain a myth.

What adversities are you facing while operating in this sector?

There are hundreds of obstacles you are facing in this sector amongst which plan approval, policy support, and high registration cost, high land price, etc. are a few. Policy support is vital for the real estate industry where there are a lot of backward linkages.

What sort of policy support are you demanding in this scenario?

A more investment-friendly policy support is needed here which may include an arrangement of the land bank, low registration cost, support to invest undisclosed income, etc.

Do you plan to lay out any low-cost housing projects in the market anytime soon?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a dream project for developers as of date. Unless the government comes up with a definite plan, affordable housing will never be possible in our part of the world.

Interview Ar. Kazi Golam Nasir

Chief Architect, Department of Architecture, Ministry of Housing & Public Works, Govt. of People's Republic of Bangladesh and President, IAB

Designing the Cities of Tomorrow Architect Kazi Golam Nasir joined the Ministry of Housing & Public Works as the Chief Architect in the Department of Architecture, on 26 January 2015. He succeeds the position previously held by Architect Ahsanul Huq Khan, the highest ranked architect in government. Architect Nasir has previously served in various roles in the Executive Council of Institute of Architects Bangladesh. Currently, he is the president of Institute of Architect Bangladesh (IAB).

It can be seen that thousands of people migrating to Dhaka every day create a massive pressure on the city. What can be done in this regard? If we compare the pre and post-independence scenarios, Dhaka, in its journey from a provincial capital to an independent state has changed significantly. This is

a point of inflection because the infrastructure required for a capital state like Dhaka is vast and the influx and onrush of people have added new dimensions to it. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development, so far, hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been a proportionate one. However, progressing in a balanced way will help reduce many on-going issues. Dhaka is the central hub for businesses, education, and medical services till date, and have thus, attracted people from different parts of the country

to migrate here. As an architect, I feel like a lot of people would not have lived in Dhaka if the same facilities were available in other cities at the same cost. The pressure on the Dhaka would have also been much lesser. There is a greater need for developing amenities like universities, medical services and job outside the capital and the Dhaka centric services must be decentralized to do so. A lack of competitive facilities in the other cities except for Dhaka and Chittagong lured people to come to Dhaka. Every city has its capacity, which is right for Dhaka as well. But, some zones of Dhaka are either too densely or too scarcely populated. From the planning point of view if one acre of land has more than 70 families residing, then it will not be a proper environment for the upbringing of children. Unfortunately, most of the parts of Dhaka city donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t abide accordingly whereas a www.ibtbd.net

Where is Dhaka lagging behind?

Developers initially started with Dhaka and then moved towards developing lands in Chittagong, Comilla, Sylhet, and Khulna. The height of the buildings, which were at max five-story previously has now started reaching for the sky. Recently, Government is thinking of providing house building loans to its employees which will be adjusted from their salary. The concept is that people can also buy a house in any district of their choice and not necessarily in Dhaka. A rule called FAR (Floor Area ratio) which focuses on the necessity of keeping open spaces while making buildings was put forward in unison by IAB, REHAB, IEB and RAJUK and government in 2006; It also implies that if five to six people merge their land, then there will be the more green area. It often happens that such plans are passed, but never implemented. However, there are only a few developers who have made beautiful buildings with nature-friendly open spaces, abiding by the rule. Another problem lies in the improper planning of such school zones. A plethora of

schools exist in Dhanmondi which has resulted in the traffic congestion we face today. It is a widely accepted rule across the globe that schools of an area shall only serve the population of that area. However, nothing as such is followed in our country. People from different localities are crowding Dhanmondi just to avail the school facilities and the lesser number of public transport compared to private ones has also rubbed more salts to the wound.

There are water bodies and free space surrounding the boundaries of Dhaka. How far have we progressed regarding Satellite Township?

The work regarding Satellite Township has been going on for the past ten years, and the government has given the responsibility to two organizations, the National Housing Authority (NHA) and RAJUK. Partially, one such project has already started in Uttara, and another will be launched in Keranigonj. There are Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, and Mymensingh. These plans are made by the governmental organization called Urban Development Directorate (UDD), and another organization named Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is also involved here. There is an exciting development regarding DAP of Mymensingh. Whenever planners started working in that area, they figured out what’s beneath the soil and found that the existing city was situated in an earthquake-prone region. This study showed that studying the surface was not the correct method when it comes to town planning. It is a unique study across the world, but this was a new thing for our researchers involved in town planning.

Are you incorporating the concept of social architecture in your upcoming projects?

We are doing the master plan for the total habitation of Azimpur. Keeping the playing fields intact and habitation environment-friendly, we are emphasizing more occupancy in Azimpur, Uttara, and Purbachal. The adverse side of rapid unplanned urbanization and the massive spread of technology that is that social interactions are becoming virtual day by day. Now we are not familiar with our next-door neighbors. In the absence of this interaction, the children’s are becoming crippled minded. Once mothers were worried when children didn’t come home in the evening; now they fear that children are glued to their laptops or tabs and don’t feel like going to the playground at all. The long-term effect of this will be terrible.

Our neighboring country, Sri Lanka has planned to house for people. What is Bangladesh doing in this regard?

At present, the government is working towards a new project together with NHA (National Housing Authority). According to this project, houses will be lent to the lower income group on a weekly or monthly basis rather than selling it to them. NHA is making housing for slum dwellers on rent basis. A massive chunk of land has been reserved in the Purbachal area for this purpose. The Center for Urban Studies (CUS) has already taken the initiative in the private sector. The government can also take a scheme and give land to the developers for making an apartment for low-income people under different parameters in this regard.

Interview Irteza Ahmed Khan

CEO & Managing Director, Meridian Finance & Investment Limited

FINANCING A DREAM HOME

How has the demand for Meridian Home Loan changed over the years? What are the challenges and how are you tackling those problems? Meridian Finance has emerged within a short span of time as a growing multi-product financial institution in the country having equal focus in Corporate Finance, Retail Finance, SME

Finance and Corporate Advisory Services. We offer complete ranges of home loan solution to the customer starting from purchase of apartment, residential and commercial building, construction, extension, renovation of a residential and commercial building, construction of a dormitory for RMG workers, the creation of corporate office buildings and so on. We are continually increasing our coverage across the country through

our branch and sales channel networks. The demand for housing is increasing at a much faster pace in line with the steady growth of the economy, rising purchase power of consumers, and stable remittance flow. At Meridian Finance, we have observed the significant increase in demand for a home loan in construction and extension of residential and commercial buildings, purchase of apartments in metropolitan and district level city area. Demand for construction of semi-built buildings for RMG workers has increased by many folds over the years in the areas adjacent or close to the factory. Thanks to the excess liquidity in the money market, which has driven the rate of interest on all loans to www.ibtbd.net

existing competitions. Our tailor-made solution supported by the latest technologies and dynamic sales channels have become a good name among those customers. Which demography are the customers opting for home loans skewed towards? (Lower-Middle, Middle or Upper-Middle Class) The total housing loan outstanding for the financial sector is more than BDT 50,000 crore. Out of which 90% is in urban areas. Still, the housing market is concentrated mostly in Dhaka City. This gives us the overall picture. Mainly middle class and upper-middle-class people are applying for Home Loans who are mostly from Dhaka. But middle-class people couldn’t afford to purchase apartment due to increased pricing. But there is a massive demand for a home loan for lowermiddle-income group with the requirement for construction loan outside Dhaka city as well as other districts. Meridian Finance has categorically focused on serving the need of the lower and middle-income group of the demography of the country.

We have customers who have transferred their existing home loan with other bank/NBFIs to us despite enjoying lower interest rate than us only because of poor customer service, lack of proper communication, etc.” single digit and home loan is no exception. As a result, there is fierce competition on interest rate among the financial institutions, which has eventually, made the home loan market a buyer’s paradise. The cost of fund has become a significant challenge for many financial institutions over Banks in offering low-interest rate to its existing clients as well as to book new home loan clients. Due to the advantage of lower cost of fund, commercial banks are aggressively taking over home loan portfolio from financial institutions and booking new clients offering lower interest rate. This is a severe challenge to the non-bank financial institutions. Despite stiff competition, Meridian Finance has successfully reached out to the home loan customers with firm commitment to give a faster decision and excellent service experience. Our portfolio of home loans has significantly grown over these years, and a significant part of the business came from the outside the metropolitan areas of the country. We will continue to focus on increasing our reach out to untapped markets where demand for a home loan is on the rise but not well served by

According to you, customers are attracted by which of the following most, while taking home loans: I. Interest Rate II. Service provided III. Payback Period IV. Scheme

Home loan product is a total solution package for customers. All factors are correlated to each other. Anyone willing to avail home loan must consider each of the elements, not the single factor. But yes, most of the cases ‘Interest Rate’ becomes the major factor, but

not the only factor. It’s important to understand that Interest rate varies depending on customer segment, loan purpose, geographic location, etc. People are willing to avail loan with lower interest rates to keep the monthly payment burden within their capacity. But if they do not get the maximum payback period, the lower interest rate may not give the desired payment within their ability. Thus payback period is an essential factor. Scheme or Product itself is also a significant factor for availing home loan. Generally, ‘Product Policy Guidelines’ includes the solutions to meet the need of customers by maintaining regulatory guideline. Customers will not be attracted if the product is not in line with market or customer demand. I feel ‘Service’ is the ultimate factor that customers are attracted most in availing home loan. Each customer expects to get a faster decision, clear communication, proper documentation, legal and technical guidance and timely delivery to meet their need. Lower interest rate offering cannot always guarantee one the best service. We have customers who have transferred their existing home loan with other bank/NBFIs to us despite enjoying lower interest rate than us only because of poor customer service, lack of proper communication, etc. This suggests the importance of ‘Service’ to customers rather than Interest Rates. Since we are in the business of selling services to customers, we are focusing more on customer service than just selling the product. We are ‘Financial Consultants’ rather than ‘Financial Service Providers’. We always try to provide a tailor-made solution to meet the right set of services for different home loan products to customers.

What is the condition of customer base/Market size outside Dhaka in other big divisions?

Still, more than 70% of total housing loan market is covering Dhaka city. Different divisional HQs other than Chittagong exhibited a sluggish demand for a home loan even 5 to 6 years ago. Very few FIs have concentrated on home loan business in those areas due to the lack of genuine demand. But the scenario has changed in the last 2-3 years. People outside Dhaka was not accustomed to the culture of buying apartments or constructing their own home with bank loan facility. The availability of home loan has significantly changed their view. As you know, FIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s offers home loan product for Apartment purchase, Individual Construction of a residential or commercial building, Purchase of a shop or retail space, etc. Among them, 95% of Apartment loans are served within Dhaka and Chittagong. Because private sector Real Estate Developers are catering mostly upper and upper-middle income groups concentrating in Dhaka and a few in other major cities. Thus there is a significant untapped rural market consisting low- and middle-income people. Some of the Real Estate Developers have Apartment projects in cities like Comilla, Khulna, Bogra where they got a positive response from residents. But it is quite low against expected outcome. Demand for construction loan has grown significantly due to increasing demand for residential as well rental income purpose. People outside Dhaka are also getting interested in developing the building in their land with our construction loan. Under the circumstances, we are expecting to see rising demand scenario in other Divisional HQs within next ten years if the current economic activities and communication- infrastructure development continues.

There is fierce competition on interest rate among the financial institutions, which has eventually, made the home loan market a buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise.â&#x20AC;?

With most of Dhaka already being filled up, how do you perceive the demand for home loans to be a decade from now?

We can foresee that demand will continue to grow for Home Loans in the next ten years due to rising population in Dhaka as well as surrounding area. Government land projects in Eastern and Northern part of Dhaka like Purbachal, Uttara 3rd Phase are on the completion stage. Different private sector land project is also in the implementation stage. Massive development works are coming up on these extended areas regarding Construction and infrastructure. Besides, the area covering Gazipur, Tongi, Savar, Ashulia and other close regions in Dhaka are also being developed. The Western side of Dhaka is also growing. Thus Home loan market will grow for apartment projects as well as new construction projects. International Finance Corporation (IFC) predicted that the other major cities of Bangladesh are expected to develop at a steady pace over the next few years. Thus the demand for home loans is likely to continue in the coming days. www.ibtbd.net

FINANCE

The ins and outs of home loan By Kazi Raihan

Home loans are like those extended family members whom we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interact with our whole lives until at a certain point in our lives we require their help. Home loans are ubiquitous, yet we hardly bat an eye at it. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only when we reach a particular career high that we start thinking of home loans in depth. It's just then when we start researching financial institutions (FI) like banks and leasing companies to get the best possible deals on home loans.

So what factors are taken into consideration when these FI’s dish out home loans? A multitude of factors needs to be taken into consideration for these types of loans such as your repayment capabilities or credit score, monthly net disposable income, age, nature of job/business, number of family members, etc. Let’s look at the main components in details:

• Age - Your chances of getting a home loan application granted will be higher when age supports you. Those who are young and are periods away from retirement have more chances of pleasing the lenders to get a loan approved. • Profession & Income Applicants who aren’t working in the traditional industries (that follow a corporate structure) seem less suitable to the lenders. It's the repayment capacity of such applicants that remains questionable since unconventional jobs involve with regards to security and safety. Moreover, if you are

someone who loves to swap jobs frequently, be sure to earn negative points as it posits that your ability to hold down a position is further questionable. On the other hand, a regular source of income enhances your home loan eligibility. You may also qualify for a higher home loan amount if you’ve held the same job for over a couple of years. • Number of dependents - The number of dependents (such as retired parents, children, or spouse) you have is another factor the lenders will take into consideration. Having more dependents may earn you sorry scores to be eligible of loan repayment capacity. • Property Age - Property Age – Home loan eligibility is inversely proportional to the age of the property. Lenders conduct separate evaluations to determine your home loan eligibility in the property under consideration is very old. A high loan against property eligibility improves your home loan eligibility as well. • Existing debts - As the largest loan you’ll likely ever have, a mortgage is a lot of debt to take on. Therefore, banks typically get nervous about other large debts that you might have. Avoid opening new lines of credit and pay down debts before applying for a home loan to prove you won’t be financially overwhelmed.

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CHALLENGES

While trends suggest that there has been an increase in home loans in recent years, home loans by no means are a straightforward procedure. Getting a home loan is quite cumbersome and with it comes certain challenges. Most prominent of which are: •

•

TRENDS In 2016 private banks provided 55% of home loans while the state banks disbursed 22% of the same. This is reflected in the fact that Bangladesh's banking sector has been seeing an influx of home loans for the last two years due to interest rates being under 10% and a rise in per capita income. According to a study, total outstanding home loans from banks and financial institutions stood at BDT 56,290 crore, which was 9.1% of total credit to the private sector, as of last year’s June. Default loans in the home loan are low due to commendable recovery: it was 3.12% in 2016. Of the total outstanding home loans, private commercial banks provided the largest portion of 55%, amounting to BDT 30,920 crore, followed by the state-owned banks at BDT 11,930 crore. High competition among banks in attracting home loan borrowers pushed down the interest rate, the study said. The interest rate for home loan currently is a minimum of 8% and a maximum of 15%. The credits

ranged between BDT 2 lac and BDT 1.2 crore. The minimum debt-equity ratio stood between 10:90 and 50:50. Most of the banks provide the loan at the debt-equity ratio of 30:70 for locals and 50:50 for expatriates. On top of that, according to the research findings, a home loan is comparatively safer for a bank as opposed to business-focused loans. Even though home loan disbursement has increased, it is significantly concentrated in urban areas of Dhaka and Chittagong. In 2016, over 85% of the disbursements were in urban areas, according to the study. The study found that the most substantial portion of home loans in 2016 was of construction: 66%. Flat purchase accounted for the other 34%. While home loan disbursement is grossly concentrated in Dhaka, yet according to Irteza Ahmed Khan, CEO of Meridian Finance and Investment Ltd.: “demand will continue to grow for Home Loans in the next ten years due to rising population in Dhaka as well as surrounding area. Most of the city may have already filled up, so it is expanding in the circular ways”.

•

Turned down in the first stage – Many of the home loan applications are screened off right at the beginning, due to incompatibility between the borrower's qualifications and lenders requirements. Processing fee not refunded - With every application form for home loans, banks require about 0.25% to 1% of the loan amount to be submitted as the processing fees. This processing fee is not refundable. In simple words, this means that whatever reasons if the bank finds that you don't deserve the home loan, this payment won't be returned. The interest rate dilemma – Almost all home loan borrowers are unsure about whether to opt for floating or fixed interest rate. Even after deciding on a particular loan regime, the home loan terms, and fine condition prints can create havoc with your interest rates. The difference in property valuation - The bank has its experts for legal, technical and financial appraisal of the property in question and evaluates the property as per its standards and puts a value on it. This worth can be considerably lower than the quoted price of the property. In such a scenario the bank will only lend you up to the amount it valued Down payment - Banks require the borrower to fund at least 10% to 20% (varying from bank to bank) of the entire loan amount as the down payment for the home loan. If this amount is not deposited before the disbursal of the home loan, the bank will refuse the home loan to the borrower. Even though the problems mentioned above are prevalent, they can be easily avoided if the borrower follows accurate procedure, prepares sufficiently before applying and takes care of correct documentation.

Industry Review

Striking right

the Chord

Despite safety concerns, local Cable industry posits glaring prospects

By Taposh Ghosh As Bangladesh strives for the middle-income nation status by 2021, its drive towards industrialization is estimated to induce exponential growth in multiple industrial sectors throughout the nation. Industries closely linked with construction and infrastructural development are anticipated to benefit most from this goal set by the government. With increasing growth also comes the need for higher power consumption and the domestic cable industry is looking forward to catering the entirety of this expected demand locally. However, the question stands, how well-equipped is the local cable industry to meet up to such expectations and deliver regarding capacity, product safety, and quality? Government Aims, Stimulating Growth Power generation capacity in Bangladesh has increased from 5,245MW to 15,379MW in February 2017 of the fiscal year of 2005-06. According to the Bangladesh Economic Review (BER) 2017 published by the finance ministry, electricity transmission has also expanded to 10,376 circuit kilometers as of February this year. All these are part of the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan to provide electricity to the entire population by 2021.

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Progress has already been achieved, as only 10–15% of the population had access to electricity when local cable giant BRB began its journey in 1978. Now, 80% of the 16 crore population have access to power, including renewable energy, according to BER 2017. The government aims to ensure electricity to the whole population by 2021 by generating 24,000MW of it and installing 12,000 circuit kilometers of the transmission line, the same report indicates. Operators expect that this expansion will buoy the demand not only for power cables but also for domestic cables. New Entrants Inducing Local Competition While an accurate industry growth rate could not be determined, according to numerous industry executives, demand for cable in Bangladesh is growing up to 20-25% a year. Almost a decade ago, the market value was worth at BDT 1,500–2,000 crores when the country had about 5,000MW of electricity generation capacity. However, the increase in constructions and development of industries has facilitated growth, and the buoyancy of demand has raised the industry’s worth to Tk. 4,000–5,000 crores, which is only expected to expand further in the coming decade. In the 1970s, a few firms, including state-run Eastern Cables Ltd, were engaged in cable manufacturing. Later, more manufacturers such as BRB Cable Industries Ltd and Paradise Cables Ltd (PCL) made their way into the cable industry to secure a slice of the growing market. In recent years, more popular local industrial groups such as Partex Cables Ltd, a subsidiary of Partex Group hit the market. Among others, BBS Cables and RFL Electronics, a concern of PRAN-RFL Group, and entered the market in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Such increasing entry of local manufacturers has facilitated the industry to become self-sufficient and reduce import dependence, as industry experts say that almost all of the cable demand is now being met locally. Currently, there are around 120 local cable manufacturers, serving the domestic demand. This amount is

The government aims to ensure electricity to the whole population by 2021 by generating 24,000MW of it and installing 12,000 circuit kilometers of the transmission line, the same report indicates.

expected to grow further as still, only one-third of the population of Bangladesh lives in urban areas. According to World Urbanization Prospects 2014 released by the United Nations, the urban population has grown by 2.4% annually between 2010 and 2015. The UN also stated that the urban population is predicted to rise to a mammoth 11.24 crore by 2050 from 5.31 crore in 2014, and the high-rise buildings will replace today's small buildings, while concrete houses will replace tin-shed dwellings. All these will require more significant capacity expansion in the domestic market, which is likely be fulfilled by more new entrants into this already growing

industry in future. Greatest Concern Over Safety The cable sector has to rely heavily on the international market for raw materials, mainly copper and aluminum. Manufacturers also have to buy raw materials to make insulators. Due to lack of quality control and government level regulatory checks, it is often difficult to determine the quality of the raw materials and processes that go into forming these final products. We, as consumers, are very little aware of the devastating consequences a faulty cable can have. We are also barely aware of the quality of cable products that we use in everyday life. The significance of certification by international cable certification bodies in ensuring the product quality of a cable manufacturer is often overlooked throughout the industry. The lack of interest in maintaining standards sets aside the fact that certification is a continuous process and not just a single-time approval. A certified company is required to follow a rigorous quality control system in its production line regularly in every single phase of the manufacturing process, starting from the source of raw material to production process. Besides, the post-production quality control mechanism and even the human resource management are needed to go through such measures. When it comes to manufacturing different types of cable products, technical expertise varies from product to product. We can mention about power cable or industrial cable that requires a production technique and raw materials superior to that of domestic cables, something which is not always the case for Bangladesh. The issue lies in the lack of monitoring from the government side in this regard. Furthermore, a government agenda to set specific criteria as to who can produce what kind of cable products can solve the issue and ensure the safety of the end consumers. It's also noteworthy that due to the lack of regulation, many companies don't pay much attention to ensure the quality of their products and try to keep their price margin low. It creates

unfair competition in the cable market which ultimately affects the quality producers as this demands increased expenditure. However, a higher price is placed on the final consumers, as they end up prioritizing price over quality. Most recorded short circuits and fire breakouts occur due to the lower quality of cables installed. In many cases, industries use domestic cables, which significantly risks the safety of the institution and its workers. Cable manufacturers urge that the government should take actions to control the use of domestic cable in factories. The industry owners should also be made aware of the severity of the issue and the risks involved. The cable industry and the government should both invest in creating mass awareness about cable-related safety issues. Proposed Government Policies to standardize the industrywide regulation in the cable sector to ensure standardized quality is perhaps the most urged of all the issues that need to be solved by the industry leaders. Many cable manufacturers are indiscriminately using contaminated scrap copper as the primary raw material for cable production. Scrap copper comes from shipbreaking yards and is contaminated by solder, iron,

aluminum, etc. As a result, their resistance property fails to meet the relevant international standards. The cables manufactured with these conductors get overheated above a particular load, and damage the insulation and cause short circuits often resulting in loss of lives and property. Forbidding of domestic cables in industrial processes should be implemented as soon as possible to ensure employee safety. Other changes such as the government promoting the use of XLPE insulation instead of PVC insulation, which will provide safety as well as reduce carbon emission from cable products. For the conductors, increased use of aluminum cable instead of copper is also a recommended proposal, as it costs one-fourth of the price of copper and is of the same quality. Owners also urge the government to rethink its current policy of requiring a minimum of five years' manufacturing experience before entering the cable sector. The government should instead focus on the expertise of the industry, and if a company has all the necessary capacities, it should not be kept waiting for five years. According to operators, this will only discourage new entrepreneurs in the cable

industry. Finally, the cable industry is a 'conversion industry' in the sense that it only converts raw materials into cables. In such industries, raw materials are usually the most expensive parts, and in the cable industries, raw materials make up 60-70% of the total production cost. It is suggested that if the cable companies focus on enhancing efficiency in the supply of raw materials, they can maintain a right profit margin without compromising on quality. To ensure that, the government should play a significant role in defining the industry benchmarks for efficiency, which as a spillover effect can solve an array of issues at once. Importance of Product Specifications and Quality The quality of cable being used should be of paramount importance as homeowners, and industrialists bet crores worth of assets upon the safety that these cables have to provide. Apart from the safety hazards, low-quality cables cause substantial power loss in the long run. If impure raw materials are used for making conductors, a certain amount of power is bound to get lost during the distribution process due to higher

resistance. And as generally, a cable remains in operation for 20-30 years, the total loss incurred, if counted over the years, stands at a very high amount. This is the one of less talked about sides of the perennial problem of system loss caused by the use of sub-standard products, as explained by the expert. Moreover, the lack of knowledge of product specifications by consumers, as to which type of cable is appropriate for their desired purpose, also acts as a hindrance towards proper utilization and risk minimization. A Brighter Future for the Industry Ahead Opportunity in the cable industry also lies as the government is considering

Most recorded short circuits and fire breakouts occur due to the lower quality of cables installed. In many cases, industries use domestic cables, which significantly risks the safety of the institution and its workers. expansion of electricity coverage in rural areas, which will create a massive demand for power. The Power System Master Plan (PSMP) 2016 sets the target of generating 60,000 MW by 2041. To achieve this goal Bangladesh has to improve a lot in its power generation capacity. Similarly, it also has to improve power transmission and distribution capacity. This is an opportune moment for the local cable industry to expand their business and focus on manufacturing distribution and transmission cables. High voltage transmission lines are required to meet the high power demand in the city areas, but overhead transmission of high voltage lines tends to be quite

risky. Moreover, it also consumes valuable city space. Thus, the government is most likely to move towards underground transmissions. The government is planning to change all overhead electricity distribution lines to underground ones in six major cities by 2025 as per the PSMP. This is also expected to increase the longevity and reliability of the power distribution system. A considerable amount of cable will be required shortly to fulfill that demand. The local companies who have the capacity should gradually expand towards producing 132 kV and 230 kV cables. The manufacturing of transmission cables requires high investment as 132 kV, and 230kV cables are far superior qualitatively compared to domestic cables. Achieving the capacity of producing such high voltage cables will result in overall production quality improvement, which is rewarding in the long run. The export potential of cable products from Bangladesh is also something which should not be overlooked. Like many other industries, tax benefits provided by the government can benefit to promote cable export. In pursuit of that, the local cable industry should also strive to attain international standards to compete in the foreign market. If quality, capacity, and standardization can be achieved, then cable products can become premier export items for Bangladesh in the future. Industry experts and leaders can anticipate a bright future of the cable industry in Bangladesh. Since the demand for electricity is growing along with the rapid development of the country, a massive scope of expansion lies subsequently for the cable industry in the coming years.

Cable Industry

ONE STOP TOTAL POWER SOLUTION Mohammad Monjurul Quader

Operations & Marketing Director, SQ group.

Group of Companies is predominantly a leading manufacturer, assembler & supplier of electrical equipment and accessories for the use in power generation, transmission and distribution system

and automation. Over the past 30 years, we have been importing as well as manufacturing LT & HT cables and conductors, electric meters; power and distribution instrument transformers, LED bulbs, spun pre-stressed concrete poles, wooden utility pole, and, conductor and guy accessories. Our other products include, drop out fused cut-out, lighting arresters, insulators, Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR), Automatic Circuit Recloser (ACR), Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB), and switches. We also supply metal clad switchgear used to install and erect power

SQ Cables, TS Transfor mers, Techno Meters, SQ Lights & SQ Fan, are amongst the well-known brands in the countr y.

generation projects by Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), Bangladesh Power Development Board(BPDB), Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) & Dhaka Electric Supply Company (DESCO). Since 2012, we have embarked on a journey to consistently deliver products, services, and support to our potential consumers. SQ Cables, TS Transformers, Techno Meters, SQ Lights & SQ Fan, are amongst the well-known brands in the country. Furthermore, we plan to introduce SQ Switch/Sockets, SQ CCT breakers as a part of our Total Power Solution strategy. We are the only group of companies in the country who offer a total solution for your electrical needs by combining aspects of both product design and engineering. The safety and durability of our products and services have built the foundation for our business growth & sustainability in the last 30 years. Our ISO 9001:2008 accredited Quality Control Lab has been designed to ensure reliable and safe use of products for our clients. Our valued clients irrespective

We are the only g roup of companies in the countr y who of fer a total solution for your electrical needs by combining aspects of both product design and engineering. of the government agencies or consumer market are the essence of our business. By keeping different types of clients in mind, starting from developers to industrialists; we are operating at 60 distribution points and offering some of the most extensive and comprehensive range of support services alongside the regular. Our client focus does not conclude at the completion of a project or a solution. Instead, we also offer a dedicated 24-hour one-point of contact (01755661166) for all-inclusive services, viz. sales, service, training and support calls. www.ibtbd.net

Cable Industry

Wiring the Prospects

artex Cables Limited, under the aegis of the conglomerate, Partex Star Group, is the newest entrant in the category of electrical wires & cables (both Power & Domestic). Initiated in 2016, Partex Cables made a remarkable presence by manufacturing household wires, low voltage (PVC & XLPE insulated), medium voltage, high voltage, instrumentation, control, communication cables and overhead conductors. Under exemplary quality standards, Partex Cables is committed to continuous investments in Research and Development (R&D) to bring out an organic expansion in its product range and services, and optimize customer

services. With an unblemished record of adhering to commitments, Partex Cables strives to continually pursue and deliver the 3P values; Performance, Price, and Promptness. Partex Cables Limited is an ISO 9001:2008 certified for its Quality Management System and it follows all standards of International Electrotechnical Commission(IEC). It has obtained all the necessary certifications from BSTI, BUET, CPRI by implementing stringent quality control process and providing its customers with a guarantee of product excellence and reliability. Partex Cables is a people-oriented enterprise dedicated to enhancing the quality of life through the

application of advanced information and energy transmission technology. The cable industry in Bangladesh is growing rapidly nowadays. Earlier most of the cables were imported. However, the situation has changed to a great extent now; the local cable industries meet most of the cable demand. Maintaining all necessary International standards, Partex Cables is being manufactured by using world’s best raw materials and European technology CDCC CCV Line. The main role of a cable is to conduit electricity and is referred to as a conductor which is made of copper (Cu) or Aluminium (Al). To keep maintaining the stringent quality of copper, we only import cathode plates from the world’s best London Metal Exchange (LME) listed companies. We produce 8mm copper rod and 9.5mm aluminum rod in our copper and aluminum plant which is one of the most important parts of a cable. High-quality Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) insulation and the sheath is the pre-requisite to ensure flawless and safe electric conductivity and therefore, we import high-quality raw materials to produce best quality PVC granules in our PVC plant. Partex Cables is also producing electrolytic tough pitch copper rod in its copper plant which ensures 99.99% copper purity. Thus, the electrical conductivity is 101% International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). To ensure safest electric supply in Bangladesh, Partex Cables brought world’s latest and best quality technologies and machinery. With this aim for the first time in Bangladesh, Partex Cables brings high-quality Drawing

K.M ALI

Chief Executive Officer, Partex Star Group (CX-1)

Machines from Germany. It’s 100% online annealing ensures perfect annealing of every small constituent of the conductor. Therefore, no chance of oxidization remains. With the growing customer demand for the first time in Bangladesh Partex Cables adds to its manufacturing plant the world’s best 91 Bobbing, 5 Case Stranding Line. Besides, we are producing superior quality ‘Pre-spiraled Milliken Conductor” by using 4th Generation Rotating Roller machine instead of the traditional fixed dies technology. This machine can produce more than 2000sq mm. of conductors. Auto Tension Adjustable System is another feature of this machine which ensures the best quality of conductor and lowers the chance of accident or wire damage. Insulation and sheath is another important part of a cable on which the quality depends. And therefore first time in Bangladesh Partex Cables brings the World’s best CDCC CCV Line from Maillefer, Finland. By using this modern state of the art technology, we would be able to produce up to 72.5

A.K.M. AHASANUL HAQUE

Chief Operating Officer, Partex Cables Limited

With an unblemished record of adhering to commitments, Partex Cables strives to continually pursue and deliver the 3P values; Performance, Price, and Promptness.

kV High Voltage Underground Power Cables. This sophisticated production line ensures unspoiled online curing of every part of insulation. For every extrusion of our production line, we use German SIKORA Technology which helps to maintain a perfect diameter and thickness of insulation. There are two basic elements of a cable: conductor and insulation. Quality conductors ensure better electricity flow, and quality insulation reduces voltage drops. The purity of conductor materials—copper or aluminium—determines conductivity. Therefore sourcing of raw materials for conductors is a key component of ensuring the quality of a cable product. Commonly used insulation materials are PVC, XLPE, and rubber. Although PVC is easily bendable, it is not

suitable for higher temperatures. Cross-linked polyethylene insulation (XLPE) insulation is better suited for this purpose. In Bangladesh, we still see the use of PVC insulation in high tension cables. Since high tension cables carry high voltage, they require very high insulation resistance for which XLPE is the safest option. Many companies claim that their cables are fireproof which is not true. Every metal melts at a certain temperature. The most important thing to consider here is how long the conductor’s conductivity and signal, remain uninterrupted during the fire. Partex Star Fire Guard Fire Resistant Cables survive up to 950°C under the CWZ category – and are resistant to fire, water, and mechanical shock. Besides we are also

manufacturing high-speed network cable Partex DataStar. Under this brand, we are producing CAT 5.5e, a 6/6e cable which ensures low attention, crosstalk, and structural return loss. We are also manufacturing high-quality coaxial cables ranging from RG- 6/6u, 47, 48, 57, 59. These cables ensure a minimum loss in signal quality for better reception, higher bandwidth for larger network expansion, low attention value for less electromagnetic interference, and a minimum structural return loss. They are also moisture proof which makes them perfect for tropical conditions. We are the first in Bangladesh with five ‘Core Sector Shape Cables Laid-up Machine’ which ensures quality production of more than five ‘Core 150sq. mm cable’. For armoring, we use 96 Bobbin Armoring Machine, so that mechanical protection of cable is ensured. At every single step of quality production, we have the most modern and well-equipped laboratory where our expert Lab Engineers and Technicians ensure High Quality of cables. We are the first in Bangladesh to introduce separate High Voltage Testing Lab to test and certify Fire Resistant Cables. Besides, we also differentiated in every segment like production, packaging, distribution and most importantly customer service before any of our competitors. Thus, with a motto of maintaining quality and workmanship, we equipped our team with most efficient and skilled manpower in every part of our company. www.ibtbd.net

Interview Abu Sayeem Chowdhury Director Baizid Group

Hammering The Growth Abu Sayeem Chowdhury is the Director of Baizid Group and the heir to Abu Bakr Chowdhury, a very notable personality who is the Chairman of Baizid Group, and the Director to both ATN News and NRB Commercial Bank. Born in Bangladesh, Sayeem was initially sent to Darjeeling, India, where he completed his schooling from Saint Paul’s School. Later, he returned to the country to join the Independent University of Bangladesh for his undergrads and took over his family business as the Deputy Managing Director. The vibrant personality has added much to the company’s image as he continues to work as the DMD in Baizid Steel for the past eight years. Mr, Chowdhury is also the director to units such as CSS Corporation (Steel Plant), CSS Power (Captive Power Plant), ABC Associate (Trading), Jamuna Life Insurance and Alliance Deep Sea Fishing.

Tell us about the market trends observed by you in 2017 that added positive and/or negative growth in the steel industry in Bangladesh as well as in the world market.

Tell us about the journey of Baizid Steel. What has been the recipe for its success?

Starting its journey in 1986, Baizid Steel has benchmarked itself as one of the leading steel providers in Bangladesh. In the beginning, we started with a manual mill capacity of 16500 MT annually. Later in 2005, we transformed the factory into an auto rolling mill with a burgeoning capacity of producing 150,000 MT annually. Baizid Steel has always strived for excellence and extended

relentless efforts to ensure progress. In 2009, QST 500+ was introduced with enhanced capacity of 2,20,000 MT. Today, we take pride in being the only company in Bangladesh to have received the Tempcore Certification from CRM Belgium. This certification along with best business practices has set us apart from our competitors. To sum it up, determination and perseverance to excel, dedication and hard work of potent work force coupled with constant gratitude towards the Almighty have helped us obtained whatever we achieved till date.

Even though the steel industries around the world has been experiencing negative trends business wise, Bangladesh has maintained substantial growth in this sector. All the major steel mills have displayed significant pace of growth over the years. The government has taken on large infrastructure projects, which has helped the growth to be steady in the industry. To exemplify, in 2014 Bangladesh’s capacity of steel production was about 1 million tons, which tripled in 2016 and is expected to become 4.5-5 million tons by 2018. The iron and steel industry is one of the core industries in Bangladesh. Being one of the prime consumers of scrap in Asia, Bangladesh stands to become the 4th largest scrap importer in Asia and the second in East Asia, after India. The mega infrastructural projects by the government account for nearly 40% of the total steel consumptions in the country. www.ibtbd.net

What're your suggestions about tariff barrier in the import of raw materials like billets? According to you, what sort of government policy support is needed to enhance the growth of this industry further?

In my opinion, the vat imposed on raw materials is high and mills that do not produce raw materials, and depends on imported billets suffer the most. At present, 20% regulatory duty and 15% VAT on import of billets have made billet importing unviable for some mills. However, the imposed tariff will contribute to the society and the government. At the same time, we must not forget that with an increase in billet manufacturing new jobs will be added in the market. Additionally, all the major steel mills are expanding their billet capacity to meet the country’s demand. In addition to that, government support is needed to ensure smooth and timely operation in the port. Since it’s an enormous industry, uninterrupted supply of gas and power must be assured from government end. Last but not least, government should incorporate policies to enable the bloom of real estate sectors of the country, which is still in the slump.

Is there any other resource or infrastructural limitations in the industry that is hampering its growth? I have already voiced the importance of uninterrupted power and gas supply to run factories in a seamless manner. The tax and duties should be lowered for the industry to reduce the cost of goods so that the cost of construction is less and we also have a better chance to export our products. At the same time, the interest in the lending rates from financial institutions should be lowered, which in Bangladesh is very high when compared to our neighboring countries. We do have a problem of limited natural resources and dependence on importing raw materials and chemicals incurs huge cost that is not viable. Moreover, quality is often not strongly monitored which eventually hampers the growth of this industry.

benefits they enjoy, it would be very hard for us to compete with them.

Currently we are exporting to North Eastern India as geographically that is a good market for us. Obviously we want to enter the big league of exporters but with the resources, facilities and benefits they enjoy, it would be very hard for us to compete with them”

What is the condition of skilled manpower in the steel industry? Does it have adequate talents? How to mitigate the lacking, if any?

We all must cherish the growth we experienced in the last one-decade. But in a labor-intensive industry where technical expertise can give you an upper hand in revving up your production, I have no qualms in admitting that we do have a shortfall when it comes to engage skilled manpower. The condition is better now when compared to last decade. This eventually leads us to rely on experts coming in from our neighboring country. This trend, however, has been declining for some time as more engineers and skilled workforce are joining the industry. The number is still not adequate and this is why we need training centers for the workers and special courses on the steel industry in the engineering institutions. In this connection, industry-academia collaboration is a cry of the moment.

Any thoughts on the future expansion or innovation that you want to take up in your company? How important is the inclusion of foreign direct investment for the development of this industry? Do you have any plan to go for the market outside with your existing product portfolio?

Make no mistake, foreign direct investment can make a huge difference in developing the industry. With the advent of FDI there will be more enhancement in production capacity and upgradation of technologies in the steel industry. The technology and technical know-how will be shared which will ultimately increase the quality and quantity in the industry. The lower financial interest rates will also play a vital role here. Currently we are exporting to North Eastern India as geographically that is a good market for us. Obviously we want to enter the big league of exporters but with the resources, facilities and

Yes, we do have plans for expansion in the future. The country’s GDP is on a steady growth for the last couple of years, which we hope will continue till we enter the strata of middle-income country. As the country is developing so will the need for infrastructural developments, for which the steel industry is the backbone. The steel consumption per capita in Bangladesh was 20 kgs in 2010, which currently stands at 38 kgs. Nevertheless, when compared to the global average of 250 kgs, we still have a long way to go. We expect the demand of steel to double by 2022 and likewise we will increase our production capacity. Nothing will make us happier than to extend our contribution in the development of Bangladesh while ensuring utmost quality of the products we offer.

www.ibtbd.net

Special Report

P H O T O G R A P H B Y D I N M S H I B LY

Present Condition and Future Prospects of Real Estate in Bangladesh By Muhammad Ariful Islam

www.ibtbd.net

A cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic and socio-cultural situation can be reflected by the housing condition of its inhabitants. Dhaka, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, has severely concerning housing conditions. Industrialization and concurring urbanization have imposed social, behavioral and physical consequences on urban life. These changes have reshaped the housing sector by modifying the production process and consumption pattern of different socio-economic groups. Dhaka at present is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world with a population of about 14.17 million in 2009 over an area of 1528 sq.km, with. Approximately 9% of the national population. The population growth rate of the city is 4.65% against 1.48% of the national growth rate as per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Average dwelling size is 4.9 persons per household. Dhaka is now growing with an unprecedented growth accommodating more than 600,000 people per year. It means that every year more than 120,000 household units are required to house the added population in Dhaka. In this situation, the supply of housing in the city is only around 25,000 units in private sector, and the government contribution is almost negligible. The private sector contributors include formal private sector (Real Estate Development Companies) and informal private sector (Individual Initiatives). Among these 25,000 units, real estate developers contribute 15,000 units (appx.) per year, and individual developers provide the rest. It is nominal in the context of the total demand, but they have the potential to increase this number under improved policy guidelines.

Factors associated with and affecting present condition

Varied factors are associated with and changing the current state and pattern of development of real estate growth. Physical aspects like variation in size of the apartments, size of plots, price and rent of residences in different location and socio-economic condition of the dwellers, land tenure ship pattern, car ownership pattern, level of satisfaction of apartment owners with services provided by real estate developers, problems faced by apartment owners, factors working behind apartment purchase decision, willingness to purchase second apartment etc. affect the current pattern of apartment development in different location of the city.

PRESENT CONDITION AND TREND OF REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

The growth of apartment development in Dhaka was sluggish until the latter part of last decade in the 20th century. In 1997 the apartment development got a boost and was growing until 2007 when the caretaker government assumed the power of the state and the overall business in the country was on the decline. Till 2010, 1275 developers were identified among them 29% were non-REHAB members, and they shared only 12% of the market based on the number of projects. Most of the non-REHAB private developers could develop one or two projects and then disappeared. According to REHAB, there are 1018 developers functioning till 2017. Most of the concentration of the apartment has been in the planned residential areas, such as, Uttara, Dhanmondi, Gulsan and Khilkhet and Basundhara Residential Area, which have gone through vigorous apartment developments. Siddeshwari is where the earliest development took place, predominantly in the mid-1980s. Eskaton and Shantinagar also displayed similar growth pattern in a lesser extent.

APARTMENT OWNERS SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITION AND PERCEPTIONS

The apartment owners, on the other hand, decide on purchasing an apartment by several criteria. Locational advantages of the project get the highest priority in this regard. These include better transportation and communication facilities, proximity to the school, college, and workplace, and residential environment of the locality. The choice of developer comes second, after choosing the location. The developers are picked based on the price offered and the company reputation. Most of the families living in real estate apartments are headed by businessmen (51%) and service holders (40%) as per the 2012 report. The apartment users are employed in business and service. They are mostly higher-middle to middle income group having above average car ownership.

Most of the families living in real estate apartments are headed by businessmen (51%) and service holders (40%) as per the 2012 report. MAJOR CHALLENGES IN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

PHYSICAL ASPECTS

The size of the residential apartments varies extensively. Nearly half of the apartments are found to be between 1000 square feet to 1600 square feet. Only a very small proportion (2%) of the residential apartments is less than 700 square feet. Although apartment size is an indicator of the income group, this barely represents the reality in case of Dhaka as the apartment price largely depends on the land price. Nearly half of the plots have their size ranged between 3 to 5 kathas. From the year 2000 to 2010 apartment prices have increased at an annual average rate of 14.4% according to a 2012 report. Intuitively, the increase of apartment price has been of different degrees in different parts of the city. Baridhara, the diplomatic zone of the city, went through the highest price increase while Banasree, Mirpur, Maghbazar, and Shyamoli have had the lowest growth of apartment price. Baridhara is the highest per square apartment price in 2017, which was about BDT 22,000. It means a typical 1200 square feet apartment would cost more than BDT 2.5 crore in Baridhara. Such a residence in Gulshan and Dhanmondi is cost more than BDT 1.75 crore. In Mirpur and Shyamoli, on the other hand, the price of the same size apartment is nearly BDT 70 lac.

Real Estate developers have to face several challenges while providing affordable housing for inhabitants of the city. High land price, high price of construction material, unplanned and haphazard development of the city, high apartment price, high home loan interest and high property transfer and registration fee, etc. impose challenges to real estate developers.

RISE IN LAND PRICE

The major hindrance of providing affordable housing to all is the high value of land in Dhaka city. Land value in the city has drastically increased in last the decade showing about a four-fold increase in the average land value in last ten years. In some of the critical areas of the city, for example in Baridhara, an average land value is more than BDT 5 crores per katha. The high land value results in the high cost of housing units, for both purchase and rent. With the increase of population in Dhaka the housing demand is also getting an upsurge, thus further increasing the value of housing units. Consequently, the settlement area of the city is expanding and people are getting more inclined at the outskirts. As a result, the surrounding areas of the city are also experiencing a rise in the land price. www.ibtbd.net

NCREASING COST OF QUALITY CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

The housing problem of the city is further aggravated due to the price hike of construction materials. The price of construction materials is consistently increasing, thereby increasing the construction cost and apartment price. Unplanned development of the city Unplanned and haphazard development of the city creates challenges for real estate developers to determine a suitable location for residential development. Haphazard development of commercial land use in residential areas, deterioration of transport facility and road network creates a continuous challenging situation for real estate developers while providing housing facilities in those areas.

HIGH HOME LOAN INTEREST RATE

The apartment value in Dhaka is too high to afford by the middle and low-income people. To help people through buying apartments the governments in most of the countries have arranged house loan with low interest. The interest rates for house loan in other countries is relatively more economical than that in Bangladesh. Even in the neighboring countries like India and Pakistan, the house loan interest rate is 75% of the price in our country.

HIGH PROPERTY TRANSFER AND REGISTRATION FEE

HIGH APARTMENT PRICE

The consequence of the land value increase coupled with the price hike of construction materials is the increase in apartment price. The apartment price went through a sharp rise since 2000. In the last ten years per square feet, apartment value has nearly tripled. In places like Baridhara, an apartment of 1400 square foot now costs nearly BDT 03 crore. In Gulshan and Dhanmondi the same 1400 square feet apartment will cost approximately BDT 2 crores. In middle-income areas like Shyamoli a 1000 square feet apartment costs around BDT 55 lac. Without a bank loan, the middle-income people are often unable to buy a decent apartment in the city.

In addition to the high apartment cost and loan interest, charges pertaining to property transfer and registration impose an extra burden to the buyers. Such expenses include Gain Tax (4%), Stamp Duty (3%), Registration Fee for the central government (2%) and City Corporation (2%) and fees for Sub-registers (0.5%) which together account for additional 11.5% cost of an apartment. Besides, the buyers have to pay Advance Income Tax (Tk. 2000 per sq. meter) along with a (1.5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4.5)% VAT which further worsens the affordability of the buyers.

GAP BETWEEN DEMAND AND SUPPLY OF HOUSING

During the period 2001-2011 population growth rate migration rate in Dhaka city was 3.96% and 2.49% per annum respectively. The Huge gap between demand and supply of housing units still prevails which leads to the development of informal settlements. Private real estate companies can contribute in constructing more than 15000 units out of annually supplied total housing units. The private real estate sector is now playing the leading role in the supply of serviced

housing units. According to structure plan (draft) by the year, 2030 housing demand in DMDP area is expected to be 1,260,000 units per annum as per RAJUK. Supply of housing unit is needed to be increased to a large scale to cater the overgrowing demand. To reduce this massive gap between the demand and supply of housing private real estate sector has excellent prospect and the huge scope of contribution shortly. If decentralization of economic sectors can be made possible from the central city to smaller urban sub-centers in the city periphery, population pressure can be reduced in the central city, and suburban towns and satellite towns can develop. Demand for housing and new infrastructure may also be shifted to these places. The private sector can even play a leading road in providing affordable housing in suburban towns.

NEW DIMENSIONS OF TRANSPORTATION SECTOR

At present the public transport system of Dhaka city is unable to manage the traffic pressure efficiently. By the year 2030 with a substantial increase in population and number of vehicles, some trips are expected to be tripled in DMDP area which may worsen the current traffic condition. To improve the deteriorated traffic condition of Dhaka city through introducing efficient public transport system RDP (Regional Development Plan), consultants have proposed 5 MRT and 3 BRT routes within DMDP area. Among them, construction work of MRT-6 (Uttara-Motijheel) and BRT-3 (Gazipur-Airport) have started. According to the structure plan, transit-oriented development is proposed along BRT/MRT stations which may create a vast scope of urban development in the corridor areas if implemented. Introduction of MRT, BRT routes will also reduce the significant challenges faced due to deteriorated traffic conditions in Dhaka city and create locational advantages in the corridor areas of this routes. This may lead to considerable prospect for real estate industry shortly.

CONCLUSION

The Real Estate sector contributes to the need for housing- one of the five requirements of human life but at the same time is playing a significant role in economic development of the country. The operation of the real estate business in Bangladesh is unique to the world. It is a blend of different housing cultures from different nations experienced by professionals whose construction companies had gathered expertise from working in other countries. At present, real estate sector is playing the leading role in case of providing dwelling units, but still, this sector has enormous scope to flourish in the housing market of Dhaka city. Proper implementation of planning policies can create great prospect for this sector shortly. To sum up, real estate sector can contribute a lot reshape the future of urban living in Dhaka city.

THE WRITER is the Deputy General Manager at Sheltech (Pvt.) Ltd.

www.ibtbd.net

promising project

Park Heights Perhaps your new business address A SWANKY NEW PLAYER JOINS THIS HUB OF VIBRANT ACTIVITY WE CALL DHANMONDI. JUST HOW WELL EQUIPPED IS IT TO DELIVER! Dhanmondi’s history goes back 60 years – to the days when it started off as a planned residential neighborhood with lakes and wide leafy streets, only for the elite. Today, youngsters gather in the parks, where toddlers get their first bike rides while the elderly stroll leisurely. It has become a popular destination for entertainment, education, medical care and much else – a self-contained city within a mega city. Shining modern buildings come one after the other, yet,

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disappointingly, most fade and soon turn dingy. But life here goes on, always adapting to the challenges. We are happy to see Bay Developments’ signature yellow signage at the corner of Kalabagan maath. They are known for making several top-notch commercial buildings in Gulshan area and for delivering, durability and sustainability where many have failed to do so. How will this latest building in our midst contribute to Dhanmondi? “The Art of Life” is Bay’s motto and, they claim, they live by it.

FIRSTLY, THE CORNER LOCATION OF THE PARK IS GREAT FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF ACCESS AND FOR THOSE CORPORATES, WHO NEED VISIBILITY & STATUS.”

A closer look suggests Bay’s approach to design is a simple, yet elegant, avant-garde minimalism that reflects and compliments today’s evolving contemporary lifestyle. Bay projects are able to deliver environmentally friendly spaces of the highest standards that stand the test of time. In Park Heights, we see a lot of user friendly thinking. As we approach the building, the drive-through car porch appears very spacious and well-built. We can drop here in safety, away from the street chaos, and protected from rain and sun. Pedestrians can also take a few steps up to the spectacular oval plaza and can even take the grand stairs down to the main entry into the building.

Bay’s sparkling clean public toilets are also predicted to be a standout feature for Dhanmondi.

THE LOWER FLOORS ARE WELL SET FOR SHOWROOMS & RETAIL ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE EASILY VISIBLE FROM THE STREET LEVEL.” It’s refreshing to see just how much open space has been left for users of the building. The oval plaza has been elevated to take full advantage of the southeast breeze and to enable a view of the park and its activity. A standout feature is the glass-covered courtyard below which is a perfect setting for locals to mingle over a cup of tea, or enjoy a good meal with the family. Surely, one of the many popular restaurants of Dhanmondi will be seen here soon. The elegant, air-conditioned main lobby is accessed after a security checkpoint. The two large, high-speed passenger lifts whisk you to the upper floor lobbies with stunning cityscapes. Goods delivery and maintenance personnel will use a huge service lift accessible from a rear service entry and dock off the side road. Previous projects show that this helps to keep that neat look and feel in the public areas. Of course, it works better for safety and improved traffic management too. The tenant floors have floor-to-ceiling curtain wall with the latest Low-e solar

control glass. The glass panels are tempered for safety and double layered for insulation against heat and noise. Each floor plate of 8,500 sq ft can be divided into two equal parts. Office managers will love the efficiency and the uncluttered look, with only one column in the middle.

“THERE IS A BONUS – SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF THE GREENERY AND CRICKET MATCHES IN THE MAATH.” Toilet zone at each floor is neatly tucked away to the rear. The designers have thought of everyone – there are handicapped stalls, ablution room and janitor’s facilities in the building as well. There are two additional car lobbies on the lower levels, with passenger waiting areas. Thankfully, the two basement parking levels are well-lit and have an airy atmosphere. There is even an air-conditioned rest room for drivers. We are told that

Upon questioning, how would a Bay building stand out from the rest, over time? Their marketing team revealed that there is more to their product than thoughtful planning, quality materials and attention to detail. “Bay’s commercial projects come with a 10-year maintenance commitment by their Facilities Management team. This is a specialized outfit, home grown from scratch, made up of electricians, plumbers, mechanical engineers, cleaners and managers.”

PARK HEIGHTS SHOULD BRIGHTEN UP THE STREET CORNER AT NIGHT – OFFER A GOOD THING AND THE CROWD WILL COME. SMART MONEY ALWAYS FINDS A GOOD INVESTMENT, AND MANY HAVE ALREADY GOT ON BOARD.”

The Security Corp, consisting of personnel from armed forces who has the experience of leading hundreds of trained guards. These well-dressed individuals are alert and ready to ensure smooth traffic and visitors’ security and safety. The Bay team calls it value engineering – getting the most out of a plot using innovative thinking and, of course, incorporation of the latest technologies. This seems to be one of their secret ingredients towards sustainable developments. The building’s DNA, with attractive features are all set for success.

IS PARK HEIGHTS THE LONG-AWAITED WIND TO DHANMONDI’S SAIL? WE WILL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE. The building is scheduled for completion in November 2018. For enquiries, you may call 0173 002 0499. www.ibtbd.net

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promising project

BTI: Pioneering Bold innovation Recently in Bangladesh, a lot of focus has been given on earthquake safety for buildings. However, only a few developer companies have come forward to bring a positive change to fight this natural disaster. Established in 1984, building technology and ideas limited is one of the leading real estate companies in Bangladesh and the first to sponsor a research to find out the practical solutions and built superior earthquake resistant buildingsin the civil engineering field of Bangladesh. The research was led by engineer Professor Dr. Jamilur Reza Chowdhury in collaboration with University of Asia Pacific. Apart from

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providing financial support for the research, bti also presented some technical data and a physical model for research purpose. Several other important information also came to light during the research.Findings included information like, how to strengthen buildings beyond Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) through column jacketing. The findings were later unveiled to raise public awareness and promote the implementation of the information to build safer structures. Currently, bti applies the research findings in all its building designs for greater earthquake resistance. Apart from constant

research and development to bring innovation in the real estate sector, bti is known for maintaining high quality in construction and on time handover. It is the first real estate company to be awardedthe ISO 9001:2008 certification in Design, Service, and Construction of Buildings and also one of the founding members of REHAB. The company since its beginninghas always emphasized on customer satisfaction and introduced after-sales service in the real estate sector. Even when the real estate sector of Bangladesh was going through a struggling period, bti not only survived but thrived due to its consistency in quality of service and product. They proved that in real estate sector, it is all about the trust and goodwill of the customers. So far,bti has completed more than 400 projects on time and ahead of time in Dhaka, Chittagong and Comilla and has over 5000 customer profiles. The enterprise has a vision to build a world class organization and offers a wide variety of properties including Premium, Classic, Standard and Commercial Collections to cater to the needs of all range of customers.One of the recent largest projects of bti is Shopnobilash at Nabinagar, Savar which is a gated community residence situated over a sprawling 90.75 katha. Shopnobilash comes with several community features including outdoor playground areas, community hall, etc., and provides apartments of standard sizes for affordable apartment living.

promising project

Unfolding Sophistication with InnStar In this modern era of sophistication, luxury comes with various interpretations. The concept of luxury varies from person to person; some relate, it to the reflection of their extended self in decorative objects others believe it to be a gift of inheritance. At the heart of InnStar, Dhaka’s much talked about high line apartment producer; luxury is voicing a person’s supreme level of self-expression through contemporary living where individuality is respected. InnStar believes in providing luxury through “creativity” with its detailed level of execution that addresses the high-end demand of people. With motives of converting customer imaginations into reality, InnStar continues to experiment with new methodologies and ideas focused on designs. The best architects and engineers coupled up with InnStar, has helped to fulfill their customer’s imagination. Thus, making it one company to successfully capture the ‘niche of new luxury’ in a highly saturated market.

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Backed up by research on human cognition and daily living, high ceiling enhances creativity, imagination infuses positive vibes, and enables our thought horizon to expand. InnStar builds lobbies and the rooms with high ceilings wherever possible so that the rooms have enough space to breathe. Similarly, InnStar provides creative solutions for different household appliances and the socket and switch placement inside its apartments, cater to the individual needs of the people residing in the

households. When asked about the secret of InnStar’s success in a sensitive luxury market, Mr. Arman Haque, the Chairman, said, ‘We always try to see things holistically, backed by years of experience. Our approach is always innovative and focuses a lot on design and current sustainable trends. Consistently working with the best available resources has associated us with the “high end” and enabled us to mold our client’s expectation perfectly. Providing clients a complete product for

sustainable living is at the core InnStar. The promising recommendations our product, from one client to another has what made us a premium choice for home buyers.’ The future of Niche Real Estate market in Bangladesh is promising as people are always on the lookout for the best. With a new generation of entrepreneurs flourishing, one of the fastest growing economies, and professionals with international exposure and skill sets, now is the time for us to raise the bar.

International health

Dr. Paul Chiam, Senior Consultant, Cardiology from Mount Elizabeth Hospital & Dr. Tan Seng Hoe, Senior Consultant, Nephrology from Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore; Koh Kee Chow, Senior Manager, International Marketing, Singapore Operations Division, Parkway Pantai, Zahid Khan, Director & Masfiqur Rahman Amit, Area Manager of Parkway Hospitals Dhaka office.

Mount Elizabeth Hospital & Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore Organized a Lifestyle & Health Seminar on

“Live happily in pursuit of a healthy life” Parkway Hospitals Ltd Dhaka organized a lifestyle and health seminar in collaboration with Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore on October 21, 2017. The seminar was conducted under the overall theme of “Live happily – in pursuit of a healthy life” and focused on several diseases of the

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heart and kidney, and their treatments. Dr. Paul Chiam, Senior Consultant of Cardiology at Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Dr. Tan Seng Hoe, Senior Consultant of Nephrology at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore were the main speakers of the event. They talked about the facts and myths concerning heart and kidney diseases respectively. Koh Kee Chow, the Senior Manager of International Marketing at Singapore Operations Division, Parkway Pantai; Zahid Khan, the Director & Masfiqur Rahman Amit, Area Manager of Dhaka Office, Parkway Hospitals Singapore Pte Ltd were also present in the seminar. Zahid Khan addressed the Dhaka office’s work in helping the patients and ended the session with a vote of thanks. The main objective of the seminar was to inform the audience about the state of the art treatment facilities that can be easily available to them, and to notify them of the aids available for the procedure. For more information please send an e-mail to dhaka@parkwayhealth.net or contact at the 24-hour helpline: 0173 6000 000.

NEXT BIG THING

CRAFTING

A BILLION DOLLAR SUCCESS By Amrita Islam & Ibnul Wara While the RMG sector has always been the limelight of Bangladesh, another sector has been slowly building itself up and growing at an astounding rate. One of the oldest industries of the country, the leather and footwear industry has now become one of the key engines of growth in Bangladesh. The first ever tannery was established in 1940 by RP Saha, a business man in Narayangonj, and since then this industry has amassed a rich history of 77 years. What really kick started this industry was when BATA, an international footwear company, started full fledge operation in Bangladesh in 1972. Their contribution in the local market of Bangladesh made a big difference.

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By 1995 206 tanneries had been established which consequently led to an annual growth rate of 8.5% in the leather goods industry and 15.4% annual growth rate in the leather footwear industry between 1992-2002. Leather footwear accounted for 28% of export earnings from leather and leather products in 2007-08. According to a study in 2014, there are around 100 small-to-medium leather goods manufacturers, and a small number of niche larger manufacturers. In 2001-02 export earnings from the leather, leather goods, and footwear were approximately $210, $10, and $40 million accordingly. After 10 years, in 2011-2012 export earnings from the leather, leather goods, and footwear increased to $330.16, $99.36, and $335.51 million accordingly. To put things into perspective, in between those 10 years there has been a roughly 50% increase in export of leather, 900% increase in export of leather goods and 700% increase in export of footwear. As a result, the leather industry achieved a growth rate of 19.42% in 2011-2012. This led to an FDI of $ 57.29 million in the leather industry of Bangladesh in 2012-13. In FY 2016-17 (July-February) FDI in EPZ area in leather, footwear and leather goods industry were $252.41 million and investment outside EPZ area in leather, footwear and leather goods industry with joint venture investment were $3.33 million. On top of that, during the same time frame there was a local investment in leather, footwear and leather goods industry were $130 million. The leather sector generates direct and indirect employment for about 850,000 people. The ratio of female and male workers is 65% and 35% accordingly. The industry currently has approximately 65,000 tannery Workers and 5,00,000 leather collector and hoard Labor. According to the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh, the leather industry achieved the milestone of $1 billion in 2012-13 fiscal years for the first time, whereas the International leather industry size is $233 billion approximately. Bangladesh is currently exporting 0.53% of the global leather, leather goods and footwear market. International leather goods industry size is $72 billion approximately, where Bangladesh shares 1% of the whole market. International leather footwear market size is $52 billion approximately, where Bangladesh shares 1.07% of the whole market. Bangladesh was ranked 8th, in terms of footwear production in the world in 2016, with a production of 378 million pairs. The traditional market of Bangladeshi leather products comprises of Japan, Germany, Italy, UK, Belgium, Spain, France, Poland, the US and Canada. www.ibtbd.net

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Local Scenario

Bangladesh, a country with a population of 160 million (approximately) consumes 300 million pairs of footwear annually. Consequently, the local footwear market is growing at 10-15% per year. Popular local brands comprise of Apex, Bay, Jennys, Zeil's, and Leatherex. Among them Apex is the largest with 224 retail stores countrywide. Combined, they have imported approximately 24 million pairs of footwear in fiscal year 2016-17, which values approximately 93 million USD with an average unit price of USD3.87.

Future prospects

Given the steady rise in growth of the leather industry, Bangladesh government has targeted export earnings of $5 billion by 2021 from this sector. Keeping that target on sight Bangladesh government is currently implementing Skills for Employment Investment Program (SEIP) through Ministry of finance in cooperation with Asian Development Bank (ADB) and targeted to train 15,000 skilled workers by December 2020.

Source : 1. 2. 3. 4.

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http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tannery http://www.assignmentpoint.com/business/marketing-business/report-on-marketing-strategies-of-bata-shoe-limited.html http://jbbc.co.jp/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/A-Report-on-Leather-Leather-Goods-Industry-of-Bangladesh.pdf http://www.aplf.com/en-US/leather-fashion-news-and-blog/news/35381/bangladesh-footwear-market-expands-fast-as-demand-rises

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM LFMEAB

Special interview

Md. Saiful Islam

President Leathergoods & Footwear Manufacturer and Exporters Association Bangladesh (LFMEAB)

LFMEAB is going to organize Bangladesh Leather Footwear & Leathergoods International Sourcing Show (BLLISS) 2017. This is the first of its kind show in Bangladesh. What intrigued you to organize BLLISS?

2016 came with much good news. This is the year when the leather goods and footwear industry made over $1 billion which made us contemplate on the idea of organizing an international

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sourcing show to attract new league buyers. Many of these buyers are currently sourcing from Vietnam, China, and our neighboring countries. This is why we thought of projecting our Industry in a way that buyers know about our capability and offerings. When it comes to value addition, the abundance of good raw material and expert production capacity have enabled us to gradually improving from lower end to middle end and eventually to the higher end.

In this exhibition, we will have buyers from 34 different countries, and there will be chief purchasing officers from various retail and wholesale brands. So, we aim to send the message to them that Bangladesh is now gradually shifting from lower end to middle-end products and ultimately will move to higher-end products. We want to showcase these products to them. So, these factors overall intrigued or motivated us to organize BLLISS 2017.

Is there any country that has faced a similar situation and can be a role model for us?

India, to be more specific, West Bengal had a similar situation. If you look back, 20 years ago Chennai faced the same problem, i.e., their tanneries were very carefully placed and overcrowded which were not environment-friendly. We have already started to shift the tanneries from Hajaribaag to Savar. We have successfully managed to close down every

Till date, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any labor unrest in our sector. Due to social concerns we have researched to find the appropriate living wage to ensure that our workers are paid adequately.

single tannery in Hajaribaag. However, Bangladesh is not a country of high technology, so we have had to purchase the CATP from China. Now the problems that CATP is facing will be resolved within a few months, and then we can tackle the environmental problems properly. We have, however, started working on the physical aspect of the shift from Hajaribaag to Savar. 155 new tanneries are under construction and 40 are already in operation. So, in this way we have emulated our neighboring country as they had faced a similar situation.

What is the ultimate goal of BLLISS 2017 besides attracting new buyers?

The government is very business friendly, but it is the private sector that ultimately takes the industry forward. Whether it is B2B or B2C, the problem is we are not good salesman: we cannot sell products that we have. Whereas other countries are even selling products that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have. The world is moving slowly from developed economies to emerging economies. Five years www.ibtbd.net

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Do you have plans to venture out into new territories regarding attracting buyers?

back there was euphoria about BRICS, and even after the fall of Brazil and South Africa, there were still two big players in the BRICS league, i.e., India and China. In comparison to them, our economy is much smaller, but again I would say that Bangladesh is the sleeping Asian Tiger, which will soon merge with the Emerging Economy of the World. If you see our growth over the last decade, it is 6.5%, and our GDP is $225 billion. So, if you add 6.5% of that $225 billion you are contributing roughly $14 billion years on year growth. This is the message that we want to convey through BLLISS 2017 to the business community and the leather goods and footwear brands. People from the apparel industry will also be present in the exhibition, so they will know how Bangladesh is gradually diversifying its export basket, especially to the Fashion World. In this connection, I would like to mention what our government has envisioned in the 6th 5-year plan. 82% of the export earning now comes from the RMG sector, so the government wanted at least 20% of the same to come from the other diversified industries, but that did not happen. Now we are in the 7th 5-year plan, and the government has projected

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the RMG sector to contribute 75% of the total export and expects the diversified industry to provide the rest 25%. So, we have given the government a goal from the private sector that in the next 4 years, i.e., by 2021-when we move from an LDC to a middle-income country -and export $60 billion, (among which 50 billion will come from the RMG sector) 10 billion USD will come from the diversified sector and among that 50% will come from the leather industry. So, we have a responsibility and a commitment to the economy, and we believe that BLLISS 2017 will be the first step to embark Bangladesh on a new journey.

Can you share some insights about the size of the domestic market?

Well, I cannot quantify the size in particular, but if you ask me as a whole, I can say that over the past few years our average per capita income has increased, meaning that the purchasing power has also increased. If you can quantify the middle and the upper-class people, then we can get a more accurate size of the market. But as a whole, there is no doubt that capacity and the demand for leather goods and footwear has increased significantly in the domestic market.

Yes definitely. Currently, more than 60% of our export goes to the EU countries. Our shipping to North America is not significant at all. So yes, we will be focusing on how to attract the North American market, such as the USA and Canada, and not just these but also the Latin America. Also, recently we have surveyed the southern hemisphere, i.e., in the Australian and New Zealand market. It may not be a significantly sized market but it is a good market, and we are in business with Australia and New Zealand.

Have you faced any challenges regarding labor compliance? Till date, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any labor unrest in our sector. Due to social concerns we have researched to find the appropriate living wage to ensure that our workers are paid adequately. Based on that research many companies are now offering living wages, as opposed to minimum wages. We have also secured health insurance, life insurance for our workers, and slowly we will move onto providing provident funds, gratuity, and other fringe benefits. Also, as you know for the last ten years, we have been honing skills of our workers. Already 15,000 people have graduated from Center of Excellence for Leather Skill Bangladesh Limited (COEL). As a part of our human resource development programs, we are training mid-level managers to be more efficient. All these efforts will eventually result in higher productivity we believe.

Tech

By Abhijit Asad

End of An Era

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What does the future hold for Microsoft’s mobile endeavours?

Unlike the Microsoft of the past, struggling to be relevant in a hostile market dominated by Google and Apple, the Microsoft of today is a very different beast, fighting a different battle. The tech giant of Redmond has never been in a better shape, with CEO Satya Nadella taking some drastic and unconventional calls which would have made his predecessor Steve Ballmer choke on his bacon sandwich. Nadella’s vastly superior survival instincts ensured that Microsoft would not only turn around their sinking status, but also forge new relationships across the industry which can spell the difference between make and break. As part of their new range of conquests on the software front, Microsoft has been aggressively moving into the mobile ecosystems of Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS platforms, both of which enjoy massive user bases around the world. After struggling for years to break new grounds in the mobile scene with their own Windows Phone operating system, Microsoft, ultimately trailing behind its competitors, has decided to follow the age-old adage “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Rather than attempting to futilely keep building its own platform from the ground, Microsoft has wisely chosen to suck up its failure by piggybacking on the already established bases of Android and iOS, by providing an excellent range of apps across both platforms – including

the venerable Microsoft Office productivity suite (albeit in a somewhat cut-down factor to account for system limitations), the Outlook organizer-email client hybrid, the Cortana digital voice assistant, and as of late, the Edge browser. The apps are remarkably well-designed to suit the native environments of each OS, and user response has been greatly encouraging. Interesting parallels can be drawn between Microsoft’s decision and that of Sega, a gaming console titan from a bygone era. While a major innovator in the console gaming industry in the last millennium, as time went by, Sega found it increasingly more difficult to keep up with the consoles brought forth by the likes of rivals Nintendo and Sony, and eventually stopped making its own consoles to focus solely on developing games for the consoles of their competitors. However, to gain something, some things must also be sacrificed, and Microsoft has made the harsh but practical decision of putting their aging but still hopelessly lacking Windows Phone platform on the chopping block. Windows Phone has languished in an agonizing limbo of laggardness for a very long time. This is especially saddening because it brought forth quite a few great ideas to the table, such as a super-minimalistic interface that focused on

clarity through exquisite typography and simple ‘tiles’ that alternated between action points and information displays. The end result was not just distinctly recognizable, but it was also refreshingly different from the more iconographic interfaces of iOS and Android. However, despite all its uniqueness, Windows Phone never quite managed to catch up with its market rivals, largely because of its late entry into the market. Had Windows Phone made it past the gates at the same time as its competing systems, the scenario in the market today may have been very different. But despite all sorts of pushes and prods, developer interest in the platform has been consistently low, with most developers choosing to develop for Android and/or iOS, while soundly disregarding Windows Phone. It should be noted that Windows Phone’s ecosystem largely mimicked that of iOS in the sense of being a walled garden, where the host of the app store would be solely in charge of dictating the rules of app installation, availability and customization. This falls in sharp contrast with the openness of Android, which not only offers an absurd number of apps and deep-level customization tools on its official store (Google Play), but also allows users to install

Microsoft is looking forward to realizing the vision of a unified cross-platform future bridged by its apps across a wide range of devices with different operating systems on different hardware, yet running the same Microsoft apps on all of them.”

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unofficially released app packages through a process called sideloading. Granted, this kind of openness also opens up some room for exploitable vulnerabilities, but it is a great victory for someone who wants to use his/her phone with absolute freedom, without requiring to abide by rigid policies set by shadowy overlords. It can be speculated that if Microsoft had chosen to take the Android route of openness, by creating a more flexible and welcoming system (not unlike Windows running on desktop or laptop computers), it could have enjoyed considerably greater success, particularly among enthusiast circles. Microsoft has officially announced the end of development on the Windows Phone platform, but what does it mean for the end user? It has been clarified that there will be no more new versions of Windows Phone beyond its current iteration, and no new devices which would come loaded with the now-deprecated operating system. However, Microsoft has ensured that while no new features would be added to the OS, it would still continue to receive official security updates and bugfixes so that existing users can keep using it for the time being. The news was confirmed by Joe Belfiore, the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s

Operating Systems Group. Belfiore also elaborated upon the main reasons that were instrumental behind the closure of Windows Phone, such as low user volume and developer reluctance. Despite a promising start and a fresh outlook, the downfall of Windows Phone was predicted by numerous market analysts right from the beginning. Microsoft even bravely attempted to refresh the system by applying fresh coats of paint to the software across new versions (which incidentally mirrored the release numbers of Windows’s desktop iterations), and even attempting to create an all-in-one solution called Continuum, which would allow a Windows Phone user to connect his/her phone to a docking station connected to a desktop monitor, keyboard and mouse, and be able to instantly use and access the phone and all its contents – software and data – as one would use a desktop computer. While a revolutionary and novel concept, Continuum never really became smooth and functional enough to be of practical use for most users. While Windows Phone’s quiet exit will be mourned by its handful of devotees, Microsoft is looking forward to realizing the vision of a unified cross-platform future bridged by its apps across a wide range of devices with different operating systems on different hardware, yet running the same Microsoft apps on all of them. By embracing this new model of business, it has also gained a firm foothold in the mobile market, one that will benefit its current and new users alike. Windows Phone’s legacy will be fondly remembered, but the lessons learned from its shortfalls are far more memorable for Microsoft.

Capital Market

BOURSE UPDATE

Fortnightly Report of DSE, 2nd October To 15th October 2017 Top 10 securities by turnover value in Tk. Sl. No.

Name of securities