Underscoring the need for more investments in infrastructure to support continued growth in Asia and the Pacific and combat climate change, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao on Saturday vowed that the ADB would continue to work together with its partners to build a more vibrant, inclusive and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.
"Today, we begin a new chapter in the history of ADB and the region. Building on our achievements of the past 50 years, ADB will continue to work together with our partners to build a more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. I ask for your continued support," said the ADB President during the formal inauguration of the 50th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of ADB held at the Pacifico Yokohama Conference Center this morning.
Crown Prince of Japan Kotaishi Naruhito Shinno spoke at the inaugural session as the Guest of Honour while Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Japan Taro Aso also spoke.
The ADB President said Investment in infrastructure would remain a priority for ADB as the bank prepares a new long-term 'Strategy 2030' to respond to rapid regional changes.
Nakao said, "While the region has done remarkably well, we can't be complacent. Several challenges remain and new ones have emerged in Asia. About 330 million people still live in absolute poverty on less than $1.90 a day,"he added.
Noting that implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the climate actions agreed at COP21 in 2015 are collective priorities for the Asian economies, the ADB President said, "We also face new challenges from urbanization, aging and widening inequalities,"

Economic Reporter :
Private commercial banks (PCBs), including the foreign ones, are now playing leading role in disbursing agriculture credit as they have together disbursed Tk 8354.33 crore in the nine months (July-March) of fiscal year 2016-17 (FY17).
During the period, PCBs have disbursed Tk 7822.26 crore against its annual target, fixed by Bangladesh Bank, of Tk 7827 crore for FY17.
Nine foreign commercial banks (FCBs) have already crossed their annual disbursement target of Tk 433 crore as they have disbursed Tk 532.07 crore, up by Tk 99 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
All banks have disbursed a total of Tk 15,810.42 crore or 90.09 percent till March against their total target of Tk 17,550 crore for FY17.
"Once state-owned commercial bank (SCBs) played major role in disbursement of farm and non-farm credit but the PCBs and FCBs are now secured the leading position in channelizing the farm credit and their recovery rate is highly satisfactory," BB's chief spokesperson Subhankar Saha told.
During the period SCBs and specialized banks have disbursed a total of Tk 7,456.09 crore or 80.26 percent against their total target of Tk 9,290 crore.
"Considering the performance of PCBs and FCBs, BB is planning to increase their disbursement targets in future, the BB official said. Every month, BB holds meeting with scheduled banks to expedite agriculture loan disbursement as it is our priority area," he added.
"We're disbursing agricultural credit in line with the central bank's guideline and PCBs are gradually improving their performance comparing to the SCBs. As PCBs are disbursing the credit through selected NGOs of PKSF, they can easily achieve the disbursement target. Our recover rate is also good," Abdul Baten Chowdhury, executive vice president of Southeast Bank, told.
Deputy managing director of Islami Bank Abu Reza Mohd. Yeahya said his bank can properly disburse the agro-credit because it channels the credit to farmers through its Palli Biniok Prokalpa. About the recovery rate, he said the credit recovery rate is also high at 98 or 99 percent. "Private banks are now more conscious about the disbursement of agro-credit and as the central bank monitors and guides the disbursement, PCBs are now reaching the farm credit to farmers with the help of their SME desks and agent banking activities," said Anis A Khan, chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB).
Khan, who is also managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, said his bank carries out different campaign programmes to make farmers aware about the agricultural credit and its disbursement process. Even the officials of the bank also teach farmers on how application can be filed for opening bank accounts for agricultural loans, he added.
In fiscal year 2015-16, PCBs disbursed about Tk 8,360 crore against their target total of about Tk 6,717 crore while FCBs disbursed about Tk 510 crore against their total target of Tk 393 crore. SCBs and specialized banks disbursed Tk 8,776 crore against their total target Tk 9,290crore.
In 2014-15 fiscal, PCBs disbursed about Tk 6,584 crore against their total target was Tk 5,890 crore and FCBs disbursed about Tk 476 crore against their total target of Taka 420 crore. Specialized and state-owned banks disbursed Tk 8,918 though their total target was Tk 9,240crore.
Subhankar Saha, executive director of BB, said all banks have been able to exceed the agricultural loan disbursement target over the last couple of years and the present trend of credit disbursement indicates that the disbursement target in the current fiscal is likely to exceed.
In the last nine months for FY17, the average rate of recovery of agricultural credit was 68.15 percent which was 68.06 percent in the same period of FY16.

The government has set a target to develop infrastructure for the ICT sector by investing about $500 million in the next two years to build 28 hi-tech, software and IT parks across the country.

The funds will come from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Indian credit and the government's own sources, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT division, told The Daily Star recently.

“Our aim is to earn $5 billion from this sector by 2021, and to reach the target, we need to develop the infrastructure,” said Palak.

Simultaneously, the government is developing human resources, establishing connectivity and improving related policies, the minister added.

“This will help us foster an ICT-related business environment and speed up the country's digitisation process.” The government's initial target is to earn $1 billion in software exports and outsourcing by 2018.

By 2021, the ICT sector will contribute more than 5 percent to the country's gross domestic product, according to the government's target.

The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) has made progress in building the Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park at Janata Tower in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 248 crore, which will be inaugurated in June.

Space has been allotted to 24 companies on the park premises with only Tk 10 as rent per square feet.

A total of 10,000 IT professionals can work at the park simultaneously, according to BHTPA.

In the last week of April, the government approved the establishment of 12 tech parks in different districts at a cost of Tk 1,796.40 crore, to move closer to a digital economy.

Of the amount, Tk 1,544 crore will come in the form of credit from India and the government will bear the rest of the amount.

The parks will be built in Khulna, Barisal, Rangpur, Natore, Chittagong, Comilla, Cox's Bazar, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Gopalganj, Dhaka and Sylhet. The government is also halfway through completing the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City in Gazipur, which will employ nearly 70,000 in the next 10 years.

The BHTPA has started land development for a 'Silicon City' in Rajshahi at an allocation of Tk 300 crore and targets to complete it by next year, said Palak. The infrastructure will lead to the exponential growth of this sector, he added.

Palak said the government is about to build a knowledge-based society by 2021 and at the same time, create jobs for 20 lakh youths in this sector.

PARIS: France took a hard line Saturday over a huge trove of documents hacked from presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron’s campaign, warning on the eve of the election that anyone spreading them could face criminal charges, reports AFP.

The warning came after the pro-European centrist’s team lambasted a “massive and coordinated” hack that resulted in thousands of emails, accounting details and internal documents being posted late Friday.

The leak was an 11th-hour twist ahead of today’s decisive run-off after a bruising and divisive campaign pitting the 39-year-old former banker who embraces free-trade against his anti-EU, far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

“The dissemination of such data, which have been fraudulently obtained and in all likelihood may have been mingled with false information, is liable to be classified as a criminal offence,” France’s electoral commission said in a statement.

The documents spread on social media just before midnight as the candidates officially wrapped up campaigning, in what Macron’s team termed an attempt at “democratic destabilisation, like that seen during the last presidential campaign in the United States”.

Hillary Clinton has alleged Russian hacking of her campaign’s emails was partly to blame for her defeat by Donald Trump in the US presidential election in November.

Macron’s campaign employs tough server protections and network encryption, but experienced hackers can always find a way in.

“In this kind of organisation the real potential fault-line is the human element,” the head of computer services for En Marche! recently told AFP, requesting anonymity.

Because security procedures can become long and cumbersome, some people can be tempted to get around them by using personal email services which are little or badly protected.

Macron’s team said the files were stolen weeks ago when several officials from his En Marche party had their personal and work emails hacked—in one of “an intense and repeated” series of cyber-attacks targeting the candidate since the launch of the campaign.

“Clearly, the documents arising from the hacking are all lawful and show the normal functioning of a presidential campaign,” aides said in a statement.

But they warned that whoever was behind the leak had mixed fake documents with real ones “in order to sow doubt and disinformation”.

The WikiLeaks website on Friday posted a link to the documents on Twitter, saying it had not yet discovered fakes in the cache of files and adding “we are very sceptical that the Macron campaign is faster than us.”

Last month, cybersecurity research group Trend Micro said Russian hackers called Pawn Storm had targeted Macron’s campaign, using “phishing” techniques to try and steal personal data.

Senior Le Pen aide Florian Philippot suggested on Twitter that the leak might contain information the media had deliberately suppressed.

Polls released earlier Friday had showed Macron gaining momentum, forecasting victory for the pro-European, pro-business former banker with around 62 percent to 38 percent for Le Pen.

Macron and Le Pen—who is hoping to ride a global wave of anti-establishment anger to the Elysee Palace—have offered starkly different visions for France during a campaign that has been closely watched in Europe and around the world.

The reaction to the leaks came after a frantic final day of campaigning, which included the tragic death of a socialist lawmaker after she spoke at a Macron rally.

Corinne Erhel, 50, was the last to take the stage Friday in western France when she suddenly collapsed. She was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

“I learned with immense sadness of the death of Corinne Erhel at the event in Plouisy, where she was speaking to 300 activists,” wrote French lower house speaker Claude Bartolone, a socialist.

Fresh security fears also surfaced on Friday following the arrest of a suspected extremist who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Guns were discovered as well as the pledge on a flash drive and several of the group’s flags, sources close to the case told AFP after the arrest in Evreux, north of Paris.

The suspect, a 34-year-old Muslim convert, was arrested early Friday after police found his car near the base.

Le Pen has tried to portray Macron as being soft on security and Islamic fundamentalism, playing to the concerns of many of her supporters after a string of terror attacks in France that killed more than 230 people since 2015.