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Business & Finance News Wednesday, September 17, 2003 Compiled by SDNP Head Lines
Success achieved in lung and stomach
cancer The Bangladesh Observer
"Specialists are especially encouraged with the recent
development of "TAXOTERE."
According to the specialists, 2nd leading cause of cancer
in Bangladesh is lung cancer and every year nearly 40,000 patients are
affected. Among them 70% comes at a terminal stage when not much can be
done. In this situation a patient survives only 3 to 5 months without
treatment. But statistics both in developed countries and in Bangladesh
shows that treatment with TAXOTERE increase the life span of these
patients up-to 13 months while providing them a quality life.
Dr Anisur Rahman, Associate Professor of National
Institute of Cancer Research Hospital, Mohakhali quoted a recent
scientific trial which was conducted on 1218 patients in 28 countries
including America, Japan and France. In this trial, Taxotere with
Cisplatin treatment regime was used and 24% patients lived 2 years
longer, some lived more than 2˝ years.
At present, Taxotere is a modern and potent
chemotherapeutic drug. This is the first chemotherapeutic drug that has
received FDA Approval (USA) in first treatment of lung cancer last
December. Previously FDA had approved this same drug as second line
chemotherapy.
Treatment success rate in stomach cancer is very low.
This is e specially true with advanced gastric cancer. Here too
Taxotere has given new hope. Cancer specialists of Ashania Mission
Cancer Hospital Dr Salim Reza quoted that in Tax-325 research trial
Taxotere based chemotherapy has show a success rate of 56% which is the
highest uphill now in the world.
The scientific seminar on Taxotere-Recent Updates in Non
Small Cell Lungh Cancer and Gastric Cancer Internationally renowned
radiation oncologist, Professors Emertus, Prof Dr ABMF. Karim chaired
while Director, Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital Prof Md Abdul Hai
co-chaired. Dr MD Ali Hussein, Associate Professor of Respiratory
Medicine, IDCH and Prof Motior Rahman, Senior Consultant, Department of
Surgey, BIRDEM were speakers in the programme. Prof Mirza Mazharul
Islam, Prof AN Md Atai Rabbi, Prof AMM Shariful Alam, Prof Mustafizur
Rahman, Dr (Lt. Col.) Md Mofazzel Hossain (Rtd). were panel of experts
in the discussion sesssion. The Bangladesh Observer
Japan expressed keen interest to invest in the Export
Processing Zones of Bangladesh. This was disclosed recently in
Chittagong EPZ during a discussion meeting between the Executive
Chairman of BEPZA Brig General (Retd) M Mofizur Rahman and Shigeo
Arakawa, the President of M/s Koha Co Ltd an electronics company of
Japan, says a Press release.
It may be mentioned that Shigeo Arakawa has established a
number of electronics factory in other countries including Japan. He
already established an electronics factory M/s OP-Seed Co (BD) Ltd in
the Chittagong EPZ with an investment of US$ 6,524 million and at
present 635 Bangladeshi workers are working in this running factory.
Arakawa praised the facilities and incentives offered by
BEPZA and production oriented investment climate prevailing in the
zone. He also said that the productivity and quality of Bangladeshi
workers are comparable with the Japanese or any other country's workers
and to consider this matter, in future there will be very much
possibilities for more Japanese investment in Bangladesh.
Arakawa said, recently he wrote an article which was
published in a well circulated Japanese daily newspaper on investment
climate and facilities of Bangladesh. In this regard more Japanese
entrepreneurs are eager to invest in Bangladesh and in the coming
November Proprietor of two Japanese companies will visit Bangladesh.
The Executive Chairman of BEPZA sought cooperation of
the President of Koha Co Ltd to attract more Japanese investment in the
EPZs. Arakawa assured for his efforts to encourage more Japanese
entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh particularly in the EPZs.
Among others the General Manager of Chittagong EPZ SS
Kibria, the General Manager of Japanese Koha Co Ltd Kowichi Nishigori
and the General Manager of OP-Seed Company Ataual Haque were present in
the meeting.
WTO faces uncertain future
with torn-up map The Bangladesh Observer
GENEVA, Sept 16:–“It certainly looks like the end of the
World Trade Organisation as we know it,” a Geneva- based diplomatic
analyst said yesterday after the collapse of talks in Cancun, Mexico, on
a new international free trade pact, reports Reuters.
His comments reflected widespread gloom in the wake of
the failure of what was supposed to be a mid-term review of the Doha
round of global trade negotiations launched in November 2001.
The plan had been to end the Round in just 15 months’
time with agreements on slashing tariffs, allowing service firms like
banks and insurance companies to operate globally, and moving towards
removal of rich countries’ farm subsidies.
The World Bank, always enthusiastic about the role of
trade in driving the global economy, had estimated that a good pact
would add up to $520 billion to world incomes by 2015, or about $85 for
every man, woman and child now living.
Economists in major powers had hoped a successful Doha
Round would boost business and consumer confidence at a time of
stuttering growth.
In the event, the WTO’s 146 member nations were able only
to approve the entry of two new members and tear up the outline map
inherited from Doha. Disputes between rich and poor nations on farm
subsidies and new rules to reduce red tape and corruption were key
factors in the breakdown of the talks.
Officials and commentators in richer countries had no
doubt this was a major setback.
“Long-term it is bad for world growth. Only if developing
countries grow can they import more from us,” said John Llewellyn,
global chief economist at investment bank Lehmann Brothers in London.
EU Commission President Romano Prodi said it was
pointless to blame anyone for the talks’ breakdown. “It would be useless
to try and blame anyone for the outcome for we are all equally
responsible—and we all lose if we allow the Doha Development Round to
fail,” he said in a statement.
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said the Doha Round was
“in intensive care” after what he called “not only a severe blow for the
WTO but also a lost opportunity for developed and developing countries
alike.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said poorer
countries—which demanded that the United States and the European Union
end all farm subsidies and drop barriers to agricultural imports—had
rejected good offers.
He left little doubt that Washington would now focus on
getting regional and bilateral trade pacts outside the WTO
framework—arrangements in which it is easier for big powers to impose
their will on weaker ones.
Agreement never easy
“Finding agreement among 146 nations was never going to
be easy,” said Maria Livanos Cattaui, Secretary-General of the
Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce.
“But if governments are going to make good on the
commitments they made in Doha, they will have to show infinitely more
willingness to negotiate than was on display in Cancun.”
Lamy suggested that the size and disparity of the WTO,
where the smallest member can block any action, had confirmed his view
that it was a “medieval organisation” and needed streamlined
decision-making.
Among developing countries, buoyed by their success in
building a broadly united front at the conference, hints of concern that
they might have gone too far could be seen among general delight at
thwarting the big traders.
The President of the Rice Exporters Association in
Thailand keen to sell more to countries with virtually closed rice
markets like Japan and South Korea and an end to competition from
subsidised U.S. rice—said the Cancun collapse was sad.
With no new pact now in sight, poorer countries will have
to wait much longer for even slightly better access for their farm goods
to lucrative global markets, some development economists said.
“Where we pick up from here is not very obvious,” said
one trade specialist close to the WTO.
A high-level WTO meeting in December will review the
situation after more talks in Geneva. “But if people come back really
angry...it’s going to take much longer to get things back on track,” the
specialist said.
Japan's central bank upgrades
assessment of economy
The Bangladesh Observer
TOKYO, Sept 16:–Japan’s central bank raised its
assessment of the economy Tuesday, citing improved prospects for exports
on the back of growth in the United States, issuing the latest in a
series of uplifting signs for the troubled economy.
The Bank of Japan’s September report is the first upgrade
by the central bank since July. Last week, in a separate report, the
Cabinet Office also upgraded its view of the economy.
“Economic activity still continues to be virtually flat
as a whole although signs of improvement have been observed in such
areas as the environment for exports,” the central bank report said.
In its August report, the bank had said that economic
activity remained virtually flat.
The Bank of Japan warned about continued deflation, a
situation in which prices drop for a long time bringing down profits and
economic activity.
The central bank has maintained an easy monetary policy
and voted Friday to keep that policy of flooding the banking system with
extra cash to encourage lending and financial stability.
The Bank of Japan said that economies in the United
States and Asia were expected to grow at a faster pace, lifting Japanese
exports and giving recovery here a boost despite weak consumption at
home.
The good news comes at the right time for Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi, who is being challenged by three lawmakers in a
ruling party election Saturday to choose the party chief.
Koizumi has been pushing reforms to trim government waste
and encourage competition in the private sector.
The main index for the Tokyo stock market, which at one
point fell to about half of the 14,000-level it displayed at the start
of Koizumi’s term two years ago, recently has recovered to above 10,000
points. World leaders seek global recovery at Dubai talks AFP, Dubai,
The Daily Star They will also have to grapple with the renewed failure at the weekend of trade negotiators to find a deal in Cancun to free up world trade, a setback seen as bad news for the emerging economic recovery. The United States should be able to boast a return to impressive growth rates when representatives of the IMF, the World Bank and the G7 nations converge on Dubai from Thursday, but European leaders will have to explain once again why the continent is teetering on the brink of recession. Even Japan, long regarded as the sick giant of the world economy, has managed to return to robust growth rates after years of stagnation, even though worries remain about the country's fragile banking system. Japan's economic output grew by 3.9 per cent in the three months to June compared with the year earlier, while the United States revved up at an impressive 3.1 per cent pace in the same period. The Financial Stability Forum, which brings together G7 members and central banks, said after a meeting last week "there has been general improvement in financial conditions and the increasing, if uneven, signs of a global recovery." But the euro zone, which brings together the 12 nations using the single European currency, saw its economy contract by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter after stagnation in the first. Germany, the Netherlands and Italy have all slipped into recession, while a fearsome row is simmering within the bloc over the budget policy of several member states. The EU's executive arm has been urging France to bring its bloated public deficit into line with EU rules, but Paris has insisted that it needs to take measures to stimulate sluggish growth. France was on the receiving end of stinging rebukes from the EU Commission and other euro zone countries at a finance ministers meeting in Italy last week, with the Netherlands even threatening to take Paris to court over the issue. However questions may also be asked of Washington by the IMF and fellow members of the G7 leading industrialised nations group (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan) about how the US intends to sustain its colossal budget and current account deficits. The US budget deficit is projected to balloon to 480 billion dollars in fiscal 2004, even without the White House's latest request for 87 billion dollars of extra funds for the reconstruction efforts in war-ravaged Afghanistan and Iraq. Another item of contention could be the refusal of China and other Asian nations to change their currency policies, with western countries alleging that their refusal to let weak currencies rise is unfairly hurting US and European manufacturers. Washington has so far failed to persuade China to boost the level of the yuan by dropping a nine-year-old peg against the dollar, which means Chinese exporters are able to undercut the prices of their US competitors. The risks to the fragile economic recovery are also looming large, with world leaders more conscious than ever of the threats posed by political instability in the Middle East and knock-on effect of a possible spike in energy prices. The IMF will have to counter criticism over its agreement with Argentina to reschedule Buenos Aires' debt, which has been slammed by private banks as too soft to spur an economic recovery in the country. A further headache is the failure of trade negotiators to reach a deal in the Mexican city of Cancun at the weekend to revive global trade. The collapse of talks means it may now be impossible for the World Trade Organisation to complete the round of trade-opening talks launched in Doha two years ago by the January 1, 2005 deadline. The failure was "bad news at a moment when the world economy is coming out of recession and needs a pick-up in trade -- which is beginning to happen in Asia, particularly in China -- to carry over to the rest of the world," said Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's chief economist for Europe, Eric Chaney. This year's meeting in the United Arab Emirates metropolis kicks off with the publication of the IMF's world economic forecasts on Thursday, while the finance ministers from the G7 nations are due to meet from Saturday. High speed Internet users grow 72pc in '02 AFP, Geneva,
The Daily Star High speed cable and digital line subscribers form 10.7 per cent of Internet users, against 7.4 per cent in 2002, the ITU said in its "Birth of Broadband" report. South Korea is the leading market for broadband, with 21 subscribers for every 100 inhabitants, more than twice as many as third placed Canada (11), the report said. Hong Kong ranks second in the world for high speed internet use, with 15 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. The report indicated that broadband access, which allows faster and higher capacity Internet connections, may help fuel consumer spending on communications technology. ITU argued that high speed connections provide "greater access at lower cost" to the consumer, but it also admitted that some economies are struggling with the high fixed costs of setting up a broadband network. "While broadband is accelerating the integration of the Internet into our daily lives, it is not a major industry driver in the same way that mobile cellular (phones) and the Internet were in the 1990s," Tim Kelly, head of the ITU Policy and Strategy Unit said. Need for dredging of outer bar of Mongla Port stressed Staff Correspondent, Khulna, The Independent Sept 16: Sea-borne trade through Mongla Port may get a boost if the government takes steps to dredge the outer bar near Hiron Point which is the limiting factor affecting the draft of ships entering and leaving Mongla Port. Chairman of Mongla Port Authority (MPA) Commodore (Rtd) MK Alam said this in an interview with The Independent at his office yesterday. The port chairman says, "If the outer bar is dredged, 9 plus metre draft ships can easily come to Harbaria anchorage, where presently vessels with 8.5 metre draft are allowed to take berth." He adds, "At present vessels with 20 thousand tonnes of bulk cargo are coming to Harbaria anchorage. But if the outer bar is dredged, ships with 30 thousand tonnes of bulk cargo can take berth at Harbaria area, which will put Mongla Port at a comparable level with Chittagong Port as far as the channel draft is concerned." While pleading for the dredging of the outer bar, Chairman Alam points out that the 131 km long Pussur channel is important not only for smooth operation of the port, but also for the navigability of naval vessels for security of the country, lighterage of fuel from Chittagong to Khulna and development of marine fisheries. Since the commissioning of the port in 1950, the dredging of the outer bar near Hiron Point has never been undertaken in the past because of the high cost involved. During the last three years, the port authority has spent nearly Taka 34 crore out of its own fund to maintain the navigability at Sabur Beacon and Southern anchorage in the channel and at also jetty front, and planned to dredge the Mongla-Pussur confluence this year, which will cost another Taka 10 crore. Shipping circles demand that the government should pay special attention to reactivate Mongla Port further by turning it into an alternate port to Chittagong Port for the sake of hassle-free sea-borne trade of the country. "Whenever there is congestion at Chittagong Port, Mongla Port can be used as an alternate port to ease the problem, and to avoid the port congestion surcharge," said a local stevedore, adding that such utilisation of Mongla Port will enable timely shipment of exports and discharge of imports. Referring to the inherent disadvantages and problems being faced by Mongla Port, the local port users said that the country exports garments, tea and leather goods worth over Taka 15 thousand crores annually. But not one Taka worth of these goods is routed through Mongla Port, because of lack of direct road and rail link with Dhaka belt where about 50 percent of the country's industries are located. The business houses of Dhaka and adjacent districts show apathy towards Mongla Port because of lack of "business-friendly infrastructure", such as an airport in Khulna and a bridge over the river Padma at Mawa, sources said. According to shipping circles, if the much-talked-about Mawa bridge is constructed, the distance between Dhaka and Mongla Port will be reduced to 165 km, while the distance from Dhaka to Chittagong is 263 km. In recent times, Mongla Port Authority has taken steps to speed-up loading and unloading of cargo and check pilferage from the food grain vessels by enforcing discipline among the dock workers. In support of this contention, port officials claim that most of the vessels bringing food grains to Mongla Port during recent months showed excess, whereas in the past, shortfall by a big margin was more or less the routine. In a bid to lure import cargo to Mongla, the port authorities have withdrawn cent percent landing charges since last year, though this involves a loss amounting to Taka 3 crores per annum. The port authorities have also reduced tariff on all Nepal-bound cargo by 50 percent, but lack of development of roads, bridges (Paksey and Rupsha) and land port at Banglabandh in Panchagarh district has deterred Nepali traders from using Mongla Port. According to port sources, there has been no increase in port tariffs since 1986 because of the "resistance of port users", but the annual expenditure on account of wages and salaries of port personnel and officers has increased four-fold from Taka 3 crores to Taka 12 crores. At present there are 4,500 registered dock workers, but the port can be efficiently operated with a labour strength of 2500, according to sources. The wages for dock workers are paid by the stevedores on no work no pay basis, but the port authority has to meet an expenditure of about Taka 4 crores annually in providing festival bonus, uniform allowance, water and power charges and medical facilities. Benapole land port had previously been under the management of Mongla Port Authority, but since early last year, it was placed under the Land Port Authority. As a result, MPA has lost the revenue earning from Benapole to the tune of Taka six to seven crores annually. In the last fiscal year (2002-2003) the total revenue earning of Mongla Port Authority was about Taka 55 crore (provisional) as against about Taka 65 crore in the FY 2001-2002 and about Taka 76 crore in FY 2000-2001. A port official said that one of the main reasons for the decline in the last year's revenue earning of MPA was the separation of Benapole land port from the management and control of Mongla Port Authority. |
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