12-01-2021

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2021 8
Closing ceremony of a two-day Business Development Conference of Islami Bank Bangladesh
Limited was held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, Dhaka recently. Professor Md. Nazmul Hassan,
Ph.D, Chairman of the bank addressed the concluding session as chief guest. Professor Dr. Md.
Salim Uddin, FCA, FCMA, Chairman, Executive Committee, Mohammad Solaiman, FCA, Chairman,
Audit Committee, Major General (Retd.) Engr. Abdul Matin, Chairman, Risk Management
Committee of the bank addressed the program as special guest. Presided over by Mohammed
Monirul Moula, Managing Director and CEO of the bank, the program was addressed by Md.
Mahbub ul Alam, former Managing Director and CEO of the bank, Professor Dr. Mohammad Gias
Uddin Taluker, Chairman of IBBL Shari`ah Supervisory Committee and Muhammad Qaisar Ali,
Additional Managing Director.
Photo: Courtesy
Brexit deal's ‘rules of origin’
spark trade confusion
LONDON: Many British businesses are
swiftly discovering that they must now pay
duties on exports bound for the European
Union, despite the breakthrough Brexit
free trade deal clinched over Christmas,
reports BSS.
The development, which has already helped
spark sliding freight traffic to Ireland, is part
of trade disruption that has become
increasingly evident this year after Britain's
Brexit divorce was finalised on December 31.
Trade has also been badly hampered by new
Covid-19 border restrictions, with the roll-out
of testing for lorry drivers as Britain races to
curb a rampant variant of the deadly virus.
At the heart of the Brexit deal, which came
into force on January 1, is the so-called "rules
of origin" condition applied to all goods
crossing the border.
The rules of origin, a key aspect of all major
trade deals, can rapidly turn into a costly
headache for businesses.
Under the Brexit provision, any good will be
subject to a customs levy if it arrives in Britain
from abroad and is then exported back into
the European Union. For example, if a British
clothing retailer imports Chinese-made
textiles, then it would then have to pay a
customs charge if it re-exports the items into
a member nation of the EU's single market
and customs union.
Put simply, the rules therefore determine
whether an export is considered British or
not. "It is clear that many UK businesses
exporting to the EU are going to be hit by
tariffs," said Michelle Dale, senior manager at
the Manchester office of chartered
accountants UHY Hacker Young.
"Businesses have also been completely
blindsided by the 'rule of origin' part of the
deal, which leaves them at a major
competitive disadvantage when selling in the
EU. "Unfortunately, not enough was done to
prepare them for this. It takes years to build
an effective supply chain - and using non-EU
suppliers is often the best option both in
terms of cost and quality."
The Brexit agreement, which was sealed
four and a half years after Britons voted to
leave the European Union, grants zero
customs duties if at least roughly 50 percent
of an exported product is made in the UK.
That applies to the majority of UK exports -
but certainly not all of them. And the
provision is all the more important because
the EU accounts for more than half of
Britain's trade.
The London-based Institute of Government
think tank argues however that the
complexity of supply chains means that proof
of origin can be difficult for businesses to
ascertain - and hard for authorities to assess.
A raft of British retailers are reportedly
rushing to assess the impact of critical
deliveries to EU nations, including London's
top-end department store Fortnum and
Mason.
Collapsed UK high-street department store
Debenhams has already shut its online
website in Ireland due to uncertainty over
post-Brexit trade rules.
"At least 50 of our members face potential
tariffs for re-exporting goods to the EU," said
William Bain, trade policy adviser at the British
Retail Consortium industry organisation.
"We are working with members on shortterm
options and are seeking dialogue with
the (UK) government and the EU on longerterm
solutions to mitigate the effects of new
tariffs," he added.
High-street retail giant Marks & Spencer
warned Friday that the trade deal would
"significantly impact" business in the Czech
Republic, Ireland and France.
The deal however removes tariffs for
Britain's largely foreign-owned carmaking
industry, which avoids customs duties for
cars manufactured with components made
abroad.
Nissan has welcomed the agreement but
has not yet indicated what will happen to the
Japanese carmaker's largest plant in Europe
which is based in Sunderland, northeast
England. It had previously warned that a nodeal
departure would threaten the factory's
future.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's
Conservative government has yet to comment
on the precise impact of the rules of origin on
the business community.
"We continue to work closely with
businesses to help them to adapt to any
new trading requirements," a government
spokesman told AFP.
JPMorgan halts
all political
donations after
US Capitol attack
NEW YORK : JPMorgan
Chase said it is suspending all
US political donations
following the attack on the
Capitol by a pro-Trump mob,
joining a growing list of
American corporations
holding back funding since
the violence, reports BSS.
The political action
committee at JPMorgan, the
country's largest bank by
assets, will stop making any
financial contributions to
Republican and Democratic
leaders for at least six months,
a spokesperson told AFP
Sunday.
"The focus of business
leaders, political leaders, civic
leaders right now should be
on governing and getting help
to those who desperately need
it most," said Peter Scher, the
bank's head of corporate
responsibility.
"There will be plenty of time
for campaigning later."
Other companies have
opted to specifically target the
Republican officials who on
January 6 voted against
certifying the results of the
presidential election.
That day's assault saw a
mob of angry Donald Trump
supporters storm the US
Capitol shortly after the
president reiterated baseless
election conspiracies to the
crowd. Five people died in the
ensuing riot, including one
police officer.
Billionaire investor Nelson
Peltz, Ben & Jerry's ice cream
company and the AFL-CIO -
the largest trade union
federation in the US - have
since called for Trump's
immediate departure from
office.
Recently the Yearly Business Conference-2021 of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd was held through video
conferencing. All the branch managers and divisional heads of the head offices were participated in the conference.
Dr. Engr. Rashid Ahmed Chowdhury the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank was present
as a chief Guest on the occasion. The Chief Guest gives the special thanks to all concerned officials of the
bank to provide the best service to the customers by maintaining govt. Hygiene rules & regulation during
this corona pandemic period. The event was conducted by Managing Director & CEO of the Bank Omar
Farooque. The Managing Director reviewed the achievements and overall performance of the bank last
year, as well as provided the necessary strategies and guidance to achieve the desired goals of 2021. The special
Guest & Additional Managing Director of the Bank Zafar Alam said that the services of BCBL will be
spread out in all areas of the country as well as he emphasized on customer service and informed all present
in the meeting about various activities of the Bank in all areas of business sector. Among others Kazi
Md. Rezaul Karim, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank was also present at the event. Photo : Courtesy
Most Asia markets, dollar rise as
Biden's pledges huge stimulus
HONG KONG: Asian markets
mostly rose with the dollar Monday
following another record performance
on Wall Street as investors cheered the
prospect of a further massive stimulus
for the US economy, with Presidentelect
Joe Biden calling for a spending
spree in the trillions of dollars, reports
BSS.
With vaccines being rolled out
around the world and key risk events
including the US election, Georgia
senate runoffs and Brexit now out of
the way, observers said focus is now on
the expected global recovery from last
year's economic catastrophe.
The need for more financial help for
the world's top economy was laid out
Friday with data showing 140,000
people lost their jobs in December - the
first fall since April - as virus infections
and deaths surged across the country.
Biden, who will be sworn in as
president on January 20, said he would
press for a new rescue package that
includes $2,000 direct payments to
taxpayers and help for small
businesses. "The price tag will be high,"
he warned as he promised to lay out his
proposals Thursday. "It will be in the
trillions of dollars."
He added: "If we don't act now,
things are going to get much worse and
harder to get out of a hole later."
Investors welcomed the prospect of
another spending splurge that will
provide a huge boost to the economy,
coupled with Federal Reserve financial
support and record low rates for the
foreseeable future.
The dollar extended gains across the
board, and was sitting at a three-week
peak against the yen. Wall Street's three
main indexes all finished last week at
all-time highs, and the positive energy
flowed through to Asia.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila and
Jakarta were all well up, with Seoul
driven by a surge in market
heavyweight Samsung fuelled by
reports it is in talks with US giant Intel
over making some of its best chips.
However, while the broad consensus
is for a strong run in equities this year,
there is a feeling that the latest rally
may be petering out.
"After being bullish for several
months, we are definitely becoming
more cautious on the stock market up
at these levels," Matt Maley, at Miller
Tabak + Co, said, adding that most of
the surge in the S&P 500 from March
its March trough is "behind us".
And Axi strategist Stephen Innes
added that fears about the virus, which
continues to wreak havoc around the
world and force governments to
impose new lockdowns, remained the
main stumbling block.
"Covid concerns continue to hang like
a nasty cloud over the market, and
given a great deal of optimism in stocks
and oil is linked to the rollout of
vaccines, investors are sitting with
fingers and legs crossed that there
won't be any negative news flows on
this front (which) would prompt a
sharp negative market reaction," he
said in a commentary.
He also pointed to ongoing China-US
tensions after the White House said it
would end self-imposed restrictions on
official contacts with Taiwan, a move
likely to irk Beijing.
The move will add to complications
for Biden as he assumes the presidency,
with any move to reverse the decision
opening him up to accusations of being
soft on China.
Oil prices dipped slightly but remain
at 10-month highs, supported by hopes
for more stimulus and following Saudi
Arabia's announcement last week that
it plans to slash output by a million
barrels a month in February and
March.
NOVOAIR celebrates its 8th Anniversary
Country's leading and
reputed airline NOVOAIR
is celebrating its 8th
anniversary through
various programs. The
inaugural flight was on 9th
January, 2013 from Dhaka
to Chattogram, a press
release said.
Managing Director of
NOVOAIR Mofizur
Rahman have greeted all
that NOVOAIR has always
given priority to its
customers' safety, security,
comfort, and on-time
performance, we have
earned passengers trust
for safe air travel.
NOVOAIR is always
concerned in enhancing the
quality of passenger service
and maintaining on-time
departure.
As part of this plan,
NOVOAIR has acquired 7
ATR 72-500 model aircraft.
In this special occasion, our
commitment will be
ensuring of passenger
safety with the addition of
more aircrafts, expanding
domestic and international
destinations, consistent
with our valuable passengers'
needs.
NOVOAIR network covers
between Dhaka and
Chattogram, Cox's Bazar,
Jashore, Sylhet, Saidpur,
Rajshahi, Barishal for
domestic and Kolkata for
international destination.
Jamuna Bank Ltd inaugurated 149th Branch at College Road, Kandirpar in Cumilla. LGRD minister
Md. Tajul Islam inaugurated the branch as the chief guest. Chairman of Jamuna Bank Foundation
Nur Mohammed presided over the program. Freedom Fighter A.K.M. Bahauddin Bahar, MP,
Cumilla-6, Munirul Sakku, Mayor, Cumilla City Corporation, Md. Abul Fazal Mir DC of
Cumilla,Farooque Ahmed PPM (Bar),superintendent of Police, Cumilla, Mirza Elias Uddin Ahmed,
Managing Director and CEO of Jamuna Bank Ltd were present as special guest. Senior officials of the
bank, heads of branches of that locality, dignitaries and a huge number of customers were present in
the inaugural ceremony.
Photo: Courtesy
China consumer prices rise in December
ahead of Lunar New Year
BEIJING : China's consumer prices
rebounded in December, official data
showed Monday, as food prices picked up
due to weather difficulties and rising
demand ahead of the Lunar New Year
festival, reports BSS.
In December, the consumer price index
(CPI) rose more than expected at 0.2
percent on-year, said the National
Bureau of Statistics, with prices
increasing for fresh produce and meats
such as pork, beef and mutton ahead of
next month's nationwide holiday.
"Due to continued low temperatures,
the production, storage and
transportation costs of fresh vegetables
and fruit increased," said NBS senior
statistician Dong Lijuan.
The index is a key gauge of retail
inflation, and the rebound follows the
first negative reading in over a decade last
month as food costs fell. On Monday,
Dong said that consumer demand was
picking up due to New Year's Day and the
upcoming Lunar New Year, bumping up
prices of other food items.
But pork prices, which rocketed
previously after an African swine fever
outbreak ravaged pig stocks, continued to
drop by 1.3 percent on-year last month as
supplies of the staple meat recovered.
For the full year of 2020, consumer
prices rose 2.5 percent on-year.
"The pork price cycle continues to
weigh on the inflation outlook," said
Zhaopeng Xing, senior China strategist at
ANZ Research in a recent report, saying
there had been a faster-than-expected
recovery of hog stocks.
Meanwhile, the producer price index
(PPI) which measures the cost of goods at
the factory gate, fell 0.4 percent on-year
last month - better than November's 1.5
percent drop.
"Domestic demand recovered steadily,
coupled with the continued rise in prices
of some international commodities," said
Dong.