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DT 12 Business WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: TUESDAY DSE Broad Index 4,846.1 0.2% ▲ Index 1,152.2 0.0% ▲ 30 Index 1,785.5 0.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 7,953.6 -1.5% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 249.1 -7.7% ▲ CSE All Share Index 14,922.0 0.1% ▲ 30 Index 13,288.5 0.0% ▲ Selected Index 9,067.1 0.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 600.9 22.5% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 18.8 -5.9% ▲ ILO for decent jobs to end poverty • Ibrahim Hossain Ovi from Indonesia, Bali Since the world of work is changing and societies are becoming increasingly unequal, policy makers have to respond effectively to the changes to implement SDGs, especially decent work, to reduce poverty, ILO Director General Guy Ryder said yesterday. Ryder was addressing the ministers, government high-ups, employers, diplomats and trade union leaders at the opening session of the 16th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting at Bali Nusa-Dua Convention Centre in Indonesia. Vice-President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla inaugurated the APRM 2016 that will come to an end on December 9. The meeting takes place in every four years to discuss the issues like labour and employment, workplace safety and migration. “The world of work is changing, at a pace, scale and depth which we have never seen before. Technology is at the heart of change but it will not decide everything, said Ryder.” While societies are becoming increasingly unequal, they are increasingly perceived as being unfair, he added. There is a considerable doubt and uncertainty in the world with people questioning the capacity of policy makers to deliver credible answers to the key problem in their lives, Ryder observed. Just over a year ago, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the overall aim of the goals is to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, said the ILO top brass. Decent work is woven into the fabric of all 17 SDGs and their indicators. One Goal, SDG 8, specifically focuses on the ILO’s mission of Decent Work for All. “We have succeeded in having the right agenda adopted and now we must turn to the task of its implementation.” The ILO official said some of the key challenges in this area remained, despite impressive poverty reduction. Nearly 192 million workers or one in ten still live in extreme poverty in this region. More than a billion workers are in vulnerable often without access to social and legal protection, Ryder said, adding that the concern is that some groups are in particular danger of being excluded from progress. Migrant workers, who are frequently excluded from legal protection and prone to exploitation, will be a key feature of our future. For ensuring workers rights and decent work, Ryder stressed ratification of the ILO’s eight core Conventions 87 and 98 that read freedom of association and collective bargaining as implementation is disappointingly low in this region. Only 14 of the 47 member states in this region have ratified all eight. “Respect for the labour is the first priority for production and industrial output. Arbitrarily, the labour law is being changed while participation of workers in setting wages and other issues is denied,” said Felix Anthony, national secretary to Fiji Trade Union Congress. Anthony called for steps to eradicate forced labour in Asia and Asia Pacific region and address the low wages for migrant workers. Though lots of initiatives had been taken since the factory collapse in 2013, none can tell that Bangladesh has democracy to be associated and to form union, he added. Across this region, women have a different and usually worse, experience, when looking for decent work, according to Anthony. They are frequently paid less for Stocks end flat after early gains • Tribune Business Desk Stocks ended flat yesterday as late profit booking cut early gains. With the tune of previous session’s rally, the market started on positive note in the morning, but modest profit booking chipped away some gains. The Dhaka Stock Exchange benchmark index DSEX rose 9 points or 0.3% to settle at 4,846. The blue chip DS30 index edged ILO Director General Guy Ryder addresses the opening session of 16th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting at Bali Nusa-Dua Convention Centre in Indonesia yesterday ILO 1 point up to 1,785 and the DSE Shariah Index DSES witnessed a fractional rise of 0.6 points to 1,152. The Chittagong Stock Exchange selective category index, CSCX, was up over 10 points to 9,067. The trade volume decreased as the DSE turnover stood at Tk795 crore, marginally down from the previous session’s Tk800 crore. Engineering sector continued to generate the highest volume of trade, accounting for Tk200 crore or 23.8% of the total trade value of the market. Textile and bank sectors contributed 13.6% and 10.6% respectively to the day’s total turnover. Food and Allied was the highest gainer of more than 1%, followed by banks 0.7% and non-banking financial institutions 0.6%. Telecommunications, IT and engineering sectors closed flat while power was the highest loser with only 0.4% fall. • work of equal value and are less likely to be in leadership and decision-making roles, he observed. Highlighting the achievements of the region, Ryder said this region, which accounts for 60% of the global labour force, has made remarkable progress in the last decade. The average wages and incomes have risen significantly, and almost doubled for the middle and upper classes and the number of extreme poor has dropped rapidly from 21% in 2016 to 10% in 2015. State Minister for Labour and Employment Mujibul Haque, Labour and Employment senior Secretary Mikail Shipar, ILO Bangladesh Country Director Srinivas B Reddy, Salahuddin Kashem Khan, president of Bangladesh Employers’ Federation Wajedul Islam Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre joined the meeting. • Export earnings $13.69bn in July-Nov • Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Bangladesh’s earnings from exports have seen a 6.30% rise to $13.69 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year, riding on the RMG sector. According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, Bangladesh earned $13.69 billion, which was $12.87 billion a year ago. The figure is 4.17% less than the target of $14.28 billion set for the period. Meanwhile, the export earnings in November rose by 5.46% to $2.89 billion, which was $2.74 billion a year ago. RMG sector, the life line of the country’s export earnings earned $11.13 billion posting a 6.39% rise in July-November period of the current fiscal. In the last fiscal year, it was $10.46 billion. • Inflation eases in November • Tribune Business Desk Inflation in Bangladesh eased to 5.38% last month food due to arrival of winter vegetables, government data showed yesterday It was slightly down from 5.57% read in the previous month. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, food inflation marginally decreased to 5.41% in November from 5.56% in October. Non-food inflation also declined to 5.33% from 5.58% during the period. While releasing data at the NEC conference room, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said: “Arrival of winter vegetables helped ease inflation.” The government fixed the target to contain inflation at 5.8% for the fiscal year 2016-17. •
BB’s new ED Humayun Kabir • Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh Bank’s General Manager Humayun Kabir has been promoted to the post of executive director. The central bank posted Humayun to its Bogra office with the new assignment following an official order issued yesterday. Currently, he is working for Bangladesh Bank’s Khulna office as a general manager, and prior to that, he was serving the bank inspection department, one of the important departments in the central bank’s headquarters. H umayun Kabir joined Bangladesh Bank in 1988 as an assistant director. • Business 13 US trade gap widens as exports fall • Reuters The US trade deficit recorded its biggest increase in more than 1-1/2 years in October as exports of soybeans and other goods dropped, suggesting that trade would be a drag on growth in the fourth quarter. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday the trade gap widened 17.8 percent to $42.6 billion. That was the largest percentage increase since March 2015. Economists had forecast the trade gap increasing to $41.8 billion in October after a previously reported $36.4 billion shortfall. When adjusted for inflation, the deficit rose to $60.3 billion from $54.2 billion in September. “This puts net exports on a weaker footing as the fourth quarter began. We were already penciling in net exports to subtract 0.8 percentage point from GDP growth ahead of today’s figure,” said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. Exports contributed 0.87 percentage point to the third quarter’s 3.2 percent annualized rate of increase in gross domestic product. The jump in exports in the last quarter largely reflected a surge in soybean shipments after a poor harvest in Argentina and Brazil. While the reversal in soybean shipments, which is weighing on exports, suggests trade is likely to subtract from GDP growth in the fourth quarter, consumer spending and a firming housing market are expected to keep supporting the economy. Rising gas and oil well drilling in response to increasing oil prices is also expected to boost growth Shipping containers sit at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California in this aerial photo taken February 6, 2015 REUTERS this quarter. Firming oil prices are starting to have an impact on manufacturing. A second report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday showed new orders for manufactured goods rose 2.7 percent in October after increasing 0.6 percent in September. That was the largest increase since June 2015 and marked four straight months of gains. Unfilled orders at factories increased 0.7 percent, the biggest rise since July 2014, ending four consecutive months of decline. The report pointed to an upturn in manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the economy, after a prolonged slump that 12 NRBs get CIP status • Syed Samiul Basher Anik The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment has awarded 12 non-resident Bangladeshis with CIP (Commercially Important Person) status for their outstanding contribution to the country’s economy in the year 2015. Of them, 10 are awarded with the status for remitting foreign currencies while another two for importing products from Bangladesh. According to an official gazette notification, Mohammad Mahtabur Rahman of Al Haramain Perfumes of United Arab Emirates topped the list for sending remittances to the country. Mohammad Akhter Hossain, Abul Kalam, Omar Faruk and Jasmine Akhter from United Arab Emirates, Ahmad Al Zaman from Qatar, Mohammad Adnan Imam and Mohammad Abdul Rahim from United Kingdom, Mohammad Yasin Chowdhury and Mohammad had helped to erode economic growth. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is currently forecasting gross domestic product to rise at a 2.9 percent rate in the fourth quarter. Prices for U.S. government debt were slightly weaker in mid-morning trading, while U.S. stocks were largely unchanged. The dollar .DXY rose against a basket of currencies. Dollar Drag Exports fell 1.8 percent to $186.4 billion in October. They were held down by declining shipments of food, industrial supplies and materials, automobiles and consumer goods. Mosaddek Chowdhury from Oman were also selected for CIP status in remittance category. On the other hand, Abul Kashem of Janata General Trading, Kuwait and Mohammad Selim of Al Falaq Group of Companies of United Arab Emirates were selected as CIP in importing Bangladeshi products. The CIP status holders are entitled to enjoy for one year different state privileges from issuance of the status. They will get privilege in getting permission to enter into Bangladesh Secretariat, priority in reserving seats in Biman, train, bus and other modes of transports for business related travels in Bangladesh, using the VIP Lounge 2 and special handling facility at the airport, priority in getting cabin facility at government hospitals and invitation to different national programmes organised by Bangladesh missions abroad, according to the policy. • Exports of soybeans, which helped power the economy in the third quarter, fell in both October and September. However, exports of capital goods were the highest in October since December 2015. Some of the drag on exports reflects the residual effects of the dollar’s surge against the currencies of the United States’ main trading partners between June 2014 and January 2016. With the dollar resuming its rally in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory in the Nov. 8 presidential election, exports could struggle in 2017. The greenback has gained 4.1 percent on a trade-weighted basis since the election. • DT WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 Four more factories complete CAPs • Tribune Business Desk The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety yesterday announced that four additional Alliance affiliated factories have completed all material components outlined in their Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), bringing the total number of graduated factories to 46. In addition, three factories previously suspended by the Alliance have been reinstated in recognition of remediation progress. Global Fashion Garments Ltd., Global Outerwear Ltd., Ornate Knit Garment Industries Ltd. and Sajid Washing & Dyeing achieved closure on their CAPs, and Sheehan Specialized Textile Mills Ltd., Smart Jacket (BD) Ltd. and Smart Jeans Ltd. were removed from suspension. “We are proud to recognize Beximco joins generic supplier network • Tribune Business Desk Beximco Pharma has joined the UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool’s (MPP) prestigious network of generic suppliers. The MPP granted a sub-licence to Beximco to produce Bristol-Myers Squibb’s new hepatitis C drug daclatasvir. The name of originator brand is Daclinza. With the recognition, Beximco becomes the first ever Bangladeshi company to achieve the unique feat, said a released issued yesterday. daclatasvir is an antiviral that can cure all major genotypes of the HCV virus. The drug received regulatory approval in Europe in August 2014 and was included in the new WHO Model List of Essential Medicines in April 2015. In November 2015, MPP announced a licence and technology transfer agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) to increase access to DCV in low- and middle-income countries. On the inclusion into the MPP’s network of generic medicine producers, Beximco Pharma Managing Director Nazmul Hassan, also lawmaker, said: “We are glad to be a part of this global network as the first Bangladeshi company.” “We believe our competitive cost of production will help improve access to this new and highly effective hepatitis C treatment for patients in many low- and middle-income countries.” • these factories for the tremendous strides they have made to ensure worker safety,” said Alliance Country Director Jim Moriarty. “These advances show that we are committed to working with factories that take safety improvements seriously, and that compliance with our standard is achievable within our established time frame for factories that are committed to this process.” The Alliance also announced the suspension of one new factory— Stylo Fashion Garments Ltd.—for failure to make progress on remediation or remove lockable exits, bringing the total number of currently suspended factories to 102. The complete list of suspended factories as well as those that have achieved substantial completion of their CAPs can be found on Alliance website. •
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