19-01-2019

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
BANGLADESHTODAY 6
THE
SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2019
Hamdard Laboratories (WAQF) Bangladesh organized Annual Treatment and Sales
Conference-2018 yesterday at Yusuf Harun Bhuiyan auditorium.
Photo: Courtesy
India's Reliance posts
8.8pc rise in Q3 profit
on oil refining business
Indian conglomerate
Reliance Industries on
Thursday reported a 8.8
percent rise in its third
quarter consolidated net
profit, boosted by growth in
its core business of
petrochemicals and oil
refining.
The Mumbai-based
company owned by India's
richest man Mukesh Ambani
said its consolidated net profit
for the three months through
December rose to 102.50
billion rupees ($1.44 billion)
from 94.20 billion rupees
reported a year earlier, even
as its refining margins fell.
"In an oil price
environment that witnessed
heightened volatility through
the quarter, RIL has delivered
strong quarterly results on a
consolidated basis," Reliance
chief Ambani said in a
statement.
Reliance said it maintained
robust growth in its retail and
telecom business which
helped the company achieve
overall profitability despite
global fluctuations in crude
oil prices. Revenues for the
period were up 56.4 percent
to 1.60 trillion rupees.
Reliance said in a statement
that its gross refining margin,
the profit earned from each
barrel of crude, was down to
$8.8 in the December quarter
from $11.6 in the previous
year.
Refining margins are a key
profitability gauge for
Reliance, one of the world's
largest refiners.
The firm has business
interests in refining, retail,
telecommunications and
petrochemicals.
Meanwhile, RIL's telecom
venture Jio reported robust
growth by increasing its
subscriber base by 27.9
million for the quarter.
Jio also reported a 65
percent rise in its profits to
8.31 billion rupees, adding to
the quarterly results.
Ambani launched Reliance
Jio with much fanfare in
September 2016 offering free
services up to March 2017,
sparking intense price wars
which saw consolidation in
the Indian telecom sector.
Reliance shares fell almost
half a percent Thursday
ahead of the earnings
announcement, which came
after the stock market closed.
Britain's May to miss
Davos to focus on
Brexit: Downing St
British Prime Minister
Theresa May will miss next
week's annual World
Economic Forum meeting in
Davos to focus on Brexit
negotiations, sending
ministers in her place,
Downing Street said on
Thursday.
"She will not be going to
Davos. She will be focused on
matters here," May's
spokeswoman said, adding
that "there will be government
ministers attending".
Downing Street noted May's
absence at the yearly
gathering of world and
industry leaders in the Swiss
Alps resort was not
unprecedented for a British
premier.
Former prime minister
David Cameron also missed
the 2013 and 2015 events, the
spokeswoman said.
The prime minister is
scrambling to put together a
new Brexit strategy after
lawmakers on Tuesday
sparked political turmoil by
rejecting her draft withdrawal
agreement with the EU.
Nervous Europe ramps
up Brexit preparations
Europe is ramping up preparations
for the economic blow of a possible "no
deal" Brexit, fearing the political crisis
in London has killed off hopes of an
orderly divorce.
Contingency planning has been
under way for months, but Prime
Minister Theresa May's apparent
inability to sell any withdrawal deal to
parliament has focused minds.
EU leaders insist the British economy
will be worst hit by a disorderly
breakdown in trading ties, but Britain's
neighbours are also braced for
disruption.
Renewed border controls and
regulatory barriers could slow trade
and choke ports, and uncertainty hangs
over the rights of British citizens living
in EU states.
A solution may be found, but in the
meantime here are some of the key
early decisions made in Brussels and
key British trading partners.
While EU negotiator Michel Barnier
has handled talks with London on the
divorce deal, planning for a "no deal"
scenario has fallen to the bloc's
powerful secretary general, Martin
Selmayr.
Brussels has taken a coordinating
role for member states and published
88 advisory notes, sector by sector,
focused on threats to financial markets,
air traffic, customs and emissions
trading.
After Tuesday's failed vote in London,
the Commission announced plans to
send teams to all 27 other EU capitals
to coordinate a continent-wide plan.
Ireland, the only EU member with a
land border with Britain, has the next
most to lose in a chaotic Brexit.
Politically, concerns have focused on
how renewed border controls could stir
potential unrest in Northern Ireland,
but the economy is also at risk.
Ireland is hiring 1,000 staff to
implement agricultural and customs
checks, although the government has
faced criticism for failing to disclose
how many hires have been completed.
In its 2019 budget, unveiled in
October, the Republic put aside a 1.5
billion euro ($1.7 billion) "rainy day
fund" and a "no deal Brexit" omnibus
bill will go to parliament in March.
At the port of Dublin work is under
way on 33 inspection bays, 270 truck
parking spaces, a dedicated border
control post for live animals and office
accommodation for an additional 144
staff.
The Netherlands would be heavily
exposed because of trading links via
Rotterdam, Europe's largest port. It has
set aside 100 million euros for
preparations, including the
appointment of 900 new customs
officers.
The government also announced
unilaterally last week that the
approximately 45,000 British citizens
and their families currently living in the
Netherlands will get a 15-month "grace
period" to apply for a full residency
permit.France activated its plan for
handling the effects of a no-deal Brexit
on Thursday.
It provides for 50 million euros ($56
million) of investment in ports and
airports, infrastructure for carrying out
border checks and extra car parks to
help cope with tailbacks. France plans
to recruit 580 additional customs staff
and veterinary inspectors.
Belgium's government is going
through its own crisis as Britain
wrangles with Brexit, with Prime
Minister Charles Michel having lost his
majority in a row over immigration.
But legislation has been prepared to
recruit 115 new public servants to
reinforce customs and animal and farm
product health controls.
The estimated 25,000 British citizens
in Belgium have been promised they
will be allowed to stay on reciprocal
terms to the Belgians living in the UK.
Fuel price hikes put Zimbabwe on its knees
Weary-looking Innocent Takura
reclined in the seat of his small Honda
sedan near the start of a kilometrelong
petrol queue that sums up
Zimbabwe's deepening economic
chaos.
"This life is tough, too tough," he said
as he tried to nap while military police
wearing red-berets patrolled the line
and marshalled cars slowly towards
the pumps at a service station in the
centre of the capital Harare.
Drivers waiting hours - even days -
for fuel in recent months has been one
of the most visible daily signs that
Zimbabwe, which has suffered 15 years
of economic hardship, was entering a
new phase of turmoil.
When the government more than
doubled fuel prices last weekend, it lit
a tinderbox of public anger that
exploded in violent protests.
"A 150 percent price increase. Where
in the world have you ever seen that?
Which country?" said Takura, a 30-
year-old who imports shoes from
neighbouring South Africa for a living.
"These policies are unrealistic,
irrational. That is why people end up
protesting."
Trade unions called a national strike
on Monday and furious demonstrators
took to the streets in several cities,
with widespread rioting and looting.
The unrest is the fallout from a
currency crisis that has left the
government unable to pay its bills,
bank depositors unable to take out
their money and everyday business
grinding to a halt. Zimbabwe has used
the US dollar as its currency since
2009 when hyperinflation peaked at a
grotesque 500 billion percent, wiping
out the
local Zimbabwean dollar.
Abandoning its own currency ended
inflation and brought some stability to
the country but the supply of US dollar
notes gradually dried up.
"When that scarcity became serious,
that's when government started
printing 'bond notes'," said veteran
independent economist John
Robertson.
The government's unlikely plan was
to issue a local currency of "bond"
notes and coins that it said would be
equal in value to the US dollar.
It announced six months in advance
that it would introduce the token
currency in late 2016.
"That was a big mistake," said
Robertson, because people started to
move their dollars out of the country.
On the street, bond notes were soon
trading at less than US dollars as few
people ever believed that they were
equal to greenbacks.
The currency crisis has created a
complex daily reality with three tiers of
pricing - one low price if you can pay in
US dollar cash, and two far higher
prices for paying in bond notes or
electronically.
The black market is frenzied as
companies desperately seek out US
dollars so they can pay for the goods
that they need to import.
IMF warns of
economic hit
from extended
government
shutdown
While it is too soon to
gauge the economic damage
from the US government
shutdown, the longer it
continues the worse it will
be, the International
Monetary Fund warned
Thursday.
The shutdown that has left
800,000 federal workers
nationwide without pay is
the longest on record and
now in its fourth week.
"The longer the shutdown
is in effect the bigger impact
it will have on the economy,"
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice
told reporters.
"We encourage the US
authorities, in both Congress
and the executive branch, to
work together in a spirit of
compromise to pass a
funding bill that can reopen
the federal offices."
However, he said it is "still
very early days in terms of
making an economic
assessment of the impact of
the shutdown."
The IMF is due to release a
quarterly update of its
World Economic Outlook on
Monday, which will include
a new estimate for US GDP
growth.
Minister of State for Economic and
Fiscal Policy of People's Republic of
Japan Toshumitsu Motegi visited
BJIT Head office on 14 January.
During his visit he had some open
discussion with JM Akbar (Founder of
BJIT), Yasuhiro Akashi (Director) and
top management of BJIT Limited.
Motegi also talked with some BJIT's
Students and engineers. Motehi
shared his views regarding IT
Industry, Future Technologies,
Prospects of IT, a press release said.
Founder of BJIT JM Akbar
expressed his sincere gratitude to
honorable minister for his kind visit to
BJIT. Moreover, he also described the
prospects of IT Industry on the context
of Bangladesh & Japan. He
highlighted the availability of
Engineers in Bangladesh. He also
EU slams
European stocks falter
on trade tensions,
Brexit, US shutdown
Stock markets retreated
Thursday, with US-China
tensions, Brexit worries and a
lingering US government
shutdown taking their toll to a
greater or lesser degree across
the world's trading platforms.
The pound recovered against
both the dollar and the euro, a
day after the UK government
narrowly survived a noconfidence
vote.
Key European markets were
around half a percent lower at
the close, while the Dow Jones
index was slightly softer in the
late New York morning
following disappointing results
from Morgan Stanley and as
the market showed signs of
fatigue after a strong run.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick
O'Hare said stocks were
"overbought on a short-term
basis and due for a period of
consolidation".
But the broader S&P index
and the tech-heavy Nasdaq
both showed small gains.
In Europe, meanwhile,
"political and economic risks
weigh on sentiment," said
David Madden, analyst at CMC
Asian markets rallied
Friday as another broadly
positive week drew to a
close, with investors cheered
by a report that the US was
considering lifting tariffs on
China as officials look to
hammer out a trade deal.
Optimism that the world's
top two economies are on
course to reach a deal
ending their long-running
trade row has helped boost
equities across the world
this year.
And while news that the
US was carrying out a
criminal probe into Chinese
tech giant Huawei caused
a wobble Thursday, the rally
resumed after the Wall
Street Journal story on
tariff-lifting broke.
The paper reported
Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin had raised the idea
with Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer of
removing some or all levies
on Beijing in return for
structural reforms.
It said the move was part
of a bid to reassure markets
and bolster the odds of a
bigger trade deal, ending a
months-long saga that is
beginning to impact
economies around the
world, particularly China.
However, the Treasury
Department told AFP that
no formal recommendation
had been made by either
Mnuchin or Lighthizer in
the talks, which were
"nowhere near completion".
Still, investors remained
upbeat.
Hong Kong rose 1.3
Markets UK.
British Prime Minister
Theresa May scrambled to put
together a new Brexit strategy
on Thursday with cross-party
talks after MPs sparked
political turmoil by rejecting
her previous agreement with
the EU.
May reached out to rival
parties shortly after surviving a
no-confidence vote
Wednesday, hoping to
hammer out a Brexit fix that
she could present to
parliament next week.
Meanwhile after a
tumultuous December for
markets, global equities have
enjoyed a broadly strong
start to the year, largely thanks
to optimism China
and the US will resolve their
trade row.
But confidence took a knock
Wednesday from a report that
said US officials were carrying
out a criminal probe into
Chinese tech giant Huawei and
could soon indict the firm over
allegations of theft of trade
secrets from its American
business partners.
discussed about cultural and other
similarities between Bangladesh &
Japan. In past years how Bangladeshi
percent and Shanghai
ended 1.4 percent higher
while Tokyo jumped 1.3
percent.
Sydney added 0.5 percent,
Seoul gained 0.2 percent
and Singapore put on 0.8
percent, while there were
also advances in Wellington,
Taipei and Manila.
In early trade London and
Paris each put on 0.6
percent and Frankfurt was
0.7 percent higher
"The US government has
said that there have been no
formal talks to scale back
tariffs, but the market saw
the half glass full as the
reports signal that
concessions are in the
works," said Alfonso
Esparza, senior market
analyst at OANDA.
However, there was
scepticism among analysts,
with the two sides still far
apart on a number of issues,
particularly regarding
intellectual property.
"Certainly evidence that
the administration is
approaching a deal would be
good news," Laura
Rosner, senior economist at
MacroPolicy Perspectives,
said.
"We've heard noise
around trade policy before
though, so I would want to
make sure the progress
happens and sticks."
On currency markets the
pound edged up and was
sitting around two-month
highs against the dollar as
dealers bet that Britain will
not leave the European
Union without a deal.
Lawmakers have also
introduced a bill to ban the
export of American parts and
components to Chinese
telecom companies that are in
violation of US export control
or sanctions laws - with
Huawei and fellow Chinese
firm ZTE the likely targets.
"Huawei is effectively an
intelligence-gathering arm of
the Chinese Communist Party
whose founder and CEO was
an engineer for the People's
Liberation Army," said
Republican Senator Tom
Cotton, one of the bill's
sponsors.
The developments follow the
arrest last year in Canada of
Huawei's chief financial officer
Meng Wanzhou, who is the
daughter of the company's
founder. She faces extradition
to the US on Iran sanctionslinked
fraud charges.
It also muddies the waters in
trade talks between Beijing and
Washington, which looked to
be on a positive course after
officials held three days of talks
earlier this month, with both
sides seemingly upbeat.
Toshimitsu Motegi visit's BJIT
engineers are contributed in IT
industry of Bangladesh & Japan & how
BJIT become a good source of
engineers for Japan.
Director of BJIT Yasuhiro Akashi
also shared his views with Motesi. He
explained how Bangladeshi Engineers
are performing in Japan. He also
highlighted the skills and knowledge of
Bangladeshi engineers. He also
explained the future plans of BJIT to
meet the requirement of Japan.
In the end Toshimitsu Motegi
expressed his sincere thanks to BJIT
management and BJIT engineers for
their wonderful contribution in the IT
sector both in Japan and Bangladesh.
He wished all the success of BJIT in
the upcoming future. BJIT
management also thanks Honorable
Minister for his precious time and visit
to BJIT.
Asian markets end week
on a high as China-US
trade hopes rise
After her grand Brexit
plan was soundly rebuffed
by MPs this week, British
Prime Minister Theresa
May has called cross-party
talks to put together a "Plan
B" with a more palatable
agreement by Monday.
Still, if that does not work,
there is a growing
expectation that the March
29 exit deadline will be
pushed back to give May
more time to reach another
deal or possibly call another
referendum.
"For the most part the
(pound's) move higher
appears to be more in hope
than expectation, given the
default position as it stands
now remains that the UK
leaves the EU without a
deal," said Michael Hewson,
chief market analyst at CMC
Markets UK.
Oil prices rose on the
China-US tariffs report and
after OPEC said it had cut
output in December before a
new agreement to limit
supply took effect.
Both main contracts are
up around a fifth since the
end of December, thanks to
an agreement to cut output
by OPEC and other key
producers including Russia.
That followed almost three
months of losses that wiped
around 40 percent off prices
that was fuelled by supply
and demand worries.
And while the commodity
is on the up, there are still
concerns about the impact
of a slowing global economy.