12-04-2021

MOnDAY, APRIL 12, 2021 8
Dhaka Central Zone and Corporate Branches of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited organized quarterly
Business Development Conference through virtual platform on Friday, 10 April 2021. Mohammed
Monirul Moula, Managing Director and CEO of the bank addressed the conference as chief guest.
Muhammad Qaisar Ali, Additional Managing Director, J.Q.M. Habibullah, FCS, Deputy Managing
Director, Md. Siddiqur Rahman, Md. Altaf Hossain, Abul Faiz Muhammad Kamaluddin, Mahmudur
Rahman & Mohammad Sayeed Ullah, Senior Executive Vice Presidents also addressed the conference.
Senior Executives of Head Office, Head of Branches, Manager Operations and In-charge of
Departments under the Zone and Corporate Branches attended the conference. Photo : Courtesy
Price fall in large-cap drives stocks down
DHAKA : Stocks on Sunday
witnessed downward trend
due mainly to price fall in
large-cap securities.
DSEX, the prime index of
the Dhaka Stock Exchange
(DSE), went down by 90.08
points or 1.71 per cent to
settle at 5,164.70.
Two other indices also
BEIRUT : During the civil war that ended
over 30 years ago Abla Barotta survived
shelling and clashes, but she now fears a "slow
death" from Lebanon's worst economic crisis
in decades.
The 58-year-old mother of three is a
survivor among the more than 50 percent of
Lebanese today living in poverty.
Echoing a common refrain on television
and at public gatherings, Barotta said even the
worst days of the war weren't this tough.
"We used to hide in houses or basements
every time we heard shelling during the war,
but today, where can we go to hide from
hunger, the economic crisis, the coronavirus
pandemic and our political leaders?" she told
AFP.
"We used to fear death from bombardment
or sniper fire, but now we fear everything:
illness, poverty and hunger," she said.
Her voice lowering to a whisper, she added:
"To die from shelling is better, at least there is
no suffering… while today, we suffer and die
slowly every day."
Lebanon on Tuesday marks 46 years since
clashes erupted in Beirut between Lebanese
Christians and Palestinians backed by leftist
and Muslim factions, marking the start of a
15-year conflict that drew in regional powers
Israel and Syria.
At the time, the country was divided into
warring sectarian fiefdoms.
But many still managed to preserve a
semblance of normal life between bouts of
heightened violence and kidnappings.
The wheels of Lebanon's economy kept
closed lower. The DS30
index, comprising blue
chips, lost 37.48 points to
finish at 1,952.92 and the
DSE Shariah Index fell
20.05 points to close at
1,177.61.
The daily trade turnover
on the DSE also plunged to
Taka 4,565.50 million
which was Taka 4,758.78
million at the previous
session.
Losers took a strong lead
over the gainers as out of
342 issues traded, 266
closed lower, 24 higher and
52 issues remained
unchanged on the DSE
trading floor.
Lebanon civil war
survivors say today’s
crisis even worse
turning, bolstered by money and weapons
sent to warring parties from abroad.
Corruption, negligence and bitter political
divisions, however, have plagued Lebanon in
the run-up to a financial slump now sounding
the death knell for a fragile middle class.
Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost
more than 85 percent of its value against the
dollar on the black market and prices have
soared. Customers have come to blows in
supermarkets to secure fast-selling subsidised
products, while shortages in pharmacies have
made medicine shopping akin to hunting for
treasure.
Despite the deterioration, authorities have
done little to stem a crisis compounded by the
Covid-19 pandemic and last year's port blast
that cost more than 200 lives and ravaged
swathes of Beirut.
"The war was ugly… but we never lived
through anything like this economic crisis,"
Barotta said in her Beirut home that was hard
hit by the August 4 explosion.
Her first floor flat in a heritage building in
the Mar Mikhail neighbourhood adjacent to
the port has since been renovated and her
neck has healed from a blast injury.
But she said there is plenty left to worry
about. "This anxiety over whether we will be
able to eat tomorrow… we have never lived
that before," she said.
In the blast-strewn Karantina district, also
next to the port, Jean Saliba pointed to gutted
buildings awaiting renovation and listed the
names of families who lost loved ones in
Lebanon's worst peace-time disaster.
Beximco continued to
dominate the turnover
chart, followed by Robi, BD
Finance, PURABIGEN and
Premier Bank.
EBL was the day's best
performer, posting a gain of
6.58 per cent while Index
Agro was the worst loser,
losing 9.81 per cent
following its price
adjustment after record
date.
The Chittagong Stock
Exchange also ended lower
with its All Shares Price
Index (CASPI)-slumping
247.45 points to close at
14,983.60 while the
Selective Categories Index -
CSCX shedding 150.65
points to close at 9,039.77.
Of the issues traded, 139
declined, 26 advanced and
27 remained unchanged on
the CSE.
The port city bourse
traded 52.63 lakh shares
and mutual fund units with
turnover value of more than
Taka 14.44 crore.
Chinese medicinal
material price
index down
0.33 pct
HEFEI : The Kangmei
Chinese medicinal material
price index, a barometer of
the traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) material
market, dropped 0.33
percent to 1,385.29 points
Saturday.
Covering more than 500
TCM materials including
herbs and minerals from six
major markets nationwide,
the closely-watched index
reflects the overall price
trend in the country's TCM
material market. It is
released daily by Kangmei
Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd,
one of China's major TCM
companies.
The index was approved
by the National
Development and Reform
Commission of China in
2012 to offer more timely
and accurate reference for
TCM material growers,
traders and pharmaceutical
companies.
Traditional Chinese
medicines, often given as
oral liquid, granule and pills,
typically use the
combination of a number of
medicinal materials, mostly
herbs, to address health
problems.
IMF, World Bank begin
push to swap debt relief
for green projects
WASHINGTON : The idea of
forgiving debt held by poor
countries in exchange for
"green" investments gained
ground this week during the
spring meetings of the IMF
and World Bank, with
concrete proposals expected
in time for a global climate
summit this fall.
Low-income countries face
a double crisis - they are
under pressure to pay down
their debt while also
confronting environmental
problems.
That makes them "highly,
highly vulnerable," Kristalina
Georgieva, managing director
of the International Monetary
Fund, said this week, adding
that it thus "makes sense" for
the world to pursue so-called
"green debt swaps." A World
Bank spokeswoman
underscored that point.
"The Covid-19 crisis has
made it significantly harder
for developing countries to
tackle the rising risks posed by
climate change" and
environmental disasters, said
the spokeswoman, who
declined to be named.
With already tight budgets,
these countries have had to
use emergency financial
assistance to address the
severe impact of the
pandemic and the resulting
economic crisis.
Samsung Bangladesh has
expanded its Galaxy M
Series line with robust,
innovative technologies -
Galaxy M12 and Galaxy
M62. The devices have
powerful batteries and
state-of-the-art Quad
cameras - making them
perfect for the demanding
millennials.
Samsung always promises
robust performance and
battery to its devices, and
thus the story is no different
from the company's latest
additions. Galaxy M12 is
powered by a powerful
6,000mAh battery, Octa-
Core Exynos 850 chipset,
6GB RAM, and 128GB
ROM. These ensure
enhanced performance,
flawless multitasking, and
decreased power
consumption while
browsing and using various
apps. Combined with an
8nm processor, the battery
of Galaxy M12 is extremely
power efficient, allowing
people to use the device for
more than a day without a
plug-in, a press release said.
On the other hand, Galaxy
M62 is powered by Exynos
9825 SoC, 2.73 GHz, a
gigantic 7,000mAh battery,
Wander around Dublin's
Grand Canal Quay and you
get a sense of how successful
the Republic of Ireland has
been in attracting US
technology companies.
Google has its
international headquarters
across a campus of offices
and will soon have more
space nearby at the Boland's
Mill development.
Just across the canal,
Facebook has its
international HQ with
Tripadvisor and AirBnB
close by.
Stripe, the United Statesbased
payments firm, could
soon be in the area.
Last month its Irish
founders said they're
planning about 1,000 new
jobs in Ireland.
The head of the country's
inward investment agency,
Martin Shanahan,
described the Stripe
investment as a
"phenomenal signal from
Syria juice vendor
gears up for Ramadan
as crisis bites
DAMASCUS : In a busy
market in Syria's capital, 53-
year-old Ishaaq Kremed
serenades customers and
agilely pours tamarind juice
from the ornate brass jug on
his back ahead of Ramadan.
The popular street vendor
says he usually has more
customers during the Islamic
holy month starting next
week, during which many
favour the drink to break
their day-long fast at
sundown.
But he says his trade of more
than 40 years has also taken
on new meaning since the
war-torn country has been
plunged into economic crisis,
reports UNB.
"My main job is to make
customers smile," says the
moustachioed father of 16,
dressed in billowing trousers,
a patterned waistcoat and
red fez.
"What's most important is
that they leave me feeling
happy - that whoever turns
up stressed leaves feeling
content," adds the street
vendor.
On his daily rounds of the
Hamidiyah covered market,
8GB RAM, and 128GB
internal storage. Combined
with a 7nm processor, the
device delivers a robust
mobile experience - offering
cutting-edge gaming and
graphics performance.
Exynos 9825 is lightning
fast and power-efficient,
Ireland and about Ireland".
But there's now a risk that
the pipeline of investment
from the US could dry up if
President Joe Biden can
lead a major change to
global tax rules.
In among those tech
company HQs in Dublin's
docklands, you will also find
the offices of the lawyers
dozens of customers
approach him to quench
their thirst, often taking
pictures of him and his
traditional get-up with their
cellphones. As he nimbly
pours juice in long streams
into plastic cups, he distracts
them for a while with a song.
A surgical face mask lowered
under his chin, Kremed
intones lyrics for a mother
and her two young
daughters, before handing
her a cup of the dark brown
beverage.
He takes his fez off to collect
his payment, then places it
back on the top of his head.
Another man, dressed in a
long white robe, joins
Kremed in a song then gives
him a peck on the cheek as he
leaves. Syria's economic
crisis has sent prices soaring
and caused the national
currency to plummet in
value against the dollar on
the black market.
In a country where a large
majority of people live in
poverty, Syrians have also
had to contend with several
lockdowns to stem the
spread of coronavirus.
allowing users to enjoy the
enhanced performance
without sacrificing battery
life.
Galaxy M62 comes with
an industry-leading battery
- 7,000mAh - perfect for
Gez Z and young millennials
who spend more time on
and accountants who help
US firms use Ireland's tax
system to reduce their
global tax bills.
For the last 20 years
Ireland has had a simple
message: invest here and
you will pay just 12.5% tax
on your Irish profits.
That compares favourably
to headline corporation tax
"For three years, Ramadan
has been different because of
people's financial worries,"
Kremed says.
"When people come to the
market, you see them
bumping into each other as if
they were in a daze."
The Damascus government
blames the economic crisis
on Western sanctions, but
economists say the conflict,
the pandemic and the
financial crisis in
neighbouring Lebanon are
also major factors.
Some state institutions have
temporarily been closed over
the pandemic and the
economic crisis, but for now,
markets remain open.
Although he does his best to
keep up a cheery
demeanour, Kremed says he
too is feeling the effects of the
economic crunch.
Tamarind and sugar are
becoming increasingly
costly, he says, and not
everyone has enough spare
cash for a refreshment.
"People's priorities have
become putting food and
drink on the table, before
tamarind juice," he says.
Samsung brings mighty hardware and battery
through Galaxy M12 and Galaxy M62
their smartphones and are
always on the go. Moreover,
the combination of massive
battery and robust
performance will transform
the user's gaming
experience. Every gamer
wants a lag-free gaming
experience, and now it is
possible with Galaxy M62.
Both of the devices come
with versatile cameras that
will take photography to the
next level. Galaxy M12
comes with 48MP as the
primary sensor, which will
capture all the memorable
moments. The device sports
other sensors - 5MP Ultra-
Wide-Angle, 2MP Depth,
and 2MP Macro. The Quad
cameras of Galaxy M12 will
enhance the photos' clarity
and detail, making it seem
as if the image has come
alive.
Galaxy M62 has a 64MP
primary sensor, 12MP
Ultra-Wide-Angle lens, 5MP
Depth, and 5MP Macro.
Whether it's day or night,
summer or winter, the
robust array of Quad
cameras of Galaxy M62 will
let users unleash their
creative sides and allow
them to capture the most
amazing photos.
Joe Biden: Could his tax plan affect
US investment in Ireland?
rates of 19% in the UK, 30%
in Germany and 26.5% in
Canada.
It is an article of faith in
Irish politics that the 12.5%
rate has been vital to
attracting US investment.
But that tax advantage
could be seriously
undermined if President
Biden gets his way.