Iconic US brand goes to China

Hummer, the off-road vehicle that once epitomised America's love for
hulking trucks, is now in the hands of a Chinese heavy equipment
maker. General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial
Machinery Corp. finally signed the much-anticipated deal for GM to
sell the brand on Friday. Tengzhong will get an 80 per cent stake
in the company, while Hong Kong investor Suolang Duoji, who
indirectly owns a big stake in Tengzhong through an investment
company, will get 20 per cent. The investors will also get Hummer's
nationwide dealer network. Financial terms were not disclosed,
although a person briefed on the deal said the sale price was around
$150 million. The person did not want to be identified because the
terms were being kept private. GM's bankruptcy filing last summer
said that the brand with military roots could bring in $500 million
or more. Suolang Duoji also is the controlling shareholder and
chairman of Lumena Resources Corp., a Hong Kong listed mining
company. GM and Tengzhong said in a statement that the transaction
still must be approved by the US and Chinese governments. Chinese
regulators initially expressed reservations about Tengzhong's ability
to run such an enterprise. Hummer's current management team will
stay with the new company, which will be headquartered either in
Detroit or suburban Auburn Hills, Mich. James Taylor, the GM
executive who has run Hummer recently, will remain as its chief
executive officer. Taylor said in an interview with The Associated
Press that he knows resurrecting the brand will be difficult, but the
key will be quickly rolling out more fuel-efficient models that get
over 20 mpg. 'I'm not in any kind of denial that we have a very
steep uphill challenge in front of us,' Taylor said. Hummer, he
said, has been in a state ' suspended animation' since June 2008 when
GM announced it would be reviewed for sale or closure. Since then,
its future has been uncertain and it got no marketing support or new
products. Financing for leases, a big part of its luxury market, also
dried up, Taylor said. Still, GM sold 1,000 Hummers in some months,
proving that buyers are out there. 'There's still a loyal customer
base underneath there that loves Hummer,' he said. Hummer hopes to
keep buying fuel-efficient engines and transmissions from GM, but can
seek them elsewhere, Taylor said. He said the brand has been
unfairly tagged as a symbol of the American gas guzzler, saying
other vehicles get worse mileage. He wants to make sure 'at least
we aren't a victim of misinformation that we stand alone as the
ultimate bad guy in the space, which we aren't.' Hummer hit the
streets for civilian use in 1992 while owned by AM General LLC, which
makes Humvees for the US Army, and California Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger was among the first customers. The brand, whose
smallest model gets 16 miles per gallon (14.7 liters per 100
kilometers) in combined city and highway driving, sold well until
the middle part of this decade when fuel prices began to rise. Sales
peaked at 71,524 in 2006. But only 8,193 Hummers have been sold in
the US through the first nine months of the year. That's down 64 per
cent from a year earlier. And only 426 Hummers were sold nationwide
last month, according to Autodata Corp. GM, which spent 40 days in
bankruptcy protection during the summer and has received about $50
billion in US government aid, also plans to sell its Saab brand and
scrap Pontiac and Saturn as it tries to streamline its operations.
The Hummer deal is a victory for GM, which saw a similar agreement to
sell the Saturn brand blow up at the last minute. Auto dealership
magnate Roger Penske's bid fell through just before the deal was to
close last week when a contract to make vehicles for Saturn was
rejected by the Renault board. The company wants to focus on four
core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC.

Japan anti-swine flu business suit on sale

A Japanese menswear company has begun selling an 'anti-swine flu'
business suit that it says can reduce the risk of catching the virus.
The wool suit is coated with titanium dioxide, which breaks down
the virus molecules on contact under ultraviolet light, Haruyama
Trading Co. said. The material, which can also reduce odours such
as cigarette smoke, will keep its anti-virus properties even after
being dry cleaned more than 20 times, the company said. It will go
on sale at 272 stores across Japan on Saturday, with a price tag of
52,290 yen (589 dollars), following its launch in Tokyo on Thursday,
said company spokesman Ryugo Yamamoto. The company had initially
aimed to develop a dirt- and odour-resistant suit, 'but laboratory
experiments proved that molecules of viruses were actually dissolved
three hours after they adhered to the fabric,' he said. Japanese
people are known for being extremely hygiene-conscious, with
thousands of people on the street wearing masks when the first
Japanese victims tested positive for swine flu in May. Students
and even adult workers are instructed how to effectively wash their
hands and gargle, while antibacterial goods ranging from men's socks
to a computer mouse are also popular.

Citi to sell oil trading unit

US banking giant Citigroup has agreed to sell its oil trading unit
Phibro LLC to Occidental Petroleum for some 250 million dollars, the
companies said Friday. Citi, which has received massive US
government aid to help it overcome losses in the financial crisis,
said the sale would be at 'net asset value' and that the proceeds
would be 'not material' to earnings. The deal would close in the
fourth quarter pending approvals. 'The decision to sell Phibro was
the outcome of an evaluation of a variety of alternatives and is
consistent with Citi's core strategy of a client- centered business
model,' the bank said. 'The sale of Phibro does not affect Citi's
client- facing commodities business lines, which will continue to
operate and serve the needs of Citi's clients throughout the world.'
Occidental said its net investment would be around 250 million
dollars for Phibro, which is a trader in oil and gas. 'Phibro does
not trade in any exotic derivatives or hold any level three type
assets,' Occidental said. Phibro's management team and its
employees will remain with the company after closing, according to
Occidental It added that 'significant portions of current and
future bonuses will be deferred and retained by Phibro and paid out in
future years.' According to the Wall Street Journal, Citi has been
under pressure to unload the unit because of a 100 million-dollar
annual pay package for Phibro head Andrew Hall.

French investment sought

Leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (FBCCI) invited the French business community to invest,
especially in sectors like information technology, readymade
garments and pharmaceuticals, and joint ventures in the Export
Processing Zones. The FBCCI invitation came at a meeting on Friday
with the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to a press
statement. A forty-two member Bangladesh business delegation is now
in France on a four-country trip in west Europe. Roger Bacri, head of
south and south - East Asia desk of the Paris chamber, presided over
the meeting, while Enamul Kabir, ambassador of Bangladesh in France,
business leaders of France and the Bangladesh businessmen working in
France were present. At the meeting, Kamaluddin Ahmed, director of
FBCCI and leader of the delegation, welcomed the French business
community to come forward for investment in Bangladesh. Ahmed
highlighted the opportunities Bangladesh offers to foreign investors
and urged the French businessmen to establish educational and
vocational training institutes in Bangladesh to facilitate jobs for
the unemployed people. The Bangladeshi envoy presented the current
business scenario of Bangladesh and requested the French business
people to come up with investment projects in Bangladesh. Bacri
expressed his interest to work jointly with the business community of
Bangladesh and also emphasised expansion of the bilateral trade. The
FBCCI business delegation visited Germany last week. They will also
visit Switzerland and Italy.

US company launches IP solutions

Digium, a leading manufacturer of Internet Protocol products based on
the open-source Asterisk platform, yesterday launched its IP
telephony solutions for Bangladesh market targeting such service
providers, small and medium enterprises, corporate and financial
sectors. The US-based Digium has an array of IP products and
solutions tailored to meet the needs of different segment of
customers. EMEM System Limited, one of the country's fastest growing
information and communications technology companies, has been
appointed as the sole distributor of Digium in Bangladesh. Rupert
Utteridge, Director, Sales and Marketing, Digital Technique (Asia
Ltd), which distributed the Digium products in Asia region gave a
presentation on various features of the solutions at the launching
programme held at Hotel Sarina in the city. The Digium products
include Switchvox, Asterisk Appliance 50 , Digium Analog and Digital
board and B410 P. All are feature riches, cost effective and easy to
upgrade. Addressing the launching ceremony, Abdul Mutaleb, chief
executive officer of EMEM Systems Limited, said the Digium products
are very cost-effective with the ability of easily upgrade when
business expands. He said the IP telephony service providers will be
benefited a lot from adopting the Digium solutions as the nascent
industry has to upgrade their infrastructure gradually in a
cost-effective manner when their business will grow over time. Syed
Samiul Huq, director of EMEM Systems Ltd, said EMEM is working
persistently to introduce innovative technologies to Bangladesh and
investing immensely to build a pool of trained engineers in the field
of IP technology. He said Bangladesh is yet to exploit the wide range
of benefits from IP based technology where Digium Asterisk pledges to
play a pivotal role in the years to come. The Bangladesh
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission recently awarded over 30 IP
telephony licences enabling the ISPs to introduce IP based Voice
services for the first time which promises to bring in more features
and benefits to the telephone users.

Move to promote local cuisines Chef of the Year contest launched

In a bid to promote local cuisines in the country and beyond, travel
magazine Bangladesh Monitor yesterday launched a "Chef of the Year"
competition. "Discovering the culinary talents of the country and
making Bangladeshi cuisines popular are the main purposes of the
contest," said Kazi Wahidul Alam, editor of the fortnightly magazine.
He was speaking at a press conference in Dhaka to announce the fifth
version of the competition. Malaysian Palm Oil Council that works
across the world to raise popularity of palm oil is the title
sponsor of the competition styled 'Monitor- Malaysian Palm Oil Chef of
the Year-2009 '. Dubai-based airline Emirates is the premium partner
of the contest. Anyone, including housewives as well as amateur and
professional cooks, will be able to submit their recipes to the
organisers within November 15 without any entry fee, said Alam. Each
participant will have to send at least two recipes of traditional
Bangladeshi food dishes under two categories -- "Cardinal Dish"
prepared of meat or fish and "Vegetable Dish". The participants will
also be able to send as many recipes as they can but every dish
should contain as much food as it is required to serve at least six
persons, the press conference was told. A panel of judges headed by
Siddiqua Kabir, a writer on health and nutrition and a culinary
expert, will elect the top recipes of the competition. The first
three performers will be awarded with cash money, return air tickets
and hotel accommodation outside the country. AKM Fakhrul Alam,
regional manager ( Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar) of Malaysian Palm
Oil Council, and Hanif Zakaria, area manager of Emirates for
Bangladesh, also spoke at the press meet.

Seminar on PSI today in BANGLADESH

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is holding a seminar today to
review the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) system. Finance Minister AMA
Muhith will inaugurate the seminar at the city's Institute of Diploma
Engineers Association of Bangladesh, which will decide the fate the
PSI system. Dr Masihur Rahman, the adviser to the prime minister on
economic affairs, along with some other experts in the field will
attend the seminar.

NBR think tank in the offing

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to set up a 'Tax
Information Management and Research Centre.' On August 16 , the NBR
formed a committee with the director general of the Central
Intelligence Cell as its head to work out the activities and
jurisdiction of this centre, as proposed by the finance minister in
his budget speech. The committee was actually given two weeks' time
for submitting its report by August 30. But in its first meeting on
August 23 , the committee members sought three months more to submit
the report. According to a member of the committee, the ' Tax
Information Management and Research Centre ' will act as the think
thank of the NBR. Once set up, the centre will be able to provide
more appropriate information to the NBR regarding any government
decision on revenue matters. "In every developed country of the
world, there are such centres which help the government take
decisions about revenue matters," he said. He said the centre will
evaluate the tax measurers, particularly the facilities given to the
taxpayers or industries. NBR sources said the government decided to
enhance the tax-GDP ratio, which is very poor in the country --
around 8 , the lowest in the subcontinent.

Govt puts brakes on CNG stations

The government has decided to restrict the setting-up of new CNG
stations at some highway points, aiming to discipline the saturated
sector in those areas. "No further permission to set up CNG stations
in the restricted areas will be granted until further notice," the
government said in a recent gazette. However, CNG stations can be set
up in other non-saturated areas by meeting some conditions mentioned
in the notification. Existing petrol pump owners will be able to set
up CNG points at their stations. The government imposed restrictions
on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway that includes Jatrabari to Meghna
bridge, Comilla bypass area, Chauddagram, Feni and Shitakundu. The
Dhaka-Mymensingh road, Tongi Bridge to Joydebpur Cantonment line
road, Sreepur to Mawna, Trishal to Mymensingh town entrance have
been made off-limits to new CNG stations. The areas in and around
Aminbazar bridge to Savar bazaar and Dhamrai bridge to Paturia link
road will also not be allowed to set up any new CNG station. Further
spots named in the gazette that will not be allowed to establish new
CNG stations include Nabinagar to Chandra intersection, Kaliakoir-
Tangail-Alenga and Sherpur to Barura bypass of Dhaka-Bagura highway
and Sirajganj to Pabna road. Prospective entrepreneurs can set up CNG
stations by meeting some conditions in other areas, but each new
station must maintain a distance of at least 3 kilometres, if on the
same side of the road. For new stations on opposite sides of the
road, each station must maintain a distance of at least 2
kilometres. The restriction on the distance between two stations can
be relaxed for existing petrol pump owners and anyone holding land in
Dhaka and Chittagong metropolitan areas with government permission
to set up a CNG station. A total of 468 CNG filling stations across
Bangladesh offer services to 170 ,405 CNG run vehicles, according to
Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Ltd (RPGCL). Abdullah Al Mamun,
finance secretary of Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion
Workshop Owners Association, said the government initiative is
positive. "But this initiative will not make sense if CNG prices are
not cut." He said large vehicles find CNG to be cost- effective
despite CNG prices doubling to Tk 16.75 a cubic metre last year, as
diesel was priced at Tk 55 a litre. But vehicle owners find it less
cost effective to use CNG after two downward adjustments left diesel
prices standing at Tk 44 a litre. Shafiul Azam, managing director of
RPGCL, said CNG stations in some places have become saturated,
putting squeezes on business.

Distribution of energy savers starts today

Dhaka Power Distribution Company (DPDC) starts the much-awaited free
distribution of 15 lakh compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) to
consumers in the city today. "It's a pilot project. In the first
phase, we will distribute 22 ,500 lights among consumers along with
23 ,000 electronic blasts," Ataul Masud, managing director of DPDC,
told the news agency yesterday. "However, after evaluating its
efficiency, we will take a massive programme." Garman aid agency GTZ
has provided one lakh euros for purchasing the bulbs from a local
manufacturer. As part of its primary plan to increase energy
efficiency, the government had earlier announced that it would give
three crore compact fluorescent lights for free in February 2010.
The World Bank will provide $50 million for the project. DPDC said it
has engaged Buet in evaluating the efficiency of the system. "To help
reduce consumption of electricity, we will distribute the bulbs among
the consumers who use incandescent bulbs. The consumers will give us
two incandescent bulbs and will get two CFLs in return," Masud said.
State Minister for Energy and Power Enamul Haque will inaugurate the
programme where top officials of the Power Division will attend.
According to a REB study, a CFL uses a fifth of power required by a
conventional bulb with the same illumination capacity. It said the
number of incandescent bulbs and tube lights is around 1.11 crore.
The study also revealed that CFLs could save 350 MW of electricity a
day.

Dhaka looks to WTO meet to win African LDCs' support

Bangladesh is now in talks, both bilateral and multilateral, with the
African least developed countries (LDCs) to drum up support from them
in winning a zero tariff facility for its major exportable items in
the US market. Officials said it targets the WTO mini-ministerial
meeting in Tanzania on October 14-16 to unite all 49 LDCs to mount
pressure for such duty-free access. The Tanzania meet will be, in
fact, a groundwork for the Bangladesh team joining there to have
positive responses from the Africans to the country in the upcoming
WTO Summit. The summit is due in Geneva on November 30- December 2.
"The US duty-free access is on top of our agenda in the Tanzania meet
for which we have finalised the drafts to be put up there," said
Amitava Chakraborty, director general of the WTO Cell at the
commerce ministry. Progress in MODE-4 or free movement of natural
persons to facilitate human resource exports to developed countries
is another topic Bangladesh wants to put forward in the talks,
Chakraborty pointed out. Tariff Commission Chairman Dr Mujibur Rahman
points his fingers at Bangladesh's advantageous position in the
negotiation table that major products it exports are different from
those exported by African LDCs, which enjoy US preferences. "The
Tanzania meet opportunity might be availed to make the Africans
understand that erosion of the preferences they enjoy in the US is
unlikely as Bangladesh's products are not similar," Rahman said. "If
a common declaration comes out from Tanzania meet, it will help
Bangladesh get a duty-free benefit from the US," he maintained.
Moreover, India, a neighbouring developing country, recently offered
Bangladesh and other LDCs a greater cooperation in the WTO Geneva
Summit, he said. Such Indian step will help raise voice in favour of
Bangladesh in the WTO Summit as Sri Lanka and Pakistan--two other
developing countries -- now also lobby for tariff cut on exports to
US, Bangladesh's tariff body chief said. Although Bangladesh is an
LDC, it will seek the benefits, as it fears to lose out
competitiveness to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. These two developing
countries enjoy US privileges because of their embattled political
situation, Dr Rahman said. Parleys are on to bring down tariffs at
five percent for five selected Lankan and Pakistani garment items
within five years. At present, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are
paying 15 percent duty on apparel exports to US market. A senior
official of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association ( BGMEA) said the country paid $576 million as duty
against its nearly $3 billion exports to US in 2008. Bangladesh
mainly exported woven and knitwear to the market during the year, the
official said. He said France, being an advanced economy, also paid
the same amount of duty although it exported 15 times higher than
Bangladesh to the US during the period.

Weekly Currency Roundup

International Markets The US dollar continued to take a beating this
week. Fueled by a pick up in global investor sentiment, as well as
continued speculation on countries moving away from the dollar as the
primary reserve currency continued to weigh down the dollar, and
reaffirmed its long term downtrend. There was also a news report on
the US dollar being replaced as the currency for oil trade. This
further hit the dollar. The dollar weakened on Thursday after strong
Australian jobs data sent the Australian dollar sharply higher and an
upbeat US corporate earnings report fuelled investor demand for
higher risk and yield at the expense of the greenback. Australian
data beat expectations for a fall in jobs in September, with 40 ,600
positions created instead, pushing the Aussie to a 14- month high
against the US currency as markets anticipated more interest rate
hikes to come. On Tuesday, the RBA became the first central bank in
the Group of 20 to raise its cash rate in this cycle. The move led
to a general improvement in risk appetite and made leveraged carry
trades even more attractive. On the other hand, US interest rates
are set to remain anchored at record lows well into next year, making
the dollar a possible funding currency for higher-yielding assets.
On the other hand, US interest rates are set to remain anchored at
record lows well into next year, making the dollar a possible funding
currency for higher-yielding assets Local Money Market The call money
rate traded in the range of .5 % the week. The market was flooded
with liquidity after the maturity of bills the previous week, and
rates remained very low. Local Market FX The USD remained steady
against the BDT this week. The market was active and there was
ample liquidity.

Brown sets optimistic forecast for Britain

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the British economy would emerge
from recession with stronger growth than expected as he drew the
battle lines for the general election, in an interview out Saturday.
Brown told The Daily Telegraph newspaper that Britain would return to
growth next year, as he spelt out the differences between his
governing Labour Party and the main opposition Conservatives, who
are 14 percent ahead in the opinion polls with an election due by
June. Brown tried to portray himself as an optimist on the coming
years in Britain, saying the Conservatives had painted a pessimistic
view of tough times ahead that were "simply not true". "Britain is
capable of coming back to growth at a higher rate next year than
people were expecting, and higher rates in the future," the 58-
year-old said.

US trade gap registers surprise drop

The US trade deficit narrowed for the first time in four months in
August on higher exports driven by a weak dollar and lower imports
amid lacklustre domestic demand, the government said Friday. The
goods and services trade gap fell 3.6 percent to 30.7 billion
dollars from a revised 31.9 billion dollars in July, the Commerce
Department reported. Most analysts had expected the gap to widen
with a 33 billion dollar deficit on the back of a higher bill for
imported oil, due to higher prices, but oil import volume plunged. In
percentage terms, the August deficit dip was the largest recorded
since May, figures showed. Exports rose 0.2 percent to 128.2 billion
dollars while imports fell 0.6 percent to 158.9 billion dollars.
Trade has for the past year helped cushion the contraction of the US
economy, which plunged into recession in December 2007. The trade
deficit in the goods sector narrowed by two percent to 41.9 billion
dollars in August, while the surplus in services widened by 2.7
percent to 11.2 billion dollars.

China exceeds 8 pc growth

China's economic growth rate exceeded eight percent by the end of
September, the chairman of the country's banking regulatory
commission was quoted as saying Friday. But Liu Mingkang said the
global crisis "isn't behind us yet" and it was too soon to start
talking about an exit strategy from the government's massive stimulus
measures, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Liu was speaking at a banking
conference in Hong Kong. His comments referred to Beijing's
four-trillion-yuan (585- billion-dollar) stimulus package unveiled
last year and loose monetary policy. China, the world's number three
economy, is due to announce third quarter gross domestic product data
on or about October 22. The Chinese economy expanded 7.1 percent in
the first half from a year earlier, after growing 6.1 percent in the
first quarter and 7.9 percent in the second. Beijing sees eight
percent growth as essential for job creation and keeping a lid on
social unrest.

US eyes free trade pact with Asean

The United States is beginning to lay the initial groundwork for
talks to forge a free trade agreement with Southeast Asia, ahead of
President Barack Obama's maiden trip to the region. A senior US
senator will propose a resolution on Tuesday encouraging Obama
administration officials to initiate the negotiations, warning about
competition from China and other powers who have already sealed pacts
with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). "The United
States should proceed to develop a comprehensive strategy toward
engaging Asean in serious FTA discussions," said Senator Dick Lugar,
the Republican party leader in the powerful Senate foreign relations
committee. Lugar admitted that the free trade endeavor would be
"complex and have possible challenges to negotiation given the
varying levels of economic development and open markets among Asean
countries." But he pointed out that "China, India, Australia, New
Zealand and South Korea have already finalized FTAs with Asean and
are sharpening a competitive edge over the US in Southeast Asia."
Ongoing trade sanctions with military-ruled Myanmar, one of 10 Asean
member states, should not deter US efforts to reach an FTA with the
rest of the grouping, which also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam,
Lugar said.

Dollar edges higher

The dollar inched up on the euro Friday on comment from Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinting that US interest rates could be
on the rise. The single European currency in late-day trade was at
1.4713 dollars after 1.4791 late Thursday in New York. The dollar
was meanwhile trading at 89.48 yen against 89.48 yen, up from
88.39. The euro slide came at the end of a week during which the
single currency had risen steadily against the dollar, powered by
strong stock market performances and increased public agitation for
closer scrutiny of the dollar's status as the world's reference money.
The euro at one point came close to hitting its year-long high of
just over 1.48 dollars. But dampening appetite for the euro on Friday
were remarks on Thursday from Bernanke indicating that interest
rates in the United States would need to be raised when the "
economic outlook has improved sufficiently." A hike in the US interest
rates would make the dollar more attractive to investors. The US
currency had recently come under downward pressure from speculation
that the United States would be slower to tighten monetary policy
than other central banks. That interpretation had encouraged investors
shun the dollar in favor of the euro. The US trade deficit was
meanwhile reported Friday to have narrowed for the first time in
four months in August on higher exports driven by a weak dollar and
lower imports in the face of lackluster domestic demand.

Asian stocks on the rise

Asian markets rose for a fourth day Friday, boosted by dealers'
confidence in the upcoming earnings season and an upbeat outlook on
the global economy. Tokyo rose 1.87 percent and Seoul almost two
percent while Taipei added 0.91 percent. Hong Kong also edged up.
Shanghai stormed 4.76 percent higher as it caught up on gains in
regional and other overseas markets following China's week-long
National Day holiday. Investors were cheered by data showing initial
claims for US jobless benefits in the week ended October 3 fell to a
nine-month low of 521 ,000. Korea's central bank also gave support as
it froze its key interest rate at a record low 2.0 percent for the
eighth straight month, saying the economy was showing strength. Hopes
for the third quarter earnings season came after US aluminium giant
Alcoa announced a surprise profit this week. TOKYO: Up 1.87 percent.
The Nikkei-225 gained 183.92 points to 10 , 016.39. The index ended
above the key 10 ,000- points level for the first time in more than a
week as hopes mounted for a recovery in corporate earnings. HONG
KONG: Flat. The Hang Seng Index edged 6. 54 points higher at 21 ,
499.44. The market rose slightly, giving it a fifth day of
consecutive gains. SHANGHAI: Up 4.76 percent. The Shanghai Composite
Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 132.29 points to 2
, 911.72. But market watchers warned that liquidity concerns may
weigh on the market as 18 companies seeking to list on China's new
Growth Enterprise Market will open subscriptions for their initial
public offerings next week, traders said. SEOUL: Up 1.94 percent.
The KOSPI gained 31.33 points at 1 , 646.79. TAIPEI: Up 0.91
percent. The weighted index rose 68.65 points to 7 , 571.96.
SINGAPORE: Flat. The Straits Times Index gained 1.56 points, or 0.06
percent, to 2 , 652.51. BANGKOK: Up 0.38 percent. The Stock Exchange
of Thailand gained 2.84 points to close at 746.87. KUALA LUMPUR: Up
0.30 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index gained 3.73 points
to 1 , 233.82. JAKARTA: Down 0.41 percent. The Jakarta Composite
Index lost 10.11 points to 2 , 474.40. MANILA: Down 0.85 percent.
The composite index shed 25.24 points to 2 , 942.78. MUMBAI: Down
1.19 percent. The 30- share Sensex fell 200.88 points to 16 ,
642.66.

Pay up, News Corp boss says

The leaders of two of the world's major news organisations said
Friday that it is time for search engines and others who use news
content for free to pay up. The comments from The Associated Press'
Tom Curley and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp come as the media
industry struggles in the Internet age. Many news companies contend
that sites such as Google have reaped a fortune off their articles,
photos and video without fairly compensating the news organisations
producing the material. "We content creators have been too slow to
react to the free exploitation of news by third parties without input
or permission," Curley, the AP's chief executive, told a meeting of
300 media leaders in Beijing. "Crowd-sourcing Web services such as
Wikipedia, YouTube and Facebook, have become preferred customer
destinations for breaking news, displacing Web sites of traditional
news publishers," Curley said. "We content creators must quickly and
decisively act to take back control of our content." He said content
aggregators, such as search engines and bloggers, were also directing
audiences and revenue away from content creators. "We will no longer
tolerate the disconnect between people who devote themselves -- at
great human and economic cost -- to gathering news of public interest
and those who profit from it without supporting it," Curley said.
Murdoch also told the opening session of the World Media Summit in
Beijing's Great Hall of the People that content providers would be
demanding that they be paid. "The aggregators and plagiarists will
soon have to pay a price for the co-opting of our content. But if we
do not take advantage of the current movement toward paid content, it
will be the content creators -- the people in this hall -- who will
pay the ultimate price and the content kleptomaniacs who triumph,"
the News Corp chief executive said. Curley said in a speech earlier
this week in Hong Kong that the AP was considering selling news
stories to some online customers exclusively for a certain period,
perhaps half an hour. The AP licenses its stories and photographs to
many of the Internet's main hubs, including Google, Yahoo and
Microsoft's MSN, and its work is also used by hundreds of Web sites
owned by newspapers and broadcasters. Currently, they all get the
material at the same time. Curley did not clarify how a product that
provided some news earlier would work or specify the target customers
for the potential new service. The AP already plans to roll out a
system, called a news registry, that will track its content online
and detect unlicensed uses in ways that could help boost revenue for
the not-for-profit news cooperative, which was founded in 1846 , and
its member newspapers. The system will be tested in six weeks by
nine newspapers as well as a sports statistics provider run jointly
by AP and News Corp. The AP and its member newspapers contend that
unauthorised use of their material is costing them tens of millions
of dollars in potential advertising revenue at a time when they can
least afford it. The AP's revenue is expected to be around $700
million this year, down from $748 million in 2008 , in part because
of reductions in the fees it charges newspapers and broadcasters,
whose advertising revenue has been dwindling as more marketers shift
to less-expensive or better- targeted options online. Murdoch has been
a strong advocate of charging for online content. News Corp already
owns the newspaper industry's most successful Internet subscription
model in The Wall Street Journal, with more than 1 million customers
who pay for online access. Murdoch had said in the past he hopes to
make online fees pay off for his other publications, which include
the New York Post and The Times of London. He hasn't provided
specifics about his plans. Last month, The Wall Street Journal said
it plans to start charging as much as $2 per week to read its
stories on BlackBerrys, iPhones and other mobile devices, expanding
the newspaper's effort to become less dependent on its print
edition. The mobile fees will be imposed in the next month or two,
Murdoch said at the time. Murdoch and Curley were speaking to 300
representatives from more than 170 media outlets from 80 countries
at a meeting that will look at the challenges and opportunities the
media face from the Internet, technology changes and the world
economic crisis.

Singapore Airlines connects Melbourne with daily A380

Singapore Airlines has introduced its A380 service to Melbourne, it
said in a recent statement. A 471- seat double decker aircraft took
off from Singapore Changi Airport with 453 customers aboard and
touched down at Melbourne Airport recently. Melbourne is the second
Australian city and sixth city in Singapore Airlines' network to
receive the A380. Singapore Airlines currently operates 21 weekly
flights between Singapore and Melbourne, including the daily A380
service. "The Singapore Airlines started A380 operations in October
2007 and continues to be extremely popular with Bangladeshi
customers, as we have been experiencing positive booking response for
our A380 services," said Malcolm Leong, general manager Bangladesh
for Singapore Airlines. The airline has 10 A380 s in the fleet.

Bidding terms worry bulb makers

Controversy looms large over the government initiative of replacing
traditional incandescent bulbs by offering 10.5 million energy
saving lights free of cost, as local manufacturers say some bid
clauses may keep them out of the bidding to supply such bulbs. The
manufacturers alleged that at least nine contradictory conditions put
in the bid paper will prevent them from taking part in the bidding
process for supplying the energy saving compact fluorescent lights
(CFLs). They sought the prime minister's intervention in the bidding
process to make it suitable for the local companies. Rural
Electrification Board floated tender for supplying 10.5 million CFLs
on September 14 , and the bid closing date is October 27. The World
Bank (WB) funds the project. The estimated cost for 10.5 million
CFLs is $15 million, according to the WB. The government initiated
the programme to save electricity as Bangladesh is producing only 4
,300 MW against 5 ,200 MW demand in peak hours. It is estimated that
10 million CFLs would save 312 gigawatt power and $11.5 million a
year. The mega project for distributing CFLs has become lucrative
both to national and international energy saving light makers. As per
the tender document, a prospective bidder will have to show experience
certificate of supplying 20-33 lakh CFLs at a time. The local
manufacturers alleged that the clause was included to prevent them
from participating in the bidding. "At present, no local company has
such experience as the energy saving light market is just
flourishing in Bangladesh," said Kazi Mahbubur Rahman, president of
Bangladesh Efficient Lighting Manufacturers' Association, at a press
conference in Dhaka yesterday. He said local manufacturers can supply
40 percent energy saving lights of the project's 10.5 million bulbs.
There was discussion between the government and the local
manufacturers earlier, when the government assured them of collecting
at least 30 percent bulbs locally. Along with the market leaders --
Bangladesh Lamps Ltd, Energypac Electronics Ltd and Macro
Fabricators Ltd -- around 10 local companies are now producing nine
lakh energy saving lamps per month. Rahman demanded that the supply
amount should be reduced to 3-5 lakh at a time to ensure
participation of the local manufacturers in the bidding. The bid did
not tag any after-sales service requirement. Foreign companies, if
accepted for the project, will be able to withdraw all the money
against whatever they will supply by keeping only 2 percent as
security money. Vice President of the association Nurul Aktar said
such provision may harm the government initiative as no one will take
responsibility of quality of the products. He said in case of
electric product supply, a company must provide one year after-sales
service according to Public Procurement Policy. In line with the
policy, the company must keep 10 percent of its total supply cost as
security money. He also said the existing bidding process will not
ensure the products' quality. The present process does not allow the
government to check the technical specification first before
scrutinising financial proposal, Aktar said. "If the government fails
to ensure technical specification, there remains a chance to supply
substandard bulbs by non-brand importers," he said.