Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[Nafees]

Source: the Daily Star

Tanzania Square Pharma’s new export destination​

Square Pharma, a leading medicine manufacturing industry in the country, has recently become the first Bangladeshi company that has been allowed to export its products to Tanzania, according to a press release. The company has successfully been qualified for the GMP Inspection conducted by the GMP Inspectors from the Tanzanian Food & Drugs Administration (TFDA).
Square Pharma views this as a golden opportunity for the Bangladesh pharmaceutical industry. Tanzania was heavily dependent on medicines from MNCs and Indian companies.

 

[Nafees]

Source: :The Daily Star: Internet Edition

Eskayef becomes first local firm to export medicine to Indonesia​

Eskayef Bangladesh Ltd, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country, has sent its first consignment of medicines to Indonesia, according to a press release. This is the first consignment of medicines to Indonesia by any pharmaceutical company from Bangladesh. Indonesia with a population of 237 million is a very potential export market for the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical products.

In April 2006, Managing Director of the company AM Faruque and Head of International Business Mahmud Hasan visited Indonesia with the support of the Indonesian embassy to Bangladesh, particularly Hendra P Iskandar, the first secretary and head of Chancery of the embassy. During their visit to Indonesia, they met top officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Drug Administration Authority and different pharmaceutical companies.

In May 2007 a business delegation from Indonesia came to Bangladesh and visited Eskayef plant. The delegates were convinced of the standard of Eskayef Bangladesh, and signed an agreement. After completing relevant registration formalities, Eskayef Bangladesh started exporting to Indonesia. AM Faruque said, “Indonesia is a regulated market and the country has a very strong pharmaceutical base. Due to our high quality standard, we have got the approval and started exporting to Indonesia.”

“We are already exporting our products to many countries across four continents,” he added.

 

[Spring Onion]

Errr someone here gave me infraction for pointing this obvious fact. Some established members even ridiculed me for stating where migration will occur due to climate change and who will have to bear the brunt of migration in Bangladesh. Alas some people let sntiments run high standing on a moral highground.

So is it that cliamte change would be so intense that it would lead to mass migration ??

What about precautionary measures in advance or to say any alternate keeping in view this aspect of migration?

Pluse suppose if it does happens where in your opinion these migrants will opt to go

 

[Flintlock]

Cool...maybe this can be the permanent thread for B'desh economy.

 

[indiapakistanfriendship]

So is it that cliamte change would be so intense that it would lead to mass migration ??

Forget politics, forget war or poverty, climate change will be the single largest issue Bangladesh would have ever faced. A significant portion of landmass will receed and that most Bangladeshis reside nearby the shore and water bodies linked to sea(rivers), id does make matter worse.

What about precautionary measures in advance or to say any alternate keeping in view this aspect of migration?

Prevent more settlements near shoreline and encourage settlements in the inland area, build aritificial and natural shields. Extensive Bioshields can slow down the process. Unfortunately this is little BD can do, much of climate change is is out of control from the hands of those who will be affected by it. Sadly most of those vulnerable will be from third world who had no hand in climate change in the first place.

Pluse suppose if it does happens where in your opinion these migrants will opt to go

Most of them will slowly move inland crating more pressure on already fragile infrastructure and economy of Bangladesh. I personally fell that most of them will be moving towards northeatern parts of India. I pray that this dosen't happen. It will be a huge humanitarian disaster.

IPF

 

[Spring Onion]

Forget politics, forget war or poverty, climate change will be the single largest issue Bangladesh would have ever faced. A significant portion of landmass will receed and that most Bangladeshis reside nearby the shore and water bodies linked to sea(rivers), id does make matter worse.


Prevent more settlements near shoreline and encourage settlements in the inland area, build aritificial and natural shields. Extensive Bioshields can slow down the process. Unfortunately this is little BD can do, much of climate change is is out of control from the hands of those who will be affected by it. Sadly most of those vulnerable will be from third world who had no hand in climate change in the first place.



Most of them will slowly move inland crating more pressure on already fragile infrastructure and economy of Bangladesh. I personally fell that most of them will be moving towards northeatern parts of India. I pray that this dosen't happen. It will be a huge humanitarian disaster.

IPF

No politics dear i wanted to understand the entire issue thats why i asked.

 

[indiapakistanfriendship]

No politics dear i wanted to understand the entire issue thats why i asked.

I throughly understand. I have a colleague who works in Climate change, he is currently on a three month tour in Japan. When he comes back, I shall gauge his views and describe the problem in detail.

 

[Nafees]

Source: :The Daily Star: Internet Edition
Column - Habibullah N Karim

Reaching out to Bangladeshis, everywhere

By Habibullah N Karim

In an article written for the June 2008 IT Outsourcing seminar, organised by the New Jersey (USA) chapter of the Association of American Bangladeshi Engineers and Architects (AABEA-NJ), I have written about the promise and pitfalls of the IT industry in Bangladesh and what the country could do to move forward and join the ranks of the regional IT powerhouses as an outsourcing destination of choice.

One of the 'what to dos' had to do with mobilising and leveraging the social networking power of the Bangladeshi diaspora. There are more than three million Bangladeshis working overseas. Another two million people of Bangladeshi origin are living as immigrants permanently settled in other countries of the world. This five-million-strong Bangladeshi diaspora could be the best brand ambassadors for the country of origin, provided, firstly that they are willing to be so and secondly that the country offers them things to root about.

The first point, though appears so self-evidently obvious, however, cannot be taken for granted. Many persons of Bangladesh origin, or PBO for short, have been so benumbed by political upheavals of the last three decades and the continued negative portrayal of our land in foreign media that they are in a state of denial about their country or origin. So much so some pretend not to be from here originally.

All of this is very sad but true. It would not have been a problem if the pretension ended there. What has been obvious to me, in my frequent interactions with PBO in high professional stature over the last three decades, is that in case of many, the denial becomes the truth and they really appear to believe the sporadic negative images of the country that are served in isolation from reality in most foreign media.

In recent years though many expatriates have resettled back home and there appears to be a gradual warming up of PBO to their original home. That's highly encouraging. Moreover we have today a number of national celebrities who have of late become global icons and that is something to cheer about in any high and mighty company. Given this and the fact that the New England region of the USA is taking serious interest in outsourcing IT services to the country, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and the Bangladesh Asssociation for Software and Information Services (BASIS) have jointly organised participation in the New York Outsource World 2008 with a country pavilion for the first time.

Twenty-five software and IT-enabled services companies, including 16 exhibitors, will be displaying their wares at the mega IT outsourcing event scheduled for October 14-16. The software and IT services industry expects high-level government representation at the event as well.

Now is the chance for the Bangladeshi expatriate community and the PBO in USA, especially in the New England region, to come forward and lend a helping hand in making this event a resounding success for the nation. The expatriates could make positive contributions in several ways. They could spread the word around that Bangladesh is a serious destination for software and ITES outsourcing jobs, they could invite all their friends working in IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) to visit the Bangladesh pavilion at the Outsource World New York, they could arrange post-exhibition meetings for the BASIS representatives to project facts and potentials of the local IT industry, they could encourage the chief information officers (CIO) at their places of work to consider Bangladesh as an alternative destination. There are endless ways the Bangladeshi diaspora could use to help make the event worthwhile for the country.

With the outsourced service prices rising steeply in recent months in the traditional strongholds of IT outsourcing countries and Bangladesh being on top of the list of next wave of potential IT outsourcing countries in terms of population and IT strengths, now is the crunch time for us to put our best foot forward and help the outsourced-service buyers in USA and elsewhere mitigate their budget pressures and concentration risks (a.k.a. risk of putting all your eggs in one basket).

What is in it for the Bangladeshi expatriates? For a starter, with better knowledge and dissemination of Bangladeshi IT capabilities, the expatriates will be able to hold their own when other South Asians gloat in their IT exploits at a party! But, seriously folks, this would certainly give you the opportunity to engage with your home country with professional and national pride wrapped in one.

The Bangladesh contingent will also participate in the AABEA bi-annual convention being held on October 25-26 in Dallas and eagerly looks forward to meeting and engaging with the PBO from New York, Dallas and all over, in October.


The writer is a software entrepreneur and is the current president of BASIS.

 

[Nafees]

Source: Asian University for Women Support Foundation
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...AD807D-881B-4BF8-91B5-88CFAE11BA08}&dist=hppr

Goldman Sachs Foundation Awards Second Grant to Asian University for Women in Bangladesh​

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.,, Aug 26, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Bangladesh Campus to Anchor New Programs for Region's Underserved


The Goldman Sachs Foundation recently awarded The Asian University for Women Support Foundation (AUWSF) a $1.4 million grant to fund operations of the Asian University for Women's Access Academy in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The Access Academy is a pre-collegiate bridge program to prepare talented young women from across Asia, and especially from socially and economically marginalized backgrounds, for entrance into the new University slated to open in the fall of 2009. Students enrolled in the Academy receive intensive training in English, mathematics and computer science. Upon successful completion of the one-year program, they will be eligible to enter the Asian University for Women as first-year undergraduates. All 130 students at the Access Academy attend on full scholarship, which covers all their needs, including tuition, room and board, health care, and travel from their home countries.


The Access Academy opened in April, 2008, with students from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The full five-year University program will open in August 2009 with students from these and additional Asian countries.
"At Goldman Sachs, we recognize both the exponential impact of investing in women and the transformative power of education," said Dina Habib Powell, global head of Corporate Engagement. "Many of our philanthropic efforts are anchored in these tenets, including 10,000 Women, a signature initiative launched this year to provide a business and management education to deserving women in developing countries around the world. 10,000 Women seeks to marry potential with academic opportunity, and we commend the Asian University for Women for opening the door of opportunity to so many others. The Access Academy is creating the next generation of women leaders, and we are proud to support AUW in this endeavor."

This latest grant from the Goldman Sachs Foundation brings support from the Foundation to a total of $2.8 million, following a $1.4 million grant made in 2006. AUW has also received support from a range of other contributors including the Gates Foundation, Open Society Institute, USAID, Packard Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, Chevron Foundation, Nike Foundation, Morgan Stanley Group, and many individuals from the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

The Asian University for Women will offer a combined bachelor's and master's degree program of rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education and specialized graduate professional training in fields such as public policy, management, education, and information technology. Students will also gain professional work experience through internships at multinational firms and non-governmental organizations in Asia. The Asian University for Women is the first such institution of higher learning in Bangladesh to serve future generations of women leaders who can potentially address the challenges of social and economic advancement in the region.

 

[Nafees]

Plz see the following link of Asian University for Women in Bangladesh:

www.asian-university.org

 

[Nafees]

Source: http://www.roboconindia.com/Robocon%20News 124.pdf

Mech.BUET team of Bangladesh
is waiting for ABU ROBOCON 2008​

Mech.BUET team of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) will proudly represent our country in the coming ABU Robocon 2008. It is our 4th consecutive participation since 2005. We are now matured and trying our best to have a nice blend of technology and sport.Preparation for ROBOCON 2008 is going on smoothly.

The ROBOKIDs of last year became the decision-making fellows and are involved in the planning design and fabrication of the robots.Like before, we have some highly motivated apprentices; NEW ROBOKIDs. The team is supervised by Prof. Dr. M. Zahurul Haq.All the team members of Mech.BUET are from the Mechanical Engineering Department so the team works in a nice harmony to optimize the available resources.

We focus on developing robots by applying appropriate technology to locally available hardware components such as new microcontrollers, in-house built programmer, used motors and wheels from previous years etc.

It is always a great source of fun to see the robots made from the scraps to start following the instructions, initially with erratic response and gradually with regular movement. We always enjoy the adventure of building the robots for ROBOCON. Time flies when we are in the laboratory.We are eagerly waiting to see you all in the ABU ROBOCON 2008.

Report by Mech. BUET team

 

[Nafees]

Vote now to support your favorite candidates!

This is the current live ranking of the nominees to become a New7Wonder of Nature. The top 77 Official Nominees will be eligible for consideration by the New7Wonders of Nature Panel of Experts for inclusion in the group of 21 finalist candidates.

The ranking is updated twice a day. Please bookmark this page to keep up with the latest voting trends.

1. (1) Cox's Bazar, Beach BANGLADESH - Asia Vote
2. (2) Sundarbans, Forest BANGLADESH/ INDIA - Asia Vote
3. (3) Iguazu Falls ARGENTINA/ BRAZIL - South America Vote
4. (4) Cedars of Lebanon, Nature Conservancy Parks LEBANON - Asia Vote
5. (5) Jeita Grotto LEBANON - Asia Vote
6. (6) Galapagos Islands, Archipelago ECUADOR - South America Vote
7. (7) Guilin Mountains CHINA - Asia Vote
8. (8) Mayon Volcano PHILIPPINES - Asia Vote
9. (10) Amazon, River/Forest BOLIVIA/ BRAZIL/ COLOMBIA/ ECUADOR/ FRENCH GUIANA/ GUYANA/ PERU/ SURINAME/ VENEZUELA - South America Vote
10. (12) Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park PHILIPPINES - Asia Vote

Source: New7Wonders: Live Ranking

 

[Nafees]

Dear defence.pk members plz vote for Bangladesh (Both for Cox's Bazar, Beach and Sundarbans, Forest)

See the link below:
New7Wonders: Live Ranking

 

[Nafees]

Source: Star Business Report, The Daily Star: Internet Editionpages.php?id=05

Dhaka targets $1b exports to Turkey in few years​

Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman has expected Bangladesh's export to Turkey to reach one billion US dollars in a few years.

“If we can enter the Turkey market with full potentials, the export will touch the $1 billion mark shortly,” he told a press conference at his ministry. However the adviser did not elaborate the timeframe.

He said the country's export to Turkey reached $350 million in the first eight months of 2008 from $120 million in 2007. Export target to Turkey has been set at $220 million for 2008.

Bangladesh exports jute and jute goods, leather products and readymade garments to Turkey, the 17th largest economy in the world. But rubber and pharmaceuticals have huge potentials there.

Turkey, the size of which economy is $850 billion, progressed tremendous in chemical, petrochemical, bio-medical equipment, construction, machinery and textile in the past decade.

Bangladesh is a least developed country with around $75 billion worth of economy.

“Recently, we have started exporting rubber to Turkey. The product is being used for making tyres for motor vehicles,” Hossain Zillur said.

Turkey can be a gateway for Bangladesh's pharmaceutical products to Europe and the central Asia republics, the adviser said.

The construction firms of that country are working in the central Asia countries. Bangladeshi workers can work there, but it needs to develop a relationship with Turkey, he said.

To ease travel difficulties, Ankara has agreed to introduce a direct flight between the two Muslim brethren countries by April 2009, the commerce adviser disclosed.

He said a big team comprising leading businessmen of Turkey is to visit Bangladesh in November this year to explore business potentials here.

Face to face talks between the businessmen of the two countries are also necessary for boosting the trade, he said.

“We need to search out new, but potential markets vigorously,” Hossain Zillur said.

 

[Nafees]

Source: The Associated PressPublished: August 30, 2008, South Asia cooperation urged on climate change - International Herald Tribune

South Asia cooperation urged on climate change​

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Regional cooperation to promote the sharing of weather information, improved technologies and increased financial support are needed to combat the impacts of climate change in South Asia, experts said.

The recommendations came Saturday at the end of a six-day international conference on global warming and food security in South Asia.

Results of global climate change, such as melting Himalayan glaciers, rising sea levels and frequent natural disasters are threatening food production and economic development in the South Asia region, the experts said.

The region — which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives — is home to nearly a fifth of the world's people, and 40 percent of its poor.

The region is prone to natural extremities like floods, drought, heat waves, frost freezes, desertification and soil salinization, which experts attribute to climate change.

Bangladesh's interim leader, Fakhruddin Ahmed, said reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly by industrialized nations, and more funds to tackle climate change in poorer countries were critical.

"Countries like Bangladesh will otherwise suffer the most from a problem to which we have contributed little," Ahmed said. He also urged more research on new crop varieties that can withstand natural hazards like droughts and floods.

Iceland's President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson urged the formation of a "Himalayan Council," similar to the Arctic Council, to address the adverse effects of melting Himalayan glaciers.

Glaciers in the Himalayas — the source of major South Asian river systems — are disappearing fast, experts say. Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation, is crisscrossed by several rivers that originate in the Himalayas.

Grimsson said melting ice sheets in the Arctic, a result of global warming, was contributing to rising sea levels that are likely to submerge coastal areas as far away as Bangladesh, harm the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen, and cause millions of people to lose their homes.

A conference declaration called for the creation of a regional network to promote increased research and cooperation among institutes within the region, provide technical and financial support and encourage development of sustainable technologies and alternative fuels.