BP profits ahead of expectations

Oil giant BP has reported third-quarter profits well ahead of
expectations, sending its share price up 5 %. Its replacement cost
profit between July and September was $4.98 bn (£3 bn). Experts said
the figure had "obliterated" market forecasts. BP's results were
boosted after it made bigger- than-expected cost cuts. But profit was
down 50 % from the $10 bn it made a year ago, as oil - currently
trading at about $80 a barrel - is well below the $147 high set in
July 2008. The company said that unit production costs were 18 %
lower than in the third quarter of 2008 , while oil and gas
production was up 7 % on last year. BP says it expects to cut costs
by a total of $4 bn this year. Share spike "The fall in earnings was
well trailed," said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at
Hargreaves Lansdown. REPLACEMENT COST PROFIT Replacement cost profit
is the reporting measure typically used by oil companies and
reflects the current cost of supplies The measure strips out gains or
losses related to any changes in the value of the firm's stock of
fuel products "But the numbers nonetheless have obliterated market
forecasts, as evidenced by the spike in the share price in early
trade." Excluding one-off items, BP's profits were $4. 67 bn compared
with analysts' forecasts of about $3.2 bn. The firm's shares rose 27
pence to 594 p. Nick McGregor, oil analyst at Redmayne Bentley, said
that BP's refining business was also key. "For every dollar that oil
prices go up, BP make about $400 m. For every dollar that refining
margins go up, they make about $950 m," he said. "The exploration and
production is the most profitable in absolute terms because it's the
biggest bit, but refining is a big influence on the overall bottom
line." 'Giant' discovery Net income at its Russian joint venture
TNK-BP rose 34 % to $1.7 bn. The project had been marred by a dispute
between BP and the Russian shareholders in the venture, and was only
resolved in September last year when Robert Dudley stepped down as
TNK-BP's chief executive. BP said the venture was well-positioned to
deliver a solid performance in 2009. BP was also buoyed last month by
a "giant" new oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said
the discovery amounted to more than three billion barrels. Its well
in the region, dubbed Tiber, has been drilled to a total depth of
about 35 ,055 ft (10 ,685 m), making it one of the deepest wells
drilled to date.

July-Aug export declines

Exports have nosedived against targets in the first two months of the
fiscal year compared with figures from the same period last fiscal,
Export Promotion Bureau statistics show.    The EPB figures indicate
exports in the first two months fell by 6.86 per cent against the
target, 3.29 per cent lower than exports in Jul- Aug 2008.    This
trend is likely to continue through incoming months, an expert on
foreign trade has said, considering a 13 per cent greater export
earning target this fiscal.    Zayed Bakht, BIDS research director,
told bdnews24.com, 'We happen to export most of our wares to Europe
and the US, who are still trying hard to come out of the shadows of
the all-encompassing recession.'    'The still conservative trends
may cut our moderately ambitious export earning targets attainment
through the first and second quarters.'    Md Shahabullah, EPB vice
chairman, told bdnews24.com, 'The last fiscal year saw a stupendous
60 per cent export growth in July and another 42 per cent in August
juxtaposed with which the current year's earnings look dwarfed.'
'Escalation of export growth rates might occur at different times
through years. Bangladesh is expected to do better towards the
year-end in meeting the target.'    The overall export earning target
in the last fiscal fell short in the end by 4.50 per cent, EPB
statistics revealed.    As per the EPB figures, exports in all sub-
sectors—woven, knit, textile fabrics and home textiles—of the main
sector of readymade garments have fallen.    Processed food products,
tea, leather and ceramic wares exports also nosedived. Chemical
products, bicycles, computer software and services and handicrafts
exports which shone last year have experienced cuts too.    But
exports of electronic equipment, jute goods, agro-based—especially
processed agricultural products including vegetables, tobacco
etc—have been augmented.    The knitwear exports in Jul-Aug have
bagged $1204.31 million, which fell short of the current year's
target by 3.66 per cent and 0.48 per cent compared with the last
year's earnings.    During the same period, woven wear exports earned
$1011.87 million, which fell short of the current year's target by
11.68 per cent and 2.06 per cent compared with the last year's
earnings.    FBCCI president Annisul Huq told bdnews24. com, 'Usually,
the first couple of months see export earnings escalating. But this
year, the picture is different.'    'I'll say we have to exercise
caution even if we refrain from raising an alarm reacting to this
situation.    'The overall exports and imports—both sectors have
experienced cuts. Imports of raw materials and capital equipment have
seen reductions. Foreign currency reserves have risen.'

Citycell makes roaming easy during Hajj

Citycell – the only CDMA operator of the country – has recently
introduced special international roaming facility for Hajj pilgrims
of Bangladesh.    The 'Global Roaming' facility is available for the
first time this year to pilgrims using Citycell.    Though Saudi
Arabia does not have any local CDMA operator, Citycell customers will
be able to use their Citycell global roaming RIM cards in GSM
handsets to make and receive calls using their own post-paid number.
Additionally, customers will also enjoy the most affordable roaming
call rates anywhere in Saudi Arabia compared to other operators of
Bangladesh. Citycell is extending a special offer to hajis and any
other travelers to Saudi Arabia during the offer period (till
December 31 2009) allowing a 50 per cent discount on global roaming
subscription.    To apply for this offer, customers will need to show
a copy of the Hajj or Saudi visa or Hajj ID card in addition to the
regular documents required for international roaming subscription.

Pizza Hut, KFC launch Braille menu

Pizza Hut and KFC have introduced a Braille menu to serve its
differently-abled customers, says a press release. Under the
franchise of Transcom Foods Ltd, the two international restaurant
chains will be the first in the country to open up such an
opportunity to the visually-impaired to choose from a menu they could
easily understand. The Braille menu was launched yesterday at the
Gulshan outlet of Pizza Hut and KFC, where Akku Chowdhury, executive
director of Transcom Foods Ltd, was present. Chowdhury said the
motivation behind the Braille menu came after he received a mail from
Dr Nafeesur Rahman, director of NFOWD ( National Forum of
Organisations Working With the Disabled), to make the difference.

Japan's hip young farmers dig in to avert food crunch

Young Japanese are fleeing the urban jungle for the half-abandoned
countryside on a mission to make farming cool again and cut Japan's
frightening food deficit in the process. Organic farming converts,
rice-growing Tokyo fashionistas and other young greenfingers have
trickled back into rural Japan where many farm towns have been slowly
dying amid fast-greying Japan's demographic crunch. Japan, the world's
second-largest economy, now imports 60 percent of its food, and many
worry about future food security if climate change rocks global food
supplies or energy costs swing international grain prices. In a
high-tech country that grew rich on selling cars and electronics, the
young farmers are standing up to reinvent the image of agriculture.
"No matter how big Japan's economy is, no matter how much cash it
stacks up, this country will soon be unable to buy so much food from
overseas," Yusuke Miyaji, 31 , recently told a crowd of young
farmers. "I want to make a job in the primary sector cool, striking
and profitable," said Miyaji, dressed in overalls, to applause from
his audience. "Kids should dream of becoming farmers, not baseball
players!" Miyaji, who comes from a pig farming family, has created a
network called Kosegare, a word meaning farmer's son, that has
attracted more than 200 young farmers and supporters who share his
sense of crisis. "The time left for us to revamp this industry is
probably about five years," Miyaji warned his squad of youthful
activist farmers. Under his scheme, produce is marketed under the
network's "Refarm" brand. Members share information on organic
farming and urge supportive consumers to buy directly from them to
cut distribution and commission costs. Encouraged by the movement,
Kaori Nukui, 31 , who joined her parents last year to grow green tea
and shiitake mushrooms, said that after years in the city she now saw
a business opportunity in family farming. "I had no interest before
in taking over this business," said Nukui, who had worked for Tokyo
consulting and public relations firms for seven years, as she drove a
pick-up truck to a mushroom house in Iruma, north of Tokyo. "My
mother also wanted me to marry a businessman rather than work the
land," she said. "But when I thought of starting a business myself,
I realised my parents had already built a good foundation for me."
Data shows Japan's farming population is quickly ageing and that many
farm households have no working heir, as birth rates have fallen and
children have left country towns for the bright city lights. More
than 70 percent of Japan's working farmers are aged 60 or older,
and nearly half are over 70. Only 8.5 percent are aged 39 or
younger. About 3 ,800 square kilometres (1 ,520 square miles) of
farmland have been abandoned and laid waste throughout the nation. In
88 percent of cases, the owners said they were too old to work the
fields. Japan, which kept its food self-sufficiency ratio above 70
percent in the late 1960 s, now produces only 40 percent of its food
and buys almost all its wheat, corn and soy beans from overseas.
Domestic production of meat, particularly beef and pork, has fallen
from 96 percent in 1960 to about half in 2007. The country grows
enough rice for domestic consumption, thanks to heavy trade
protection which has also made the rice sector highly inefficient.
The government has for years tried to reduce rice farming acreage in
order to limit supply, keep the market price high, and thereby allow
Japanese rice farmers to continue to make a living. The new
government led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has pledged to
abolish the policy but keep subsidising rice farmers. Seeing the dire
situation of farmers, even girls with trendy hairstyles and long
painted fingernails in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya shopping district
have jumped onto the rural bandwagon. Shiho Fujita, a 24- year-old
singer, music producer and model, is leading a squad of "gal"
farmers who have cultivated rice in the countryside, and dishes out
advice in her blog on growing zucchini and tomatoes. "It may be
difficult for gals and young people to start farming instantly," she
writes. "But if the agro-industry becomes more exciting by young
people joining it, then Japan's farming will definitely change.

UAE to spend more next year

The United Arab Emirates federal government will increase public
spending by 3.4 percent next year despite the global economic
downturn, according to the draft 2010 federal budget released on
Monday. Spending will rise to 43.63 billion dirhams (11.89 billion
dollars) for the fiscal year 2010 , but the government expects
revenues to match expenditure and to balance the budget, making it
the sixth consecutive year without a deficit. The social services
sectors, including education and health care, receive the lion's
share of the budget, equivalent to 41 percent or 17.8 billion
dirhams (4.85 billion dollars). The budget of the federation of seven
emirates -- Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al- Khaimah, Umm
al-Qaiwain and Fujairah -- reflects "the sound fiscal policy of the
government through which it was able to achieve positive growth and
no deficit despite the global economic circumstances," WAM said. Like
its neighbours in the Gulf region, the UAE has witnessed a six-year
oil-fuelled economic boom. However, the onset of the global downturn
triggered a slowdown in the economy, especially in the emirate of
Dubai's real estate market, causing suspension of mega construction
projects and job layoffs as property prices plunged by 50 percent. In
addition to the federal budget, each of the seven emirates adopts its
own budget, which is much higher than that of the federal
government. With reserves estimated at 97.8 billion barrels of crude
oil, the UAE, with a population of about 6 million people among whom
more than 80 percent are expatriates, is a leading OPEC member.

India frees trade with Vietnam

India has granted market economy status to communist-ruled Vietnam,
an important step to ramp up its economic engagement with the
Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). Industry and trade
officials here said yesterday that the move gave more substance to a
free trade agreement between the two sides. India granted the market
economy status during bilateral talks between Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung on the sidelines
of Asean summit in the sea resort of Hua Hin in southern Thailand on
Sunday. The conferring of market economy status by India to Vietnam
came before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) deadline after Hanoi
insisted on it before signing the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement.
In a market economy, prices of goods and services are determined by
demand and supply. With the new move, India will accept prices
prevailing in the Southeast Asian nation as the basis for determining
investigations into complaints of anti-dumping against imported
goods, officials say. India is yet to give such status to China,
another communists-ruled country. Earlier, India used to investigate
dumping cases from Vietnam on the basis of prices prevailing in a
third country. Anti-dumping probe arises when a recipient country
suspects that the exporting nation is supplying goods at abnormally
low prices that will affect the domestic industry of the importing
country and the prices are controlled by the government of the
exporting country. In fact, India had recently imposed anti-dumping
duty on textile imports from Vietnam. Although India-Asean FTA would
have gone into force even without Vietnam signing the document,
India did not want any of the ten- member countries of Asean to remain
out of the deal, Indian officials say. They pointed out that the FTA
between South Korea and Asean did not include Thailand for a long
time. All Asean member-countries, Australia and New Zealand have
already recognised Vietnam as a market economy country, which
registered one of the highest economic growth in the region. Trade
volume between India and Asean stood at $48 billion in 2008 and is
expected to touch the $50- billion mark next year.

BKMEA to hold labour festival

Bangladesh Knit Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) is
set to hold a daylong labour festival for the second time at Osmani
Stadium in Narayanganj on December 18. A series of programmes,
including traditional cultural shows and concerts, will be organised
during the festival. The festival is expected to draw more than one
lakh workers from Narayanganj, Savar and Gazipur, BKMEA said in a
statement yesterday. BKMEA held the first labour festival on October
24 last year.

ADB sings a deal with Bangladesh

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed four agreements yesterday to
lend Bangladesh $744 million to help fight off the effects of global
recession. Of the total allocation, a $500 million loan under the
countercyclical support facility (CSF) will support the government's
efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the global economic crisis,
ADB said in a statement. Three other loans of $244 million under the
public expenditure support facility (PESF) will support government
measures to introduce economic and social policy reforms. ADB
emphasises that the reforms are essential to achieve higher and more
inclusive long-term growth and strengthen social safety net
programmes. M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, secretary of Economic
Relations Division (ERD), and Paul J Heytens, ADB's country director
for Bangladesh, signed the agreements at a ceremony at ERD in Dhaka.
"The CSF loan will help the government to stimulate economic recovery
and move ahead with its social safety net programmes to cushion the
impact of the crisis on the poor and vulnerable while maintaining
macroeconomic stability," said Heytens. "The PESF is equally vital to
help the government deliver key public policy reforms," he said.
Sound economic management has enabled Bangladesh to weather major
external shocks and sustain its growth momentum, even if it has not
been spared from the adverse effects of rising petroleum and
commodity prices, and natural disasters such as floods and cyclones,
ADB said. The loans came after a visit to Bangladesh in July by ADB
President Haruhiko Kuroda, where he offered to provide additional ADB
assistance to the government. The CSF, established in June 2009 ,
supports ADB' s developing member countries needing to increase
fiscal spending to counter the global economic crisis. To be eligible
to access the CSF, the countries must be adversely affected by the
global economic crisis, demonstrate sound macroeconomic policies and
have a countercyclical programme in place. The CSF loan has a
five-year repayment term, with a three-year grace period, and will
cost around 200 basis points over ADB's financing cost and pricing.
As the loan will be disbursed in a single trance, it will not involve
any commitment fee.

Asian shares higher

Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday as optimism about the
upcoming third quarter reporting season helped investors brush off a
weak lead from Wall Street at the end of last week. The region was
also given a boost after South Korea revealed above-forecast growth
figures for the third quarter, leading to hopes other economies will
follow suit. Tokyo added 0.77 percent, Seoul one percent and
Shanghai was flat. Hong Kong and Wellington were closed for public
holidays. TOKYO: Up 0.77 percent. The Nikkei-225 rose 79. 63 points
to 10 , 362.62. SYDNEY: Down 0.60 percent. The SP/ASX200 fell 29.1
points to 4 ,830.3. SHANGHAI: Flat. The Shanghai Composite Index,
which covers both A and B shares, was up 1.72 points or 0.06 percent
to 3 , 109.57. SEOUL: Up 1.03 percent. The KOSPI ended up 16. 94
points at 1 , 657.11. TAIPEI: Up 0.25 percent. The weighted index
rose 19.12 points to 7 , 668.40. SINGAPORE: Flat. The Straits Times
Index gained 1.28 points or 0.05 percent to 2 , 716.62. BANGKOK: Up
0.43 percent. The Stock Exchange of Thailand rose 3.07 points to
close at 711.83. JAKARTA: Flat. The Jakarta Composite Index edged
down 0.24 points or 0.01 percent to 2 , 467.71. Telkom fell 1.7
percent to 8 ,500 rupiah, Bank Rakyat lost 1.3 percent to 7 ,500
and car distributor Astra rose 1.4 percent to 33 ,100. MANILA: Up
0.29 percent. The composite index added 8.54 points to 2 , 941.53.
MUMBAI: Down 0.42 percent. The 30- share Sensex fell 70.31 points
to 16 ,740.5.

Oil slips

Oil prices fell Monday on profit-taking and as a ceasefire took hold
in Nigeria, whose crude production has been ravaged by militant
attacks in recent years, analysts said. New York's main contract,
light sweet crude for delivery in December, shed 49 cents to 80.01
dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for December lost 40 cents to
78.52 dollars in early London trade. New York crude oil hit 82
dollars on Wednesday, the highest level since October 14 , 2008 , as
the market took its cue from a slumping US currency.

Dubai unveils $6.5 b borrowing plans

The Dubai government has unveiled plans to raise 6.5 billion dollars
through bonds, Emirates Business 24 /7 reported on Monday, citing a
prospectus for potential investors. The borrowing programme will be
divided into four billion dollars in a euro medium-term note ( EMTN)
and a 2.5- billion-dollar Islamic bond issue, or sukuk, Emirates
Business said. The Dubai Government said the new EMTN debt may be
listed on the London Stock Exchange ( LSE) and the Dubai Financial
Market (DFM), the paper said. The lead arrangers for the EMTN are
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International, Standard Chartered Bank and
UBS Investment Bank. Officials who addressed investors in Dubai on
Sunday said the lead managers of the sukuk issue are Dubai Islamic
Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ, Standard Chartered and UBS Investment Bank. "I
am sure the issue will get oversubscribed as there are eager
investors who want to pick up a portion of the Dubai debt, especially
because I am sure it will be issued at a comfortable price," a top
foreign bank official told Emirates Business.

EC warns three airlines over tie-up plans

The European Commission has told British Airways, American Airlines
and Iberia that they may have to give up take-off and landing slots
to be allowed to press ahead with a transatlantic tie-up, the FT
reported on Monday. The Financial Times, which cited documents
relating to the matter, reported that the EC said an agreement
between the three groups was "likely to result in appreciable
competitive harm" on seven Europe-US transatlantic routes. The EU's
competition regulator "envisages issuing a decision finding that the
series of agreements signed have been in breach" of competition laws
and would order that the " infringements" are ended, the financial
daily added. "Remedies may include ... the transfer of airport
slots" to rival airlines, the EC added, according to the documents
obtained by the FT. The three airlines revealed on August 14 last
year that they had signed an agreement to cooperate on flights
between North America and Europe to help them to overcome soaring
fuel costs and falling demand.

South korea's economy

South Korea's economy grew at its fastest pace for more than seven
years in the third quarter, official figures showed Monday, as Asia's
economies lead the world out of its slump. Gross domestic product
rose 2.9 percent quarter-on-quarter in July-September and 0.6
percent compared with a year earlier, the central Bank of Korea said
in an advance estimate. The quarter-on-quarter growth was the
country's fastest since 3.8 percent in January- March 2002. Asia's
fourth largest economy had recorded a 2.6 percent gain
quarter-on-quarter in April-June but the figure represented a 2.2
percent contraction year-on-year. On a year-on-year basis, Monday's
figures showed that GDP turned positive for the first time in four
quarters. "Industrial output, led by chips and automobiles, posted
robust growth in the third quarter," the bank said in a statement.
"Private consumption and facility investment also grew, contributing
to growth."

ING to raise 7.5 b euros to repay govt, restructure

Dutch banking and insurance group ING said Monday it plans to
restructure its business, selling off its insurance operations and
raising up to 7.5 billion euros to pay back government emergency
funding. "ING announced today that it will move towards a separation
of its banking and insurance operations, clarifying the strategic
direction for the bank and the insurance company going forward," the
group said in a statement. In order to repay government funds extended
at the height of the global financial crisis, "ING plans to launch a
capital increase ... of up to 7.5 billion euros" (11.25 billion
dollars).