Oil prices extend losses

Oil prices fell further on Monday amid easing supply worries and lingering fears of a financial default by debt-ridden Greece, which could hit demand for energy.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August, dropped 51 cents to $90.65 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for August declined $1.22 to $103.90 a barrel in early London deals.

Crude oil futures had tumbled last week after the International Energy Agency agreed to draw on emergency reserves to make up for lost Libyan supplies and as global economic recovery fears prompted demand concerns.

'We see the highly unusual IEA measure as a reflection of serious concerns about the path of the world economy, which have been reflected in falling prices over the last two months,' analysts at JBC Energy research group said in a client note published on Monday.

'Accordingly, whether sharp cuts in oil price forecasts by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs turn out to be correct will largely depend on the path of economic developments.

Source : New Age

market Disclosures

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/business/24125.htmlMd Farhad Ahmed Akanda, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 34,500 shares out of his total holdings of 17,07,037 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Pioneer Insurance
Md Nasirullah, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 1,000 shares out of his total holdings of 28,563 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Janata Insurance
The company has informed that the 25th AGM of the company will be held on July 26 at 11:30am at Trust Milanayatan on Old Airport Road at Dhaka Cantonment in Dhaka. Other information of the AGM as announced earlier.

NCC Bank
Sultana Yasmin, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported her intention to sell 1,50,000 shares out of her total holdings of 22,79,418 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Shahjalal Islami Bank
Nasima Akter, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported her intention to sell 1,00,000 shares out of her total holdings of 62,34,460 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.
Eastern Insurance
Normal trading of the shares of the company will resume today after record date.

Mercantile Insurance Co
Abdul Haque, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 60,000 shares out of his total holdings of 1,20,000 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Active Fine Chemicals
The company will be placed in 'A' category from existing 'N' category with effect from today as the company reported disbursement of 15 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2010.

  Source : New Age

Strike hits StanChart S Korean unit

Thousands of workers at Standard Chartered bank's South Korean unit launched an indefinite strike on Monday in protest at management efforts to push ahead with a performance-based pay system.

About 3,000 unionised workers of SC First Bank — almost half its employees — have joined the stoppage, said union leader Kim Jae-Yul.

Kim said management had refused to negotiate annual pay rises unless employees agree to a new performance-based wage system instead of the seniority-based compensation prevalent among South Korean firms.

'The management said it won't discuss a pay raise unless we agree that the new compensation system begins in January 2012.'

Source : New Age

Citi appoints new head of Client Delivery

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/business/24127.htmlGlobal Transaction Services of Citibank, NA, Bangladesh has recently appointed HM Nazmul Ahad as vice-president and head of Client Delivery.

In the new role, Ahad will lead the client services, electronic banking and implementation functions under Client Delivery, said a news release.

Ahad, who obtained both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, most recently served as the general manager and investment controller at Grameenphone Limited.

Source : New Age

China local govts hold $1.65t in debt

Chinese local governments held $1.65 trillion in debt at the end of 2010, the state auditor said Monday, warning there was a risk some could default amid fears that bad loans will harm the economy.

Excessive borrowing by authorities to fund infrastructure and other projects has sparked concerns among China's leadership about the risks the loans pose to the financial stability of the world's second largest economy.

By the end of last year, local governments had 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) of debt, the National Audit Office said in a statement, or about 27 per cent of China's 2010 GDP of 39.8 trillion yuan.

'The ability of some areas and industries to repay debt is weak and potentially risky,' the NAO said.

The announcement represents the first time China has given an overall figure for local government debt, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The state auditor said some local governments had to make new borrowings in order to pay back old loans, and some are depending heavily on revenue from land sales to meet their repayments.

Auditors also found that 108.3 billion yuan of total borrowings had been issued or used improperly, citing methods such as providing fraudulent collateral or diverting the funds raised into capital or real estate markets.

Source : New Age

Rwanda keen to invest in pharma sector

The Rwandan entrepreneurs are keen to invest in Bangladesh's pharmaceuticals sector considering its potentiality in international market as well as the present investment friendly atmosphere here.

This was revealed on Sunday while the newly appointed high commissioner of Rwanda to Bangladesh Williams BN Nkurunziza presented his credentials to president Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban.

Welcoming the new envoy at Bangabhaban, the president expressed his satisfaction over the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Rwanda and hoped that it would be further strengthened in the days to come.

Zillur Rahman said an investment friendly atmosphere, especially for foreign investors, is prevailing in Bangladesh as the present government is offering various lucrative incentives to attract more foreign direct investment.

'There are many sectors in the country where the trades and investments can be expanded between Bangla-desh and Rwanda,' he said.

The new envoy apprised the president of his country's keen interest in increasing cooperation with Bangladesh, especially in trade and commerce sectors.

The high commissioner said he would visit some areas in the capital city and port city to observe the atmosphere for investments.

Source : New Age

Dhaka stocks rebound on hope of govt help

Dhaka stocks on Monday made a strong rebound after Sunday's fall as investors went on a buying binge following the prime minister's assurance that the government would consider the demand of the bourses for allowing legalisation of undisclosed money for investment in the capital market.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president AK Azad on Sunday said they had requested the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to include in the budget for fiscal 2011-2012 a provision allowing investment of undisclosed money in the equities market and she had assured them that the government would consider the demand.

In the meeting with the leaders of different trade bodies, the prime minister also assured them of considering their demand for reducing the corporate tax imposed on banks.

The DGEN, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 92.92 points, or 1.59 per cent, on Monday to close at 5,934.17 points. The index had suffered a marginal drop on the previous day.

Turnover of the bourse on the day increased to Tk 831.91 crore, up by Tk 325 crore from that of the previous day.

A DSE stockbroker said, 'Both retail and institutional investors were active on the market today.' Banks were the highest gainer on the day as the investors, encouraged by the prime minister's assurance of considering the demand for reducing the corporate tax imposed on banks, bought their shares heavily, he said.

AIMS Bangladesh Ltd managing director Yawer Sayeed said, 'The market surged today as almost all the institutional investors became active.'

'The retailers also followed them and the increased participation of investors led to a higher turnover,' he said.

Of the 253 issues traded on Monday, 178 advanced, 62 declined, and 13 remained unchanged.

Southeast Bank topped the turnover leaders of the day with Tk 42.87 crore. The rest of the top-10 turnover leaders were United Commercial Bank, Prime Bank, MI Cements, One Bank, City Bank, National Bank, MJL Bangladesh, and LankaBangla Finance.

Source : New Age