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

The High Court yesterday declared illegal the share forfeiture of The Oriental Bank (presently ICB Islami Bank), owned by Orion Group and other former shareholders, the group said in a statement.

HC also announced that the omissions of the shareholders' names are also malafide and the forfeitures are illegal. The court declared the order after hearing on a writ petition.

Upon the judgment, the former shareholders regained their shares and registered the names in share register.

The bank's shares of some shareholders were forfeited on January 29, 2007, and through the HC verdict these shares have become recovered, according to the statement.

News: The Daily star / Bangladesh/ Feb-03-2011

Eastern Bank Ltd has arranged as syndicated term loan facility of Tk 980 million for HG Aviation Limited to purchase two 50-seat DASH 8 Q300 aircrafts.

An agreement ceremony to this effect was held recently at a city hotel, said a press release.

Managing directors, chief executive officers and top executives of the participating banks and HG Aviation Ltd were present on the occasion.

Led by Eastern Bank Ltd, the participating banks and financial institutes are Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd, Dhaka Bank Ltd, One Bank Ltd, Standard Bank Ltd, State Bank of India, United Commercial Bank Ltd, Industrial Promotion and Development Company of Bangladesh Ltd, Uttara Finance and Investments Ltd.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, MD and CEO of EBL congratulated HG Aviation for starting its successful operation and expressed his appreciation to all the partners for their wholehearted support towards achieving the financial close of this transaction.

News: Daily Sun / Bangladesh/ Feb-02-2011