Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Most ISD call rates down from Sunday

Sat, Jul 31st, 2010 10:16 pm BdST
Dhaka, July 31 (bdnews24.com)—From Sunday, the costs of telephone calls to most overseas destinations will be reduced, according to the website of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

These lower prices are part of the decision by the BTRC to bring all calls under a single platform - with callers from now on having to dial 00 to make international calls. Callers will no longer be able to make calls using 012 prefix.

The BTRC website shows the revised tariff for calls to India using both land lines and mobile phones will be Tk 12 per minute, reduced from Tk 15-18 per minute.

There will be a tariff of Tk 6 per minute for calling the following countries: Canada, the US, Argentina, the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and Hong Kong.

Calls made to land lines telephones of the following destinations would be charged at Tk 8 per minute: Australia, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Austria , Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey ,Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Tariffs for making calls to the Middle Eastern states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Syria will range from Tk 12 to Tk 18.

A BTCL official told bdnews24.com on Saturday that even though the rates of calls by dialling 012 were low, the quality of service was not good.

"At the same time BTCL subscribers had to spend more money on their regular ISD calls. This is why the 012 system is being discontinued," an official of BTRC told bdnews24.com, preferring anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the press.

:: biz.bdnews24.com ::

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Low-cost biogas digester may soon brighten villages

Sunday, 01 August 2010 20:48

Low-cost biogas digester may soon brighten villages

Low-cost biogas digester may soon brighten villages



Iqramul Hasan

The Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) is commercialising its new, low-cost portable biogas digester with the help of a private company and expects it will help thousands of villages become self-sufficient in energy.

BCSIR, the only multi-purpose industrial research and development institute in the country, signed a contract on July 21 with Win Sources Ltd to sell the Portable Commercial Fiber Glass Bio-Gas Digester. Win will promote the product with the help of BCSIR researchers.

Prior biogas digesters designs used bricks and cement for the dome, and cost approximately Tk 35,000. The installed cost of the new fibreglass digester is approximately Tk 30,700 -- and it could be much lower once duties on fibreglass are dropped, as the government has promised.

On July 21 the prime minister quietly inaugurated the second biogas project, the Commercial Fiber Glass Bio-Gas Digester, at Gonobhaban. BCSIR set up a cow farm at Gonobhaban to supply dung to produce biogas.

China is the only other country that produces this kind of biogas digester. But the production cost of this digester is far lower than that of a digester imported from China, which costs around Tk 60,000.

Dr Md Abdur Rouf, principal scientific officer, and Md Saiful Islam, scientific officer of BCSIR, jointly invented the new fibreglass digester in Bangladesh.

Bio-gas plants use farm waste to produce gas that can be used for cooking or generating electricity. The daily production of gas is around 100 cubic feet. The by-product of the plant is a superior organic fertilizer.

The new bio-gas digester is made of glass fibre and resin shaped into a big hollow ball. It can be installed within 50 square feet and has a maximum height of 9 feet. Unlike traditional designs that can be installed only underground, it can be installed any place, even on a roof.

Saiful Islam, one of the inventors of the biogas digester plant, told The Daily Star that the digester may continue in service, without damage, for up to 100 years.

Saiful also said a study pegs the demand for biogas plants in Bangladesh at around 4 million units.

The new digester is made of fibreglass, which is now imported from different countries with a 60 percent duty. Saiful said that if the import duty were zero, almost 40 percent of the cost could be saved.

The prime minister has already ordered the officials to include Commercial Fiber Glass Bio-Gas Digester under the renewable energy items category so that it can be imported with no duty.

Professor SM Imamul Huq, chairman of BCSIR, said, "I have also requested Win Sources to make this product available at the rural areas by keeping a low profit margin, so that general people can get maximum benefit from it.”

ATM Mahbubul Alam, managing director of Win Sources, said, "We are planning to start a pilot project covering two districts where we will give training to the villagers on troubleshooting issues of the plant."

"In 2010 we will install around 3,500 (units) under the pilot project, and we will attempt to cover every village of the two selected districts," he added.

In 1976, Mymensingh Agricultural University first installed a prototype of a traditional kind of plant in the university premises. In the same year, BCSIR installed a plant at their offices. Neither was commercially viable.

From 1997 to 2004, the government ran two projects on biogas plant installation, and the BCSIR installed 22,000 plants across the country; more than any other organisation. Currently, the number of biogas plants is around 45,000.

The government is working on many other village self-sufficiency projects to implement its election slogan "akti bari, akti Khamar" (One house, one farm).

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Faridpur, Dinajpur, Kushtia top list

Sunday, 01 August 2010 20:46

Business

Faridpur, Dinajpur, Kushtia top list
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka

Faridpur, Dinajpur and Kushtia are the top ranking districts that performed well in terms of business environment, according to a survey.

The survey, Bangladesh Economic Governance Index - 2010, was circulated at a function at Sonargaon Hotel Sunday.

The 2010 EGI is a partnership between the Asia Foundation and the Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund. The Bangladesh EGI is a part of the Local Economic Governance Programme - Enhancing the Sustainability and Stakeholder Ownership of Investment Climate Reforms in Bangladesh implemented by the Asia Foundation with BICF funding.

The EGI survey has been completed in all the old 19 districts of the country.

It showed that Faridpur, Dinajpur and Kushtia represents ‘high’ tier comprising scores from 75.7 to 73.3 followed by ‘medium-high’ tier, comprising 4 districts - Sylhet, Cox’s Bazar, Mymensingh, Comilla - with scores from 69.2 to 66.1.

The ‘medium-low’ tier comprises eight districts - Rangpur, Patuakhali, Dhaka, Jessore, Khulna, Bogra, Pabna and Noakhali - with scores ranging from 60.34 to 57.13.

The ‘low’ tier consists of four districts - Tangail, Chittagong, Barisal and Rajshahi - with scores from 55.71 to 53.02.

Like other economic governance indices conducted in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia or Sri Lanka, the Bangladesh EGI composed of 10 sub-indices. These are entry costs, access to land and security of tenure, transparency, time cost of regulatory compliance, informal charges, participation, law and order, tax administration, dispute resolution and local infrastructure.

The survey was conducted with a stratified random district-level sample of 3,800 firms (200 per district headquarters). The strata were based on sectors (manufacturing, trade and services) and size (number of employees). Only firms with at least 3 employees were included in the survey since the EGI analysis is focused on growth-oriented firms, rather than subsistence firms.

The survey also showed that less than 1 per cent firms have 20 or more employees, which clearly highlights the disproportionate presence of small enterprises in the country, nearly 70 per cent of the firms covered by the listing are concentrated in wholesale and retail trade activities and less than one half of one per cent of firms covered by the listings are owned by women.

Chaired by economist Wahiduddin Mahmud, commerce minister Faruk Khan spoke at the function.

Sylhet City Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, Mahmud-us-Samad Chowdhury MP, Center for Policy Dialogue executive director Mustafizur Rahman and AmCham president Aftab Ul Islam also spoke.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

5 projects of Tk 541cr for food security

Sunday, 01 August 2010 20:44

The New Nation - Internet Edition

5 projects of Tk 541cr for food security
BSS, Dhaka

Implementation of five projects is progressing fast to ensure national food security, strengthen storage system, construct new godowns and increase capacity.

The projects under the amended annual development programme of 2009-10 under the food division of food and disaster management ministry started in fiscal 2009-10 and 82.40 percent of those was implemented till June this year.

Ministry sources said the projects involving Taka 540.861 crore include reconstruction of affected food silos and supporting infrastructures, construction of a 50,000-metric ton grain silo at Mongla Port, enhancing institutional capacity of department of food, enhancing efficiency of institutions under agriculture ministry, construction of a new food godown of 1,10,000-metric ton capacity in northern region of the country and National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (phase- 2).

The total allocation for those projects was Taka 37.3 crore, including project assistance of Taka 11.22 crore. Of the allocated money, Taka 30.5129 crore was spent till June this year.

Taka 3 crore was allocated in the last fiscal year for the Taka 199.46-crore grain silo project at Mongla Port. Of the allocated money, Taka 1.6525 crore was spent till June this year. The progress of project implementation is 55 percent. The project will be completed by December 2013.

Last review meeting on annual development programme of food and disaster management ministry was informed that land acquisition has started for the project and the deputy commissioner was given Taka 90 lakh for the purpose. An initiative has been taken to appoint consultants and necessary manpower for quick implementation of the project.

Besides, a 1.10-lakh ton capacity food godown is being constructed in the northern region at a cost of Taka 241 crore. A total of Taka 17.42 crore was allocated in the last year's amended ADP. Of the amount, Taka 16.7474 crore was spent till June. The progress of implementation of the project is 96 percent. The project will be completed by June 2011.

The work on implementation of National Food Policy Strengthening Project (phase-2) involving Taka 73.4418 crore is going on. A total of Taka 7.70 crore was allocated in last year's amended ADP, of which Taka 5.8158 crore was spent till June this year. The progress of project implementation here is 90.75 percent. Assisted by USAID and European Commission, the project will be completed by 2012.

Besides, a Taka 22.4383-crore project is being implemented to repair affected godowns and reconstruction of supporting infrastructures. The progress of project implementation is 95 percent and it will be completed by 2012.

 

[akash57]

3rd Asian Int'l Trade Expo held in Bangladesh

DHAKA, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The 3rd Asian International Trade Expo is being held in Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to increase trade and bilateral relations within the Asian nations.

Organized by the Bangladeshi wing of Conference and Exhibition Management Services Limited (CEMS), a global event management company, the trade exhibition started on August 2 and will close on August 8.

Gazi Abdur Razzak, manager of CEMS Bangladesh, told Xinhua on Tuesday that 82 exhibitors from seven countries including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka with exhibit profile like consumer electronics, food and beverage, household products, fashion and accessories, arts and crafts are participating in the annual Asian International Trade Expo this year.

He said "The Asian International Trade Exhibition has started its journey from 2008. This is the 3rd phase of the exhibition. Following the success of our first and second exhibition, we have been inspired to continue this exhibition."

Razzak said, Asia is considered to be the fastest-growing region in the world. The real driver of the world economy has been Asia, which has accounted for over half of the world's growth since 2001.

The manager said, with vibrant retail sales growth in Asia which is growing beyond forecasted charts, there is an explosion for demand for everything. Against this background, such an exhibition displaying products and services is necessary to bring the Asian countries together under one roof which would also increase trade and bilateral relations within the Asian nations.

Razzak said "it is very important for Asian countries and Bangladesh. It has helped to build up a bridge of friendship within Asian countries who are the participant of this exhibition. "

He said the exhibition can also make the people of Bangladesh more aware of the advantages of Asian products, services and new innovations and technology available for them.

3rd Asian Int'l Trade Expo held in Bangladesh

 

[akash57]

Emami to Build Its First Overseas Plants in Egypt, Bangladesh, Goenka Says

Emami Ltd., an Indian maker of health-care products endorsed by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, will build its first overseas factories in Egypt and Bangladesh to meet demand for soaps, ointments and creams.

The company based in Kolkata plans to spend 350 million rupees ($7.6 million) on the new plants, said Executive Director Mohan Goenka.

“Demand in the eastern African region and Bangladesh is growing,” Goenka said in a phone interview yesterday. “The units there will help us in meeting the requirement.”

Indian companies including Emami, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Bajaj Auto Ltd. are expanding in emerging nations in Africa and Asia as economic growth boosts demand for products from motorcycles to mobile-phone services. The International Monetary Fund forecasts developing Asia to expand 8.5 percent. Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, expanded 5.9 percent in the three months to June 30.

“Having plants there will increase the penetration of their international business, which is a significant part of their overall business,” said Shirish Pardeshi, an analyst with Anand Rathi Financial Services Ltd. “The company will be able to give services faster.”

The company earned 15 percent of its revenue from exporting its hair oil, soaps and Boroplus antiseptic cream in the three months ended June 30, Pardeshi said.

Emami’s shares, which have risen 95 percent this year, advanced 3.8 percent to 475.05 rupees in Mumbai yesterday. The benchmark Sensex Index gained 1.2 percent yesterday.

The company, whose products are also endorsed by cricket’s highest scorer Sachin Tendulkar, isn’t in discussions to buy a health-care company, he said denying a July 20 Hindu Business Line report.

Bharti Airtel, India’s biggest mobile-phone company, in June spent $9 billion to acquire the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co. Bajaj Auto, India’s second-largest motorcycle maker, aims to triple global market share to 30 percent by expanding in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net.

Emami to Build Its First Overseas Plants in Egypt, Bangladesh, Goenka Says - Bloomberg

 

[Choppers]

Bangladesh co to invest $15 bn in India​

Agartala, August 3 (IBNS): PRAN (Programme for Rural Advancement Nationally), a leading exporter of processed agro products of Bangladesh, has announced its plans of investing $15-billion in India.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Agartala on Monday by the Deputy Managing Director of PRAN, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, who said, “Given a chance I would like to invest $15-billion in India because I feel the marker is ready here and the Northeast is the market which has enough opportunities. It is not just about selling in Northeast but also buying from here.”

Chowdhury said PRAN has already purchased an acre of land in the Bodhjungnagar industrial estate of Tripura for setting up a food processing centre at a cost of $10-billion and the project shall be completed within a span of three years.

After the liberalisation of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) removing the ban on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from Bangladesh in 2009 this will be the biggest invest of any Bangladeshi individual or organization in India.

“India’s decision to allow investment from Bangladesh will lead towards a stable and secure trade relation between India and Bangladesh,” said Chowdhury.

He added, “Whether we (Bangladesh) like it or not, our biggest trading partner will be India because our neighbour is a very large and fast growing country. Whatever may be the socio-economy or the political parties saying, it is the traders who are going to bring the countries together.”


Chowdhury urged India for removal of non-tariff-barriers to expedite the export of Bangladeshi products and said Bangladesh is more responsible for the small volume business with India.

He said, “Our problem is our legal and political systems in Bangladesh and the regulatory system in India. We understand the consumers are ready, the raw materials are ready, but this is the fallacy that we have in our part of the world. In other places the markets are not ready, but here the regulations, interaction, processes and restrictions arenot ready."

The India-Bangladesh border stretches 4,096 kilometer. The two countries are geographically as also culturally linked to each other.

Roughly 161 million people of Bangladesh depend on number of items of day to day use produced in India. Recently India and Bangladesh has promised for better relations in security, power, business and connectivity sector.

Bangladesh co to invest $15 bn in India

 

[British_Bangladeshi]

can I see some pictures of bangladesh developing please, thnx

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

can I see some pictures of bangladesh developing please, thnx

You can try this one... here you will find picture of skyline of dhaka ranging from 2005/2006 to present... just go from page to page to see how fast bd and dhaka is changing....

cheers..

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Govt borrows nothing, repays bank loans

Rejaul Karim Byron

For the first time, the government in last fiscal year did not borrow from banks rather it repaid previous loans, thanks to a huge sale of savings instrument.

In FY 2009-10 the government repaid Tk 3,980 crore bank loans.

It however borrowed Tk 10,965 crore in the previous fiscal year.

While in the revised budget of the last fiscal year the target for borrowing from banks was Tk 8,661 crore.

A finance ministry official said, a huge increase in the sale of savings instrument, revenue earning crossing target, and less ADP expenditure contributed to the fall in bank borrowing.

According to Savings Directorate statistics, in the last fiscal year net sale of savings instrument increased by 219 percent compared to the previous year. Net sale of savings instrument in last fiscal year was Tk 11,590 crore which was Tk 3,633 crore in FY 2008-09.

The government target of taking loans from the savings instrument was Tk 8,407 crore whereas it got additional Tk 3,183 crore. Revenue earning was also Tk 1,000 crore higher than the target.

A top-ranking Bangladesh Bank official said, this is not complacency for the government as the cost on interest payment will increase in future due to a rise in the borrowing from the savings instrument.

The BB official said in the last fiscal year the average rates of interest were 7.85 percent on the five-yearly bond and 12 percent on five-yearly savings instruments. So, the expenditure for paying the interests on loans taken through the savings instruments will be much higher.

The central bank official said, as the commercial banks cut the interest rate on deposits some of the small savers moved to share market and some others invested in savings instrument. As a result the sale of savings instrument was record high in the last fiscal year.

The gross sales of savings instrument in the last fiscal year was about Tk 26,000 crore which was about Tk 14,000 in the previous year.

As a result from the current fiscal year the government has lowered the interest rate on all types of savings instrument by 1 to 1.5 percent. On the other hand, it has imposed 10 percent tax on the profit of the savings instrument to discourage its sale.

Govt borrows nothing, repays bank loans

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Cost of a road project increases more than double


Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved three development projects involving Tk 2.83 billion including a revised road construction project cost to Tk 2.14 billion from Tk 950 million, reports UNB.

Approval of the projects came at an ECNEC meeting presided by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The entire cost of the projects will be borne by the government from its own sources.

"The construction cost of Gazipur-Azmatpur-Etakhola Road (revised) project increased to Tk 2.14 billion from the original Tk 950 million due to some irregularities," said Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder while briefing newsmen outcome of the meeting. Because of irregularities, implementation of the project was delayed resulting in the cost hike, he added.

The Planning Division Secretary informed that an inter-ministerial committee drawing representatives from divisions concerned will be formed for inquiry into the financial irregularities of the project.

Habibullah Majumder said that although the ECNEC meeting approved the project, the inter-ministerial committee will conduct fresh investigation.

According to officials, the project was first approved in May 2001 at a cost of Tk 95 crore. But, later the project cost increased due to its slow pace of implementation, change of schedule price of the Roads and Highways Department, increasing number of culverts and increase of bridges length, construction of flexible pavement instead of brick pavement.

Three other projects approved at the meeting include infrastructural development of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) and also strengthening its research activities at a cost of Tk 36 crore.

The main activities of the project aimed at developing and modernizing the infrastructure of four centres and five sub-centres of BFRI, procurement of sophisticated research equipment and necessary chemicals for research.

Another project, Naria-Pathanbari-NayanMatbarkandi-Dogri-Shawra road development under the Roads and Railway Division was approved at a cost of Tk 33 crore.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Labour Minister Eng. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, Land Minister Rezaul Karim Heera and advisers to the Prime Minister attended the meeting.

Cost of a road project increases more than double

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

$1.3m Nordic grant for air quality research


BSS, Dhaka



Norwegian government will provide US$ 1.3 million grant to Bangladesh to carry out partnership programme for air quality research and monitoring.

A partnership agreement to this end was signed here on Monday between Department of Environment (DoE) and Norwegian Air Research Institute (NARI), official sources said.

Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Dr Mohammad Nasiruddin and Associate Research Director of NARI Dr Byarne Sivertsen signed the agreement on behalf their respective sides. Norwegian ambassador in Bangladesh Ingebjorg Stofring was present on the occasion held at residence of the Ambassador.

The grant to be given under Nordic Assistance will be utilized for implementing three-year Clean Air Sustainable Environment Project.

Main objective of the grant is to create skill human resources to effectively monitor the air pollution and air quality, said Joint Secretary Dr Nasiruddin. Under the project, air quality of the whole country will be monitored along with a first ever study on country's present air quality impact on health, he said.

An emission inventory of industries, transport and brick sectors will be made under the project apart from air quality modeling, development of an air quality forecasting system and green house gas (GHG) inventory.

The New Nation - Internet Edition

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Local shipbuilders get $478
million export orders

Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

Leading local shipbuilders received export orders of world-class seagoing small, large and ice-class vessels worth $478 million with a deadline to deliver those by 2013.
Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd received orders for export of 28 vessels valued at $348 million from different countries including the Netherlands.
On the other hands, Western Marine Shipyard Ltd got orders worth $130 million to export 12 vessels to a German company styled Grona Shipping.
Shipbuilders say the orders were bagged due to the government’s declaring the sector as thrust one.
The global financial recession dented many developed countries excepting developing ones including Bangladesh and that is why buyers of developed countries expressed their interest in giving shipbuilding orders to Bangladesh.
Talking to the news agency, chairman of Association of Export-Oriented Shipbuilding Industries of Bangladesh Abdullahhel Bari said the shipbuilding industry would be able to get diverse facilities from buyers like the country’s garment industry if the government increases shipbuilding facilities.
There is no alternative to increasing shipbuilding facilities to be a major player in the international market as more than 50 per cent ships are getting older than 20 years, he said.
To compete with many South Asian countries including India, Bari said, the country should have at least 10 shipyards that involve cost of Tk 3,000 crore.
Local shipbuilders could manage the amount if the government gives a sizeable cash incentive and allows refinancing scheme from Bangladesh Bank for shipbuilders, said the AESIB chairman.
The size of global ship export market stood at $400 billion and Bangladesh can easily obtain one per cent of the export orders equivalent to $4 billion if the sector gets cash incentive, said top shipbuilders.
The local shipbuilders are now receiving many orders from Germany, Denmark, Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries as Bangladesh is increasingly being recognised as an attractive destination for medium and small vessel building, they said.

Business

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Job site plans to widen reach


Tuesday, 03 August 2010 20:56

Job site plans to widen reach

Job site plans to widen reach
bdjobs.com marks 10th year


Star Business Report

Bangladesh's first online job portal bdjobs.com plans to strengthen its efforts to help more local professionals take up international jobs.

Around 150,000 people were employed through the job site over the last 10 years, of whom 1,500 now work abroad.

"But this is not enough," said AKM Fahim Mashroor, the company's chief executive officer, yesterday, marking the site's 10 years of operation.

"We've a huge skilled manpower. But no body works for them because they don't pay like the outbound unskilled workers do," Mashroor said.

He said the world is going to face a crisis of skilled manpower. "And this is an opportunity for Bangladesh," Mashroor said. "To grab an early share of that market, there is no alternative to updating the education system."

Before launching the company, Mashroor pondered over doing something different using internet as a medium in the late 1990s. He said his main area of concern was whether he could generate revenues for Bangladesh, one of the countries that have the lowest internet penetration rate in the world.

But Mashroor succeeded, which stunned many. With a humble beginning from his living room in 2000, bdjobs.com now registers 5,000 employers, and around 30,000 jobseekers visit the site a day.

The company has linked with more than 300 global recruiting agents, through whom it can now supply manpower to the global market free of cost.

Data shows jobless rate increased by 28 percent to 27 lakh in the last three years. A survey of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics also pointed to the rise of Bangladesh's total labour force by 8.48 percent to 5.37 crore in 2009 from 4.95 crore in 2006. And employment rate increased by 7.59 percent to 5.1 crore from 4.7 crore during the same period.

Mashroor said garment and textile, IT and telecom are the major sectors that contributed much to employment generation in the last few years.

As internet penetration rate is still too low to make people understand online job posting, bdjobs introduced a Bangla version targeting the less-educated.

The company chief also said job search through internet is now popular among the youths. The number of people who used to click bdjobs portal has now risen to 30,000 a day from 1,000 at the beginning, which manifests that the site is user-friendly, said Mashroor.

The job portal's yearly turnover now stands at around Tk 6.5 crore. It holds 90 percent share in the online job portal market.

"We achieved the success because we have localised our products. Employers' increased tech-fond attitude also helped bring more people to the job site."

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Janata Tower to become first software park

Tuesday, 03 August 2010 20:58

<i>Janata Tower to become first software park</i>

Janata Tower to become first software park
Staff Correspondent

All is set to turn the abandoned and much talked about 11-storey Janata Tower at the capital's Karwan Bazar into the country's first software park.

The park will bring the nation's leading software and hardware companies together so that they can share ideas and technologies, and collaborate towards the development of the country's science and technology, sources said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the decision at the National ICT Taskforce meeting held at her office yesterday.

This was the first meeting of the taskforce -- a committee to guide and facilitate the ICT sector of the country -- since Awami League-led alliance assumed office.

According to Anir Chowdhury, the policy adviser to the Access to Information (A2I) programme of the Prime Minister's Office, the government had plans to build software parks in Kaliakoir and Mohakhali. But they are stalled because of technical problems and high density of population in the areas.

The software park at Karwan Bazar will be built through a Public Private Partnership with an active role from Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), Bangladesh Computer Samity, Bangladesh Computer Council and the Ministry of Science and ICT, Chowdhury added.

BASIS President Maubub Zaman said the building would offer a number of shared resources such as uninterruptible power supply, telecommunications hubs and high-speed bandwidth.

The park would offer considerable advantages to hosted companies by reducing overhead costs.

Once finalised, the Tk 35 crore project would take nine months to one year to complete, he added.

Janata Tower, abandoned for 10 years, aroused legal disputes and controversies over the years until the decision came yesterday.

The premier also said the government is considering setting up two separate ministries for railway and ICT to ensure better services to the people, UNB adds.

&#8220;Railway's role in the country's socio-economic development is enormous. We must ensure best use of railway communication facilities,&#8221; the news agency quoted Sheikh Hasina as saying.

On ICT, she said a separate ministry needs to be established for this sector to take the advantage of its unlimited potentials and reach the benefit to the people.