The commercial banks experienced a relatively low turnout of clients during the blockade enforced by the main opposition BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) Sunday.

Branches of different banks in the city run their operations under additional security measures for their safety.

According to witnessing account, only a few clients of different bank branches went to respective bank due to unavoidable needs for depositing money under savings schemes, withdrawal of cash and trade and commerce purposes.

“Clients’ turnout is very low today. However, we are providing online services regarding deposit, withdrawal of cash and services to facilitate trade and commerce,” said an official of Motijheel branch of the Premier Bank Ltd, seeking anonymity.

The bank branch has provided services to clients by keeping shut down the front-side entrance and opened an inside entrance for use of clients by deploying security guards outside and at the entrance.

The similar situation prevailed at the Motijheel branch of NCC bank Ltd, another commercial private bank, where the management took out extra-caution to cover security aspects.

Meanwhile, an official of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said the currency department of the central bank was not as busy as other normal days.

“The demand for cash was low from the side of the commercial banks due to the blockade,” said an official, of the department, seeking anonymity.

The central bank official said people have become traumatised because of the arson attack to public buses and other vehicles during the blockade that refrain them from coming outside, specially to the banks.

Commenting on the adverse affect of political programmes like blockade and hartal, President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh, Abdus Salam Murshedy said such programmes always act against the spirit of economic activities.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12

After years of profiting from cheap labor, Southeast Asian businesses paying wages low enough to undercut China are being forced to accept it is time they paid people a bit more.

In Thailand, minimum wages will jump by 35 percent in some regions from January, on top of a nationwide increase of 40 percent last April. Big percentages that add up to just a few dollars more in pay packets each month.

The country's finance minister says it will be good for workers and industry.

"People getting higher wages will not want to lose their jobs and employers will not want to increase wages for nothing. They will have to work together to boost efficiency and productivity," Kittirat Na Ranong told Reuters this week.

Economists also point out that if you pay people more they'll buy more. But the nagging worry is that everyone could eventually lose out if wages rise too fast, resulting in higher inflation and job losses as firms lose competitive edge.

While the political benefits are easy to see in a region where a vast majority of people are clamoring for a better life, the economic calculation is a harder sell to a business community whose margins depend on cheap labor.

The chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries was ousted last month for failing to lobby hard enough to convince the government to go back on a promise to voters, and the surrender to higher wages left the federation riven with factions.

Similar social and economic tensions are evident elsewhere in Southeast Asia, a region that has otherwise come through the global slowdown better than most.

The emerging market boom that characterized the first decade of the millennium saw growth rates surge and profits multiply, but now countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia face pressure from workers for a bigger share of the wealth.

The World Bank designated Thailand an upper-middle-income country in 2011 after national income per capita almost doubled in a decade but it has fretted about wealth inequality.

As a former stock exchange president, the Thai finance minister seems an unlikely class warrior.

But that is how he sounds.

"We have a duty to improve the distribution of wealth," said Kittirat. "For over 30 years that economic records have been kept, it seems income distribution has not improved. The proportion of low-income earners is still the same."

After years of political turmoil, broadly pitting the lower classes against Bangkok's middle class and "old money" elite, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government was elected in July 2011 with a promise to bring in a nationwide minimum wage of 300 baht a day.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12

The United States needs to raise taxes and cut spending to address the looming fiscal cliff, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Sunday, warning that anything less would undermine economic confidence.

With President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers stuck in an apparently ideological battle on how to address the nation's ballooning deficit by the end of 2012, Lagarde said the cliff remained the biggest threat to the economy.

Speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" talk show, she said that although the US economy was creating jobs, American debt was still higher than in much of the eurozone and cautioned against more half-baked, short-term measures.

"The best way to go forward is to have a balanced approach that takes into account both increasing the revenue, which means raising tax or creating new sources of revenue, and cutting spending as well," Lagarde said.

The so-called fiscal cliff refers to a combination of severe tax increases and spending cuts due in January.

Obama won November's presidential election on a platform of tackling the nation's deficit and debt by raising taxes for the wealthiest Americans, but Republicans are opposed to higher rates being placed on anyone.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12

The country took a successful stride forward in attracting foreign investment thanks to the Bangladesh Investment Summit in Singapore on December 4.

Organised by the publications FinanceAsia and AsianInvestor, the summit aimed to showcase trade and investment opportunities in Bangladesh to Asia's sovereign wealth funds, family offices, public and private pension funds and other investors.

Sponsored by Standard Chartered Bangladesh, City Bank and Deutsche Bank, the daylong event at Marina Bay Sands was attended by high-level personnel from some 250 companies.

“This country of 160 million has enjoyed about 10 years' worth of steady, impressive growth. Its economy has grown by 6.2 percent per annum for the past five years despite the global financial crisis,” said Finance Secretary Fazle Kabir during his keynote speech.

He added that the government is aiming to make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2020 and has a good momentum going into it.

"Already its per capita income has more than doubled over the past decade to over $800, and is on track to soon reach $1,000,” Kabir said, while citing Bangladesh's billing in Goldman Sachs' 'Next 11' list.

Bangladesh Bank's (BB) Chief Economist Dr Hassan Zaman said the central bank and the securities regulator are reviewing the impediments to foreign investment at present.

According to Zaman, BB is currently reviewing its Foreign Exchange Act with an eye on liberalising how the country deals with foreign capital.

He added there were no barriers to entry as long as firms met “fit and proper” requirements and said that regulators would conduct necessary due diligence.

The BB chief economist further said the country would welcome foreign banks seeking to put operations on the ground, adding there is “plenty of room for competition”.

Jim McCabe, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, highlighted the success of the country's textiles and readymade garment sectors.

“But several other sectors such as pharmaceuticals and ceramics have already gained a strong foothold in the global marketplace. The potential of jute and its by-products is also immense.”

McCabe mentioned of the country's low-cost efficient labour force, and that the population of 160 million provides a “lucrative” market for products and service.

“We've already seen great performances in the FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] and telecommunications sectors.”

He also said that the BB was doing a “fantastic job” improving the regulatory framework and upgrading the quality of the system itself.

City Bank's Managing Director K Mahmood Sattar reiterated McCabe's views, saying: “Banks in Bangladesh could provide advisory services to give foreign investors some comfort that the country has regulation and process and offers a safe exit from deals.”

While terming the country's regulatory regime as “very proactive and progressive”, LR Global Bangladesh's CEO Reaz Islam said more development in terms of human resources and technology are needed to cope with industry growth.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12

The first quarter of the current fiscal year saw the country consolidate its balance of payment surplus on the back of high inward remittance and low import bills.

The surplus stood at $1.11 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

A deficit of $99 million was recorded in the same period last fiscal year.

Import spending in the first three months of the current fiscal year increased by only 1.98 percent, while remittance increased by more than 19 percent.

As per a BB official, the decrease in export growth accounts for the fall in import bills, as a big chunk of import spending is earmarked for the export-oriented garment factories.

Exports grew by 1.34 percent in the first three months, due to the slowdown in the Eurozone and the US.

Another reason for the lower import spending is the decrease in food imports, the official said.

Since both of export and import growth fell, there was more or less no year-on-year change in trade deficit.

The current account balance in the first quarter was $135 million surplus, while it stood at $8 million deficit in the same period last fiscal year.

The BB official further said there is no pressure on the balance of payment this fiscal year as the foreign exchange reserve has been hovering around $11 to $12 billion, equivalent to four months' import bill.

As per global standards, foreign exchange reserve equal to three months' import bill is adequate.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/10th-Dec-12