Bangkok property boom rises above bubble fears

A 77-storey skyscraper is set to become the latest, and tallest, addition to Bangkok's ever-changing skyline, already transformed by a construction boom that has raised fears of a property bubble.

Variously described on Internet forums as looking 'like it has been eaten by giant termites' and reflecting 'the chaos of Bangkok', the MahaNakorn — Great Metropolis — will tower over the Thai capital when it is finished in 2014.

At 314 metres (1,036 feet) it will be the city's tallest building, but size was not what mattered, said Sorapoj Techakraisri, head of PACE Development, which began building the skyscraper in June.

'I just wanted something unique, something interesting,' he told the AFP.

MahaNakorn's unusual pixelated spiral design was created by German architect Ole Scheeren, who was behind Beijing's futuristic China Central Television headquarters.

The 19 billion baht ($640 million) tower will house apartments, a shopping centre and a Ritz-Carlton hotel.

'When the economy gets better, the buildings go higher,' Sorapoj said.

Thailand's economic health appears robust, growing 7.8 per cent in 2010 despite street protests by the opposition 'Red Shirts' that brought large areas of Bangkok to a standstill for two months.

An ever-increasing number of pristine new apartment blocks jostle for space in desirable areas, vying for custom as billboards written in idiosyncratic English promise swanky lifestyles.

It is a far cry from a decade ago, when the city was littered with the skeletal remains of abandoned tower blocks, casualties of the 1997 Asian financial crisis that devastated the region.

The Bank of Thailand has described 2010 as the 'golden year for real estate businesses', with strong demand for homes — driven by low interest rates and increased consumer confidence — causing a flurry of new building.

Source : New Age

Tokyo stocks seen to remain weak this week

Tokyo shares are to remain weak this week on the persistent strength of the yen amid uncertainty over deadlocked US talks for raising its debt limit before a Tuesday deadline, dealers said Friday.

Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said there was 'an 80 per cent chance' that the worst case scenario — a US debt default that would send shockwaves through world markets — would be avoided.

But stocks will move in a narrow range amid investor caution before any outcome, he said.

'The market is unlikely to fall sharply on domestic factors as Japanese corporate earnings released so far have been generally favourable,' Hirano said, pointing to the fact that many firms are still forecasting profits for the fiscal year.

'Although some companies that showed dismal results were hit with heavy selling,' he added.

In the week to July 29, the Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slumped 2.95 per cent, or 299.08 points, to 9,833.03. The Topix index of all first section shares lost 3.16 per cent, or 27.44 points, to 841.37.

The stalemate in US congressional leaders' negotiations for raising the nation's debt ceiling by an August 2 deadline in order to avert default has sent the dollar lower against the yen and put pressure on global stocks.

Source : New Age

ICB declares dividends on MFs

The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh has declared dividends on its mutual funds for the last fiscal year.

According to the Dhaka Stock Exchange web site, the 1st ICB Mutual Fund declared 500 per cent dividend, while the 2nd ICB Mutual Fund 250 per cent, the 3rd ICB Mutual Fund 185 per cent, the 4th ICB Mutual Fund 165 per cent, the 5th ICB Mutual Fund 135 per cent, the 6th ICB Mutual Fund 90 per cent, the 7th ICB Mutual Fund 95 per cent and the 8th ICB Mutual Fund declared 90 per cent dividends.

The ICB 1st NRB Mutual Fund declared 36 per cent dividend, while the ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund 12.5 per cent and the ICB 3rd NRB Mutual Fund declared 10 per cent dividends.

ICB Employees Provident Mutual Fund – 1 declared 12 per cent dividend, the ICB MMCL 1st Mutual Fund 55 per cent, the ICB MMCL 2nd Mutual Fund 14 per cent and ICB Islami Mutual Fund 36 per cent.

Source : New Age

market Disclosures

Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd has decided to de-list (discontinue the trading of the shares) the company following its amalgamation with Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd (Beximco) with effect from August 1 as per court order.

Apex Spinning & Knitting Mills
Trading of the shares of the company will be
allowed only in the spot market and block/
odd lot transactions will also be settled as per
spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from
August 1 to 3. Trading of the shares of the
company will remain suspended on record date on August 4.

Beximco
Normal trading of the shares of the company will resume today after record date for amalgamation purpose.

Bd Thai Aluminium
Kazi Aktar Hamid, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 1,476 shares out of his total holdings of 14,043 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank
Bahauddin Mohammad Yousuf, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported his intention to acquire 21,08,351 shares of the bank from his
wife Maleka Akhter by way of gift outside the trading system of the exchange within next 30
working days from the date of issuance of approval letter by DSE.

Square Textile
The company has informed that the board of directors of the company has decided that Square Textiles Ltd will purchase capital machinery for power generation and production at a total cost of Tk 45 crore (cost price); and Square Textiles Ltd will purchase landed property for about Tk 25 crore for extending the existing projects and for future expansion.
    Source: DSE

Source : New Age

Ford wagers on Asia to drive global growth

Ford Motor Co was slow out of the starting gate in Asia but now the number two US automaker is betting big on the region to drive global growth, says its Asia-Pacific chief.

Ford has just announced plans to spend $1 billion to build a second car and engine complex in India

as it ramps up production to exploit the country's fast-growing vehicle market, bringing to seven the number of plants it is building in Asia.

'This is the only place in the world where we have new plants under construction,' Joe Hinrichs, head of Asia-Pacific and Africa for Ford, told the AFP in an interview on a visit to New Delhi.

Source : New Age

Slum women need menstrual hygiene support: speakers

Experts and NGO activists at a workshop on Sunday underlined the need for a national campaign to promote menstrual hygiene to enhance the quality of life of girls and women.

The speakers said loss of schooldays and workdays for girls and women could be avoided if they were provided with adequate sanitation facilities. 

WaterAid in Bangladesh and its partner Association for Realisation of Basic Needs jointly organised the programme on 'advancing menstrual  hygiene: working together in urban slums' in the capital to share findings of a baseline study on menstrual hygiene management situation in Dhaka slums and also to explore ideas for further improvement of the overall condition. 

Research associates of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Nehraz Mahmud and ATM Shaifullah Mehedi conducted the study in three slums located in the city's Mirpur in April 2011 to assess their social and cultural constructs of menstrual health.

Under the study 70 per cent women interviewed regarded that menstruation was a kind of illness. It also found that women and girls aged between 11 and 30 were more informed about the fact that poor cleanliness during menstruation might cause diseases.

The study also found that only 10.86 per cent of the respondents, mostly belonging to younger group, use sanitary napkins while most others use cloth. 

Nehraz Mahmud presented the study findings at the workshop moderated by WaterAid in Bangladesh country representative Mohammad Khairul Islam. URBAN coordinator Muham-med Kamal Uddin, among others, spoke at the workshop.

Nehraz Mahmud said it was a serious concern that over 73 per cent women did not eat fish during menstruation and maintained secrecy about the matter out of social taboos.

Khairul Islam said the government should take measures to launch a national campaign across the country to bring about behavioural changes among the entire reproductive age group.

Experts and NGO activists at a workshop on Sunday underlined the need for a national campaign to promote menstrual hygiene to enhance the quality of life of girls and women.

The speakers said loss of schooldays and workdays for girls and women could be avoided if they were provided with adequate sanitation facilities. 

WaterAid in Bangladesh and its partner Association for Realisation of Basic Needs jointly organised the programme on 'advancing menstrual  hygiene: working together in urban slums' in the capital to share findings of a baseline study on menstrual hygiene management situation in Dhaka slums and also to explore ideas for further improvement of the overall condition. 

Research associates of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Nehraz Mahmud and ATM Shaifullah Mehedi conducted the study in three slums located in the city's Mirpur in April 2011 to assess their social and cultural constructs of menstrual health.

Under the study 70 per cent women interviewed regarded that menstruation was a kind of illness. It also found that women and girls aged between 11 and 30 were more informed about the fact that poor cleanliness during menstruation might cause diseases.

The study also found that only 10.86 per cent of the respondents, mostly belonging to younger group, use sanitary napkins while most others use cloth. 

Nehraz Mahmud presented the study findings at the workshop moderated by WaterAid in Bangladesh country representative Mohammad Khairul Islam. URBAN coordinator Muham-med Kamal Uddin, among others, spoke at the workshop.

Nehraz Mahmud said it was a serious concern that over 73 per cent women did not eat fish during menstruation and maintained secrecy about the matter out of social taboos.

Khairul Islam said the government should take measures to launch a national campaign across the country to bring about behavioural changes among the entire reproductive age group.

Source : New Age

Dhaka Univ condemns Norway killings

Teachers and students of the University of Dhaka on Sunday condemned the recent Norway killing and demanded that the real culprits be brought to book immediately, said a news release.

They made their demand in a human chain at Aparajeya Bangla. Students of the Regional Master's Programme in Journalism, Media and Communication of the university organised the programme. 

They also urged all concerned to stop killings and every act of violence in any part of the world.

The students were carrying banner and posters in the human chain

with slogans against 'heinous' act of killing in Norway.

Coordinator of RMP in Mass Communication and Journalism Shaikh Abdus Salam, MCJ teachers Shameem Reza, Shafiul Alam Bhuyan, Mofizur Rhaman, Robayet Ferdous and Saiful Haq, among others, were present at the programme.

The July 22 twin attacks on a youth camp and the government headquarters in Norway killed 76 people.

Source : New Age

2 hurt in RU BCL factional clash

At least 2 activists of Banglsdesh Chhatra Legue, Rajshahi University unit, were injured in a factional clash on Saturday night over establishing supremacy on the campus.

Saddam Hossain Tipu, president of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, RU unit, filed a case with the Motihar police against 4 BCL activists in this connection.

The accused were Parvez, a master's student of Islamic history department, Raju and Palash, master's students of public administration and Emdad, an MBA student of management of the university.

On Saturday, BCL activists Parves, Palash, Raju and Emdad, residents of Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall, called the plaintiff, resident of the same hall, to discuss politics centring the hall.

Parves and Tipu engaged in a scuffle at the meet. Then two factions, led by Parves and Tipu respectively, locked in a severe clash with lethal weapons that left both of them injured.

The police brought the situation under control.

The injured were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

When contacted, Parves alleged that Tipu had long been collecting toll from the hall students.

'I just called him to request not to harass the general students but he attacked me along with his associates and broke my right hand,' Parves added.

On the other hand, Saddam Hossain Tipu said, 'Parves along with his friends came to beat me and I resisted only.'

BCL RU unit president Ahmed Ali said the incident might have resulted from their personal enmity.

'If any allegation against them was proved, stern action would be taken against the miscreants,' he added.

RU proctor CM Zakaria told New Age that effective measures would be taken after investigation against them who tried to make the situation unstable.

A case was filed with the Motihar police.

The Motihar police officer-in-charge, Akbar Ali, confirmed the filing of case and said they would take action according to the decision of RU authorities.

Source : New Age

City buses flout fixed bus stops plan

Most city buses are not following the Dhaka Metropolitan Regional Transport Committee's official list of fixed bus stops, stopping haphazardly to pick up passengers, say the Dhaka Metropolitan Police officers.

The regional transport committee, comprising members of the DMP, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and different bus owners' associations, formulated the list of approved bus routes at a meeting in Dhaka on July 13, 2010.

The committee fixed a total of 161 routes in the capital and gave approval to 5,288 buses belonging to different companies to use these routes — though there was an opportunity for another 1,800 buses to get approval.

The locations of bus stops were also fixed by the committee.

But most of the buses have either increased the number of pick-up points where they stop or fail to stop at the official bus stops at all, the sources said.

Buses belonging to different companies, including Taranga Plus Transport Limited, Dibanishi Transport, Ena Transport (Private) Limited, Winner Transport, Ekushey Transport Limited, Megacity Service, Nisharga Transport, Midway Transport Limited, Belal Enterprise Limited, Bengal Motors, Anik Transport, Falgun, Pravati Banassree Transport, and Salsabil had set up their own bus stops or take on passengers at different points on their route ignoring the official list.

Buses run by companies, including Shikar Paribahan, Mirpur United Service Limited, United Service, Silk City Service, Pallabi Super Local Service, Safety Enterprise (Private) Limited, Bikalpa Transport, Bihanga Transport, Choice Transport (Private) Limited, ETC Transport Company Limited, and Balaka Services do not stop at any fixed but stops at all.

Sumon Shariar, a resident of Rampura said that the Taranga Plus Transport bus from Banasree to Mohammadpur, 'stops at four bus stops in Banasree and one at Rampura where many people get onto the bus.'

However, according to the RTC list, this bus is only allowed to stop at five official bus stops at Mouchak, Kakrail, Shahbagh, Science Lab, and Jhigatola.

Jihanul Islam, a resident of Mirpur, said some buses operating in the area did not have any official bus stops and just gave tickets inside the bus if any passenger asks

The Association of Bus Companies' senior vice-president Syed Rezaul Karim acknowledged that this was the situation explaining that neither the DMP nor the BRTA took any measure against these buses.

He said the drivers and passengers did not follow the system of fixed bus stops as there were no fixed structures where people could queue.

Rezaul Karim demanded a joint monitoring system for the buses where members from DMP, BRTA and different bus associations would be appointed.

Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity secretary general and Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity general secretary Khandaker Enayet Ullah said that whilst sometimes different buses took passengers from places which were not fixed by the government, the law enforcement authority did take actions against these buses on regular basis.

DMP deputy commissioner of traffic (south) Najmul Hussain said the situation would not change till drivers and passengers were willing to follow the rules.

Whilst DMP joint commissioner of traffic Mahbubur Rahman told New Age that his men daily filed about 2,200 to 3,500 cases against these types of violations.

'We are trying to curb these problems but you know the city buses are just out of control,' he added.

The joint commissioner said that the drivers were driving recklessly on the city's roads and that the drivers should be punished and not just the owners who currently were the ones who were punished.

Source : New Age

Arsenic contaminates 14 upazilas

The office of the Comilla civil surgeon informed that it had recently detected more than 6,500 patients with arsenic contamination at 14 upazilas in Comilla.

According to them, the biggest chunk of patients came from three upazilas, namely Monoharganj, Laksam and Muradnagar. Over 4,500 patients were diagnosed with arsenic in these upazilas while fewer patients were found in the rest 11, namely Homna, Daudkandi, Debidwar, Chandina, Burichang, Brahmanpara, Chouddagram, Nangalkot, Titas, Sadar Dakkhin and Barura.

The information of the civil surgeon's office is supported by the findings of a study by the Comilla office of the Department of Public Health and Engineering.

DPHE engineer Firoz Alam Chowdhury said under that study, conducted between early 2010 and March 2011, they found 15,000 tube-wells in the 14 upazilas containing arsenic much beyond the acceptable level. 

In Bangladesh the acceptable limit of arsenic in ground water is 0.05 milligram per litre while the World Health Organisation sets its limit in this regard at 0.01mg per litre.

The study also revealed that only two upazilas, namely Meghna and Comilla Sadar, of the district, so far, remained uncontaminated with the poisonous substance.

Firoz Alam Chowdhury further said that although they had marked the contaminated tube-wells red, a sign indicating water of that tube-well was poisoned with arsenic, in many places, people still continued to drink water from those as they lacked alternative drinking water sources in the area. 

During a recent visit to village Dumuria of Manoharganj upazila, Mohammad Nabiullah, a villager, told this correspondent that it was more than three years since arsenic was detected in the tube-wells of their village.

'Until now no one approached us with any solutions,' he said.

Humayun Kabir of village Fatepur of Laksam upazila, said the DPHE had advised them to drink rainwater to avoid being poisoned with arsenic.

'But as people are not habituated to preserve rainwater they continue drinking water from the contaminated tube-wells,' he said.

Comilla civil surgeon Abul Kalam Siddique provided the following account of the patients who were diagnosed with arsenic contamination between early 2010 and the first week of March 2011: Monoharganj – 1833; Laksam – 1557; Muradnagar – 1175; Homna – 363; Daudkandi – 153; Debidwer – 231; Chandina – 245; Burichang – 16; Brahmanpara – 79; Chouddagram – 15; Nangalkot – 154; Titas – 56; Sadar Dakkshin – 633; and Barura – 114.

High levels of arsenic in human body may lead to cancers of the skin, bladder, kidney, and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet, he said.

Source : New Age