20-05-2019

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
10
MONDAY, MAY 20, 2019
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and Transfast Remittance, LLC, USA inaugurated Remittance
Campaign at Islami Bank Tower on Sunday, 19 May 2019. Mohammed Monirul Moula,
Managing Director (Current Charge) of the Bank and Mohammad Khairuzzaman, Country
Director & Head of Operations, Bangladesh of Transfast Remittance inaugurated the campaign.
Mohammad Ali, Abu Reza Md. Yeahia and Hasne Alam, Deputy Managing Directors,
Muhammad Golam Rabbani, Senior Vice President and Md. Sarwar Islam, Vice President of
the Bank were present on the occasion. Under this campaign, each beneficiary of the remittance
sent through Transfast will get attractive gift items including motorbike and sewing
machine.
Photo : Courtesy
Telenor Health observes World
Hypertension Day 2019
To observe the World
Hypertension Day 2019,
Telenor Health launched a 5-
day long special health
Central bank warns
of global economic
uncertainties brought
by trade frictions
China's central bank has
warned in a report that
uncertainties brought by trade
frictions between China and
the United States could have
an adverse impact on the
global economy, reports BSS.
Trade frictions and policy
uncertainties are prominent
risks facing the world
economy, while the
combination of multiple
uncertainties will amplify the
vulnerabilities of economies,
the People's Bank of China
(PBOC) said in a report on the
implementation of monetary
policies in the first quarter
(Q1).
It said the uncertainties and
the impact on global supply
chains caused by trade
frictions had gradually
unleashed, ranging from
postponed enterprise
investment decisions to
easing external demand for
some countries due to
disrupted supply chains.
In the future, trade frictions
and policy uncertainties could
further drag down the global
economy through high
inflation, damage to
sentiment of families and
enterprises, and volatility of
the financial market, the
PBOC report said.
Despite external
uncertainties, the PBOC
forecast China's economic
outlook would maintain
stable thanks to many
advantageous factors.
"China is capable of
addressing different kinds of
internal and external
uncertainties as there is
sufficient room for
policymakers to maneuver as
well as various monetary
policy tools," the central bank
said.
campaign throughout the
country. The main aim of the
campaign is to educate the
public and increase awareness
of hypertension, which is also
commonly known as high
blood pressure, a press release
said.
As high blood
pressure is the main
risk factor to develop
c a r d i o v a s c u l a r
disease, this year's
global theme 'Know
Your Numbers' refers
to raise awareness
worldwide about the
importance of
knowing the blood
p r e s s u r e
m e a s u r e m e n t .
Hypertension is a
major cause of a range
of health problems
such as strokes, heart
attacks and kidney
disease, and can also
contribute to
dementia. Many
people who suffer
from hypertension are
not aware that they
have it as there can be
no symptoms, often
people only find out
after suffering a heart
attack or stroke.
Executed by Tonic,
the campaign
s u c c e s s f u l l y
conducted 1000+ BP
checks for the mass through a
combination of channels from
May 13 to May 17, 2019.
For urban areas,
Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi
27, Dhanmondi 32, Tokyo
Square (Mohammadpur),
Mirpur 1 and Mirpur 2
participated in the campaign.
Health camps were
established in rural areas too.
Stating the importance of
the day, Andrew Smith, Chief
Commercial Officer Telenor
Health said, "According to
World Health Organization,
Hypertension was defined as
'the number one killer' in
2002. As a responsible
authority, we feel serious
obligation and utmost
sincerity for the cause and so,
we conducted this campaign
to raise mass awareness on
Hypertension. I thank
everyone involved and hope
to keep our fight against
Hypertension in the coming
years."
World Hypertension day is
organized by the World
Hypertension League (WHL)
which is an umbrella
organization composed of 85
Hypertension societies and
leagues from all over the
world.
International anti-money
laundering experts review
practices in Cyprus
A team of international experts are making
a review of anti-money laundering practices
in Cyprus applied mainly by law firms,
banks, accounting and audit firms, financial
services firms and offices involved in the
investment-for-citizenship scheme, sources
with knowledge of the review said on
Saturday, reports BSS.
The team comes from the Committee of
Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money
Laundering Measures and the Financing of
Terrorism, commonly known as Moneyval.
This is the fifth time Moneyval conducts a
review in Cyprus, the latest having been done
at the height of the financial crisis in 2013.
Its report expected at the end of the year is
of crucial importance for the image of Cyprus
in relation to anti-money laundering
practices applied both by the state and
private firms associated with international
transactions.
Criticism of Cyprus for inadequate
measures to fight money laundering led to
the introduction of stricter due diligence
check that led to the capital flight, most of
which allegedly belonged to Russian socalled
oligarchs.
The European Commission also warned
Cyprus in January that its program for the
issue of passports and visas to foreigners in
exchange of investment could help organized
crime infiltrate the European Union and
raised the risk of money laundering,
corruption and tax evasion.
Finance Ministry sources were quoted as
saying that the government is relying on a
positive report by Moneyval so as to preserve
investor confidence in Cyprus.
Cyprus introduced stricter due diligence
checks as to the origin of money transferred
to or through Cyprus but this has led to
delays in concluding transactions, which
alarmed businessmen.
An official of the Cyprus Chamber of
Commerce and Industry said on Thursday
that he was concerned over the impact of the
delays, saying that Cypriot banks lost income
as customers turned to other countries.
Central Bank's new chief, Constantinos
Herodotou, urged the banks to invest in
technology and training of staff to do away
with due diligence check delays. He also
advised them that the country of origin did
not matter as the law requires due diligence
about the business origin of the money but
not the country. He advised banks to be
always on the alert as there will always be
efforts to beat the system.
Going down: Brazil
economic woes hit
stocks, currency
Atrophying growth forecasts and waning
confidence in President Jair Bolsonaro sent
Brazil's stocks and currency to their lowest
level of the year this week, as analysts
warned of further falls, reports BSS.
Since touching a record 100,000 points in
mid-March, the Bovespa has fallen 10
percent and wiped out gains made since farright
Bolsonaro took power on January 1 on
a promise to revive Latin America's biggest
economy. The benchmark index closed just
below 90,000 on Friday, while Brazil's
currency traded at its lowest level against the
dollar in eight months, breaking through
four reais. The sharp declines have been
fanned by uncertainty over US-China trade
talks that has pummelled stocks and
currencies in emerging markets, which are
perceived as riskier bets.
But the "external headwinds" have been
compounded by concerns over Brazil's feeble
economy, which has struggled to grow since
emerging from the devastating 2015-2016
recession, said William Jackson of Londonbased
Capital Economics.
Ireland's trade
surplus shows
declining
tendency in Q1
Ireland's trade surplus
showed a declining tendency
in the first three months of
this year, revealed the latest
figures from the country's
national statistics bureau
CS0, reports BSS.
In January, the country's
trade surplus stood at 6.9
billion euros (about 7.7
billion U.S. dollars), by
February, the monthly
figure dropped to 6.1 billion
euros, the March figure
further shrank to 4.5 billion
euros.
The historical data
provided by the CSO showed
that such a month-bymonth
decline of the
country's trade surplus in
the first three months of a
year had never been seen
since 2016.
Ireland is an exportoriented
economy and much
of its economic growth
depends the country's trade
surplus. The CSO figures
showed that in 2018 Ireland
achieved a trade surplus of
more than 49 billion euros,
accounting for about 15
percent of its GDP which
stood at 312 billion euros.
European enterprises
bullish about growth
prospect in China
Although growing
protectionism and
economic uncertainty are
disrupting world trade,
Volkmar Denner, chief
executive officer (CEO) of
Bosch Group, remains
optimistic about his
company's future growth.
As the sales revenue in
China accounted for about
20 percent of Bosch's total
sales income of 78.5 billion
euros (87.57 billion U.S.
dollars) in 2018, he foresaw
long-term growth potential
in the Asian giant, the
largest overseas market for
the German engineering
and technology company,
reports BSS.
Keeping a close eye on
the development and
economic prospects of
China, the CEO of the
industrial magnate told
Xinhua that he is upbeat
about China's economic
performance in the long
run, and that Bosch will
further benefit from
higher-quality growth in
China.
Beyond Bosch, many
European enterprises,
particularly multinational
giants, tend to see China as
a stable and reliable
"harbor" for overseas
investment and business
operations amid current
global headwinds, and are
participating in China's
economic transformation
and upgrading, as China-
EU economic and trade ties
become increasingly
stronger. Beating market
expectations to advance
6.4 percent year on year in
the first quarter of 2019,
China's economy got off to
a good start.
For many European
companies, the stable and
resilient economic growth
in this key market is
recognized as a significant
drive for businesses, which
is reflected in their recent
annual or quarterly
reports.
German pharmaceutical
company Bayer said in its
quarterly report that
pharmaceuticals have
registered an encouraging
sales growth of 5.3 percent
to over 4.3 billion euros
(4.8 billion dollars) in the
first quarter of 2019, "with
business in China
developing particularly
well."
Similarly, Swiss-based
biotech company Roche
registered a 63 percent
pharmaceutical sales
growth in China, resulting
in a 17-percent year-overyear
rise in international
sales in the same period.
Meanwhile, the German
auto manufacturer BMW
Group delivered nearly 2.2
million vehicles to Asia,
increasing by 45,000
deliveries on a year-onyear
basis, according to its
quarterly report.
Standard Bank Ltd. and Eurotex Knitwear Limited have signed an agreement for specialized
services of Retail Banking named "Employee Savings Account Services" recently at SBL Board
Room, Head Office, Dhaka. Under this agreement, around four thousand employees of Eurotex
Knitwear Limited will get their salaries through the benefit-rich savings account of SBLDeputy
Managing Director of Standard Bank Ltd. Md. Motaleb Hossain and Managing Director of
Eurotex Knitwear Limited Md. Shahidul Islam signed the agreement on behalf of their respective
organizations. Mamun-Ur-Rashid, Managing Director & CEO, Md. Tariqul Azam Additional
Managing Director of SBL and senior officials of both the organizations were present on the
occasion.
Photo : Courtesy
S. African economists warn of serious global
impact of US-China trade disputes
Economists here have cautioned that
the global economy and markets would
be affected should the U.S.-China trade
tensions drag on, reports BSS.
"If these are not resolved, they might
lead to higher interest rates in the
United States," said Jannie Rossouw,
head of the Economic and Business
Sciences School at Wits University, in a
recent interview with Xinhua. "At the
same time, it might lead to other
countries following a similar strategy,
which would lead to less trade in the
world," he added.
"We should also remember that with
import tariffs, Americans will pay more
for Chinese goods than what they've
been paying," he said, adding that the
failure to reach an agreement might also
result in slower economic growth.
The economist added that imposing
tariffs on Chinese products was also part
of U.S. President Donald Trump's
campaign strategy. "Trump is starting
his 2020 re-election campaign, and he's
trying to show strong conduct in the
hope that this will give him support of
the American people," he said.
In the latest flare-up of U.S.-China
trade tensions, Washington increased
additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S.
dollars' worth of Chinese imports from
10 percent to 25 percent earlier this
month, and has threatened to raise
tariffs on more Chinese imports. In
response, China has announced that it
will raise additional tariffs on a range of
U.S. imports from June 1, and "will fight
to the end."
Amid widespread worries about
global economic uncertainties incurred
by recent tariff hikes, China has
reiterated that escalating trade tensions
"serve no one's interests" and will "tie
down the world economy as well," and
has called on the United States, which
started the row, to get back on the right
track as soon as possible and meet
China halfway in achieving a mutually
beneficial and win-win agreement on
the basis of mutual respect.
Shahjalal Islami Bank's Khulna Branch organized a discussion on "the significance of Mahe
Ramadan" and Ifter Mehfil on 16th May 2019 at Hotel City Inn, Khulna. The Director of
Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited & Chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank Foundation Engineer Md.
Towhidur Rahman, CIP present as Chief Guest while the Managing Director & CEO M. Shahidul
Islam presided over the ceremony. The head of Public Relations & Bank Foundation of the Bank
Md. Shamsuddoha moderated the program and Mawlana Md. Aiyub Ali discussed elaborately
on the significance of Mahe Ramadan and prayed for the welfare of the Nation in the Ifter
Mehfil. Among others the Manager of Khulna Branch Mr. G.M. Quamruzzaman, the Manager of
Jashore Branch Md. Saidur Rahman, the Manager of Chuknagar Branch Roqunuzzaman, the
Prominent Journalist & Former President of Economic Reporters Forum Mr. Sultan Mahmud
Badal, Valued Clients of the Bank, Local Business Leaders and different works of people were
present in the Ifter Mehfil.
Photo : Courtesy