Dhaka Bank Ltd recently opened its 55th branch at Mohakhali in the city.

Rakhi Das Gupta, director of the bank, formally inaugurated the branch, said a press release.

The branch has all modern banking facilities including online banking, the news release said.

Chairman of the Board of Directors Reshadur Rah-man, former Chairman ATM Hayatuzzaman Khan, Director Afroza Abbas, Managing Director Khondker Fazle Rashid, Deputy Managing Director Tanweer Rahim, Company Secretary Arham Masudul Huq and other high officials of Dhaka Bank and a number distinguish clients were also present on the occasion.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh/05 Feb 2011

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan Thursday visited the Institute of Chartered Secretaries of Bangladesh and launched its official web-site (www.icsb.edu.bd). During the opening ceremony he emphasized on the importance of ICT for Digital Bangladesh to achieve the goal of Vision 2021. President of ICSB Mohammad Sanaullah discussed at length the issues concerning the profession of Chartered Secretaries in Bangladesh as well as various development activities undertaken by the ICSB. Among others, former Commerce Secretary Suhel Ahmed Choudhury, former Secretary Feroz Ahmed, Mohammad Asad Ullah , immediate Past President & Council Member, Md. Shahid Farooqui , Senior Vice President, M. Naseemul Hye, Vice President and Md. Monirul Alam , Treasurer of ICSB along with a large number of fellow & Associate Member of the Institute were present.

The members requested the Minister for support to the Institute on its efforts towards the establishment of good corporate governance in Bangladesh. The commerce minister visited the accommodation including Office, Library, Class Rooms and Training Room & other facilities of the Institute. The Minister assured of his all possible support to the Institute and profession as well.

News: The Financial Express/ Bangladesh/04 Feb 2011

As part of CSR Programme, First Security Islami Bank Limited has distributed blankets among the cold-hit people of Bogra recently. Among others Mr. Mujibur Rahman, General Manager, Bangladesh Bank, Bogra, Mr. Shah Mohammad Mehdi Hasan Himu, local ward commissioner were present.

News: The Financial Express/Bangladesh/04 Feb 2011

Tradings of MBL 1st MF, BRAC Bank bond make debut Feb 8Tradings of MBL 1st Mutual Fund and Subordinated 25 per cent Convertible Bonds of BRAC Bank Limited will begin on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) February 8. According to a board meeting decision of DSE, trading of the units of MBL 1st Mutual Fund sponsored by Mercantile Bank Ltd will start under 'A' category. DSE Trading Code for MBL 1st Mutual Fund is "MBL1STMF" and DSE company code is 12184. On the other hand, BRAC Bank bonds will be traded under 'N' category. DSE Trading Code for Subordinated 25 per cent Convertible Bonds of BRAC Bank Ltd is "BRACSCBOND" and DSE company code is 26003.

The subscription of MBL MF opened on December 12, 2010 and closed December 19, 2010. The face value is Tk. 10.00 per unit with market lot of 500 Units. The Sponsor's Portion was 10,000,000 units, Pre IPO Placement Portion 40,000,000 units and Public Offer 50,000,000 units. The size of the MBL Fund was 100,000,000 units while the size of the fund was Tk. 1,000,000,000.00. LR Global Bangladesh Asset Management was the issue manager. On the other hand, the opening date for subscription of BRAC Bank bonds was December 5, 2010 while closed on December 9, 2010. BRAC Bank Limited raised the Tier II capital through repeat public offering in order to comply with the regulatory requirement of Bangladesh Bank. The proceeds of the public offering will strengthen the capital base of the bank and augment business expansion.

The Issue Manager was IDLC Finance Limited and City Bank Limited was the trustee. A total of 90 per cent of the total Issue size of the bond was offered to institutional investors including onshore and offshore investors and the remaining 10 per cent was offered to public through IPO. The Issue Size was Tk 3.0 billion. Each bond will have a Face Value of BDT 1,000 (One Thousand) with market lot of 5 (five) bonds each. MBL 1st Mutual Fund is the 32nd mutual fund listed on the DSE.

News: The Financila Express/Bangladesh/04 Feb 2011

The Asian Development Bank has been urged to sharpen its focus on development priorities of Bangladesh in its next Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2011-15. Stakeholders said at a discussion that prioritization helped improve quality of education, technical education & teachers’ training and power & water supply. Besides it has also speeded up reforms in railway, local governments and public sector management and helped address the issues of food security, climate change and women empowerment. ADB organized the discussion at the TARC auditorium in Chittagong in addition to the ongoing consultations with a cross-section of stakeholders at various locations in the run-up to preparing the new CPS for Bangladesh, an ADB press release stated. Business people, members of civil society, professional groups, women leaders, ethnic minorities, local government leaders and academia took part in the discussion providing valuable feedback and suggestions on future ADB operations in Bangladesh, the release said.
Thevakumar Kandiah, country director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission, and Zahid Hossain, ADB’s Senior Country Specialist, made presentations on the proposed CPS.
The ADB officials said the new CPS was expected to be prepared by mid-2011 and would replace the one for 2006-2010. It will be aligned with the government’s priorities to be reflected in the Sixth Five-Year Plan, which is under preparation. It will also be compatible with ADB’s long-term strategic framework (Strategy 2020) seeking to support inclusive & environmentally sustainable growth; regional cooperation and integration, the release added.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ Feb-03-2011