Lego reports profit rise

Europe's biggest traditional toy maker, Lego, reported a rise in
first half net profits on Monday despite the economic crisis and
fierce competition from electronic games. Net profit at the Danish
manufacturer rose to 684 million kroner ($129m) from 427 million
kroner in the first half of 2008 and sales were up 23 per cent, the
company said in a statement. Lego chief executive Jorgen Vig
Knudstorp said the results were 'very satisfactory' but warned there
was still 'considerable uncertainty' about the full year outcome
since most sales happen around the Christmas season. The company
said sales were particularly high in North America and Central and
Eastern Europe, two areas where the crisis has hit very hard, adding
that its classic product lines using colourful plastic blocks
remained the most popular. The family-owned company has undergone
major restructuring in recent years after reporting huge losses
earlier in the decade due to stiff competition from the skyrocketing
popularity of hi-tech computer games.

Muhith for people’s well-being over revenue targets

Finance minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday said that his government was
working for the well-being of the country's people rather than
putting the highest priority on increasing revenue collection. 'We
have slashed down import duties on a number of commodities for the
well-being of the country's people despite knowing that it will
reduce our revenue collection,' he said while addressing separate
programmes in Chittagong. The finance minister exchanged views
with the officials of the Chittagong Customs and Chittagong Port
Authorities and the leaders of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and
Industries, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association, Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association and
Bangladesh Shipping Agents' Association in two separate meetings at
the Customs House in the morning. Muhith said they would focus on
boosting investment, industrialisation and administrative reforms to
strengthen the economy, adding that the suffering of the people become
intolerable when the government puts the highest priority on revenue
earning. He said that at least 25 per cent of the total revenue
remained unrealized due to the writ petitions filed by the importers
and so formation of a special bench at the High Court for quick
disposal of the petitions was under process. The minister said the
government was taking pragmatic measures to curb extortion and
profiteering, as these were the major reasons behind the price-hike
of essential commodities. He also said they were taking necessary
measures to initiate capital dredging of the river Karnaphuli
immediately for increasing the navigability of the port channel,
adding that other facilities of the Chittagong Port were adequate
for conducting export-import activities smoothly. He said that the
pre-shipment inspection system was introduced 12 years back as an
interim measure, and that they were optimistic of putting an end to
it after developing an alternative system by the end of the current
fiscal year. Nasiruddin Ahmed, chairman of the National Board of
Revenue, Commodore RU Ahmed, chairman of the CPA, Syed Golam Kibria,
customs commissioner (import), Shahabuddin Nagari, customs
commissioner (export), MA Salam, senior vice-president of the CCCI,
Nasiruddin Chowdhury, first vice-president of the BGMEA, Ahsanul
Haque Chowdhury, president of the BSAA, and AKM Akhtar Hossain,
president of the C&F Agent Association, were present at the
views-exchange meetings, along with others.

Citi cuts India GDP forecast

Citigroup said on Tuesday it was cutting its target for India's
economic growth for the 2009/ 10 fiscal year to 5.8 per cent, from 6.8
per cent earlier, taking into account the effects of a weak monsoon.
'Factoring in negative agri growth but leaving industry and
services unchanged, we cut our FY10 GDP estimates to 5.8 per cent
from 6.8 per cent, but retain FY11 (2010/11) estimate at 7.8 per
cent,' it said in a note. The bank maintained its growth forecasts
for industry at 5.5 per cent and services at 8.6 per cent. The US
bank also said that it now expected policy tightening of 125 basis
points for 2009/ 10, compared with an earlier forecast of 75 basis
points. Citi said the government's relief measures to deal with
the drought in many districts of the country could widen the fiscal
deficit to 7 per cent from 6.8 per cent of the gross domestic
product.

Tax collections increase by 18 per cent

The country achieved about 18 per cent income tax growth to taka 139
billion in the fiscal year to end June 2009 despite the global
financial crisis, a tax senior official said. 'The National Board
of Revenue could even surpass the income tax target for the just
concluded financial year due to a successful campaign,' said Abdus
Salam, a deputy commissioner of taxes of the NBR. The NBR earned
over taka 8 billion more than the target for the fiscal year of
2008/09, he said. Bangladesh's biggest mobile phone operator
Grameenphone, 62 per cent owned by Norway's Telenor, topped the list
of large taxpayers, contributing taka 5.50 billion as tax on its
profit. The Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, being the second
largest taxpayer, paid taka 3.34 billion in the last fiscal year.
In 2007-08, the NBR has achieved 32.78 per cent growth in income tax
collection compared with the previous year and the finance ministry
had disbursed nearly taka 500 million among the officials as cash
reward for achieving the success. The incidences of corruption in
the tax administration would decline if the government continues the
policy of rewarding, officials said adding that it would also speed
up tax collection efforts. Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
in his budget speech said there would be increased focus on income
tax collection.

India braces for drought, worries over inflation

Meagre monsoon rains have pushed India to the brink of drought,
putting pressure on food prices and energy supplies and imperilling
economic growth, but bulging stocks of wheat and rice will provide a
buffer, top officials said on Tuesday. 'We are staring at the
prospect of an impending drought,' prime minister Manmohan Singh
told a meeting of environment ministers of states. India's vital
monsoon rains have been 29 per cent below normal since the beginning
of the June-September season, hurting crops such as rice and cane
and triggering a sharp rise in food prices in India and sugar futures
abroad. Monsoon rains revived in the past few days, particularly
in the cane-producing state of Uttar Pradesh, where the state
government has declared a drought in most of the districts, but this
has not eased concerns of government and trade officials. A
central bank deputy governor said erratic monsoon rains may put
pressure on prices, but the deputy chairman of the Planning
Commission said India had enough stocks of food to counter
inflationary pressures. Trade Secretary Rahul Khullar, meanwhile,
said the government was not considering a ban on exports of corn and
soymeal. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday he
expects economic growth in 2009/10 to be over 6 per cent, as forecast
earlier and in line with a central bank estimate, despite the
monsoon shortfall. He earlier said that 'the ground reality was
that the drought has set in,' according to a government statement
late on Monday. Some private economists have said poor rains could
trim economic growth by as much as 2 percentage points in the fiscal
year that ends in March. Investors, meanwhile, are growing nervous
that a poor harvest could crimp rural spending and erode profit
growth for sellers of consumer goods. Farming accounts for just 17
per cent of the Indian economy but rural consumption makes up more
than half of domestic demand. India's economic growth slowed to 6.7
per cent in its most recent fiscal year after three straight years of
growth of at least 9 per cent. Low rainfall has slowed the
refilling of India's main water reservoirs, threatening the supply
of hydropower, which accounts for a quarter of India's generation,
and reducing availability of water to irrigate winter-sown crops such
as wheat and rapeseed. Hydropower generation in India had fallen
10 per cent from last year, Central Electricity Authority Chairman
Rakesh Nath told reporters. The weather office has forecast
widespread rains in the key cane-growing areas in north and northwest
India as well as the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, the main
soybean- growing region. Farm minister, Sharad Pawar, said on
Monday that the country needed to raise planting of winter-sown
crops and improve irrigation to make up for the damage to farms.
Monsoon rains are vital for India's summer- sown crops such as rice,
sugarcane and soybeans because the majority of the farmers do not
have access to irrigation facilities.

F-SECURE enter in BANGLADESH

F-Secure Corporation, a leading company in providing cyber security
as a service through mobile operators and Internet Service Providers,
signed an agreement with AKCEYCOM Limited to expand its business in
Bangladesh. AKCEYCOM Limited is a joint venture company between
local AK Khan & Company and Ceylinco consolidated of Sri Lanka,
F-Secure on Sunday announced that AKCEYCOM Limited would be the
authorised security service partner to introduce F-Secure service
platform for Bangladesh market targeting the small businesses and
consumers, says a news release. 'Brand building today is different
from what it used to be. We believe partnering with a strong
innovative market leader such as AKCEYCOM Limited will be a vital key
for our success to significantly expand our business here in this
region,' says Venu Palakirti, F-Secure's sales director for India and
SAARC region.