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DSEX 5545.10 23.71 Gold (Ounce) $1240.20 Dollar 80.35 (Buy) 81.35 (Sell) REPO Rate (27/4/2017) 3.24%

CSCX 10434.34 60.67 Oil (Barrel) $47.74 Euro 86.87 (Buy) 91.13 (Sell) REPO Rate (26/4/2017) 3.23%

Source: DSE and CSE Source: yahoo finance Source: One Bank Limited Source: Bangladesh Bank (WAV)

National News ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Submarine cable link between Bangladesh, Myanmar on cards .................................................................................................... 1

BTRC sends 4G licence guideline to ministry for final approval ..................................................................................................... 2

Remittance rises slightly in April .................................................................................................................................................... 3

Govt plans offering of remittance free of charge as remittance inflow drops to an worrying level .............................................. 4

GSP demand to dominate Ticfa talks on May 17 ............................................................................................................................ 6

Investment in NSCs hits annual record of Tk 37,600cr in 9 months ............................................................................................... 7

NBR to include more products in SD list to protect local industries .............................................................................................. 8

Banned poultry feed processing from tannery wastes begins at Savar ......................................................................................... 9

Indian cabinet approves MoU on US$ 4.5 billion LoC to Bangladesh ........................................................................................... 10

PHP-assembled Proton cars hit market ........................................................................................................................................ 10

International News ................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Oil rebounds from near 2017 lows ............................................................................................................................................... 11

Eurozone economy gets strong start ............................................................................................................................................ 11

JPMorgan set to move hundreds of staff from UK over Brexit..................................................................................................... 12

Preparing for G20 summit is like 'herding cats', says Merkel ....................................................................................................... 12

Apple delivers higher profits, but iPhone sales slip ...................................................................................................................... 13

National News

Submarine cable link between Bangladesh, Myanmar on cards Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) and Singapore based Blueberry Telecom Pvt Ltd are going to

establish a separate regional submarine cable link to connect Bangladesh with Myanmar.

The cable will be 250 kilometres long and will connect Cox's Bazar and Myanmar's coastal city of Sittwe, said Monwar

Hossain, managing director of BSCCL.

“The cable will help the state-owned firm to export bandwidth to its neighbouring countries and also to countries like

Indonesia and Cambodia,” he said.

“We can initially export around 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bandwidth through the link. We have been trying to

enter the market in Myanmar for the last couple of years.”

It will take six months to lay the cable under the sea through Cox's Bazar to Sittwe at a cost of $25 million, he said.

BSCCL will own 10 percent of the cable that will have a lifespan of around 20 years. It will be operated by a company

named BSCCL-Blueberry Bangladesh Ltd.

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By using the cable, the state-owned firm can earn Tk 40 lakh a month from infrastructure sharing and another Tk 1

crore from bandwidth exports, he said.

Cassidy NG, managing director of Blueberry Telecom, is scheduled to be present in Dhaka on May 7 to sign a deal in

this regard next week.

The BSCCL board approved a draft of the deal last week. The joint venture will soon be registered with the Office of

the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms.

Blueberry Telecom sent a proposal to Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom, for the link in October last year and

Cassidy also met with her later.

BSCCL currently has a capacity of supplying 300 Gbps of bandwidth from the South East Asia–Middle East–Western

Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE-4); of which the country uses 220 Gbps.

The company also got its second submarine cable connection—SEA-ME-WE-5—which has a capacity of 1,800 Gbps.

There is a scope of exporting bandwidth to other countries, as Bangladesh's total consumption stands at only 400

Gbps, Hossain said.

Myanmar is connected with SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-5. However, the country recently allowed private mobile

phone operators to launch the fastest data service and hence, there will be a huge demand for data there, BSCCL

officials said.

Currently, BSCCL exports 10 Gbps of bandwidth to the eastern provinces in India and earns $100,000 a month.

The company will soon start exporting bandwidth to Bhutan by using the Indian territory, Hossain said.

BSCCL has always been a profitable firm since the beginning of its operation in 2008. The company earned a net profit

of Tk 1.31 crore in 2015-16, according to its annual report.

The company earned Tk 74.83 crore as profit after tax in 2011-12; but after that its earnings declined when some local

companies started importing bandwidth from India.

The company still owes Tk 244 crore to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which is a part of a loan BSCCL took in

2006 to be connected with the consortium for SEA-ME-WE-4.

It has taken another loan of Tk 352 crore from IDB to bear the expenses of SEA-ME-WE-5.

Earnings from this regional link and bandwidth export will help the listed company to pay back the loans, Hossain said.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/submarine-cable-link-between-bangladesh-myanmar-cards-1400164

BTRC sends 4G licence guideline to ministry for final approval Sticking to its plan of providing 4G licences to at most five existing mobile network operators, the Bangladesh

Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has sent its proposed licensing guideline to the Posts and

Telecommunications Division for approval.

A senior BTRC official said the proposed licensing guideline for 4G services will be sent to the finance ministry once

the Posts and Telecommunications Division approves it. The document has been sent for approval recently, he added.

BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood told The Independent that the regulator had the option of giving a licence to

another organisation beyond the proposed quota of five.

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According to the decision taken at the 203rd meeting of the regulator, application fees for the 4G licence has been

proposed at Tk.5 lakh, while Tk.15 crore has been fixed as the licence acquisition fee and Tk.7.5 crore as the annual

fee.

Moreover, the regulator has proposed a Tk.150-crore bank guarantee for each licence. In addition, a licensed

organisation will be obligated to pay 15 per cent of its gross revenue and 1 per cent of its social obligation fund’s gross

revenue to the BRTC.

However, mobile phone operators say the proposed fee structure is not practicable. They argue that such high

licensing fees will make it difficult to ensure service quality. A senior official of a leading mobile phone operator said

the government should focus on long-term revenues instead of collecting one-time funds.

The BTRC will hold an auction for 4G licence after the Post and Telecommunications Division and the finance ministry

approve the proposed guideline.

Under the rollout obligation, operators will have to extend 4G services in all the divisional headquarters within the

first nine months of getting the licence; they are also bound to rollout these services in the district headquarters within

18 months, according to the guideline. They will get a total of three years to rollout 4G services across the country.

Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/93085

Remittance rises slightly in April Remittance flow to Bangladesh grew marginally in

April from a month earlier as low oil prices, weak

global economic growth and fiscal tightening in the

Middle East continue to hurt the key source of

foreign exchange.

Some $1.09 billion flew in as remittance, up 1.9

percent from March but down 8.4 percent year-on-

year, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics.

In fiscal 2016-17, remittance inflow has been lower in every month from a year earlier, meaning the full-year receipts

could be way below last fiscal year's $14.93 billion.

April's receipts take fiscal 2016-17's tally to $10.28 billion, down 16.08 percent year-on-year.

Globally, remittance has fallen.

Workers' remittances to developing countries fell for a second consecutive year in 2016, a trend not seen in the last

three decades, said the World Bank's Migration and Development Brief last month.

The WB said low oil prices and weak economic growth and fiscal tightening in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

and the Russian Federation were taking a toll on remittance flows to South Asia and Central Asia.

Besides, weak growth in Europe reduced flows to North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The decline in remittances, when valued in US dollars, was made worse by a weaker euro, British pound and Russian

ruble against the US currency.

Remittances to Bangladesh slumped 11.1 percent to $13.7 billion in 2016, as per the WB report.

The amount though made Bangladesh the eighth largest remittance recipient of the year.

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Remittance is the largest source of foreign exchange in Bangladesh after exports.

Money sent by Bangladeshi workers, which accounted for about 6 percent of the gross domestic product in fiscal 2015-

16, also supports growth through their impact on household income and consumption.

Remittances accounted for about 30 percent of current account receipts in fiscal 2014-15, more than offsetting the

trade deficit.

However, inflows have declined as labour demand from the GCC economies, the source of about 55 percent of all

remittances, has eased, said global credit rating agency Moody's last month.

The ratings agency expects remittance flows to stabilise near current levels, and potentially pick up in line with future

increases in global oil prices.

It said an increase in Bangladeshi overseas worker emigration in 2016 should provide some support to inflows later

this year.

“Nonetheless, if the current trend of falling remittances does persist, it would likely have a negative credit impact by

dampening consumption and widening the current account deficit.”

Moody's expects the recent decline in remittances, along with a rise in import demand, to result in a very small current

account deficit of about 0.2 percent of GDP in fiscal 2016-17.

In January, the BB said the recent decline in remittance reflects a combination of global and local factors. But, it was

mainly driven by weaker economic activities in the Middle East.

The slow growth in remittance flow stands in stark contrast to the huge number of people taking jobs overseas in

recent years.

In 2016, some 749,249 workers went abroad compared to 555,881 a year earlier, according to the Bureau of

Manpower, Employment and Training.

The Global Human Development Report suggested Bangladesh set up a remittance bank for easy and transparent

inflow of foreign wage earnings into the country.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/remittance-rises-slightly-april-1400176

Govt plans offering of remittance free of charge as remittance inflow drops to an worrying level The government plans to offer cost-free remittance facility to Bangladeshi expatriates under package incentives to

boost falling inflow of remittances, officials said.

During July-April period of this fiscal year, the remittance flow into the country fell by over 16 per cent.

Under the incentives just planned, the existing system of paying $10-$15 as fee each time of remittance - varying from

country to country - may be waived for the remitters.

Instead, the amount may be borne by government as this is one of the key sources of revenues for the financial

institutions that deal with remittance transactions, people familiar with the developments told the FE Wednesday.

Mobile banking and informal channels do not require such extra cost.

The decisions came from a high-level meeting held Tuesday with senior finance division secretary Hedayetullah Al

Mamun in the chair, as a downturn in remittance came as a cause of concern.

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Secretary of the ministry of expatriates' welfare and overseas employment (MoEWOE) Begum Shamsun Nahar and

other high officials of the ministries concerned were present at the meeting held at the finance division.

A high-powered committee comprising representatives from finance division, MoEWOE and Bangladesh Bank was also

formed to suggest necessary amount of money for the next 21 days for paying out as incentives.

Finance Ministry AMA Muhith is likely to announce a set of such incentives in his budget speech in parliament on June

01.

However, the meeting also decided to bring under government scanner the software being used by two private mobile

banking organisations for pulling in remittances in a bid to check how much they net.

The MoF organised the stocktaking meeting as the remittance inflow has been ebbing down fast, especially in the

current fiscal year, which they believe is happening owing to a rise in the informal channels which involve less time

and less cost for money transfer.

According to latest official count, the remittance inflow dropped by nearly 17 per cent during the July-March period,

which was 1.76 in the negative in the same period a year back.

On the other hand, the remittance inflow was 7.65 per cent in the positive growth in 2014-15 financial year, an official

document shows.

On the other hand, some 757,731 people migrated from Bangladesh for overseas jobs in 2016.

People at the finance division and other sources told the FE that remittance is very much important for the country as

it indirectly helps raise consumption leading to contribution to the economy.

It also contributes to health and education sectors of the country apart from augmenting investment in small

enterprises.

They believe that uses of informal channels by the Bangladeshi expatriates and low salaries in the Middle-Eastern

countries as a result of fall in the prices of fuels are also playing a key role in producing such a negative picture of the

remittance inflow.

But they argued that the number of people going abroad surged in recent years although the remittance inflow was

going down.

A recent report of the World Bank shows that the remittance inflow dropped in South Asia 6.4 per cent in 2016.

The remittance inflow dropped by nearly 9.0 per cent in India, over 11 per cent in Bangladesh and 6.7per cent in Nepal,

according to the WB report.

According to the central bank's latest statistics, the remittance receipts came down to $10.29 billion during the July-

April period of the current FY, from $12.25 billion in the same period of the last fiscal.

The amounts of money sent by the expatriates from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman--four

gulf countries-were significantly low. The remittances from these countries also fell in 2015-16 against the receipts in

2014-15.

The remittance picture during the first nine months of this financial year from these four main sources was also

gloomy.

During July-March of this fiscal year, $1.66 billion came from Saudi Arabia. More than $3.3 billion came from the

country in 2014-15.

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The second-biggest source of remittance for Bangladesh is the United Arab Emirates. During the nine months to March,

the remittance inflow for the country was $1.49 billion. It was $2.8 billion in 2014-15 and $2.7 in 2015-16.

In July-March, remittance inflow from Kuwait was $748 million, $1.0 billion in 2015-16 and $1.07 billion in 2014-15.

During the nine months under review, remittance inflow from Oman amounted to $646 million. It was $909 million in

2015-16 and $ 915 million in 2014-15

On the other hand, the remittance inflow from the USA and the United Kingdom in the western world remained almost

statistic in the recent years.

The remittance inflow from the USA was $ 2.4 billion in the last financial year (2015-16) while it was $2.3 billion in

2014-15. And during the nine months ending March, from the USA it was nearly $ 1.2 billion.

On the other hand, in July-March, remittance from the UK amounted to $578 million, in 2015-16 it was $863 million

and $812 million in 2014-15.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/05/04/69100/Cost-free-remittance-thru-formal-channels-

likely

GSP demand to dominate Ticfa talks on May 17 Bangladesh will once again call for the restoration of trade privileges to the American market when the two countries

meet for the third round of Ticfa meetings on May 17 in Dhaka.

The country will highlight the reforms made to strengthen workplace safety and enhance labour rights in the garment

sector for regaining the Generalised System of Preferences facility, said a senior official of the commerce ministry.

Bangladesh's GSP privileges were suspended in June 2013, in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, on grounds of

serious shortcomings in workplace safety and poor labour rights.

The commerce ministry has twice submitted progress reports on workplace safety and labour rights to the US Trade

Representative, who said more needs to be done to win back the trade privileges.

Apart from trade privileges, issues like investment, bilateral trade and labour would also be discussed during the

meeting, the official said.

The Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement or Ticfa is a platform to discuss bilateral trade issues

between Bangladesh and the US. Under the agreement, both the countries hold an annual meeting to call upon the

respective governments to remove trade disputes, if any.

This year's meeting will be different from the previous editions as the third round of Sustainability Compact discussions

will also be held on May 18 in Dhaka.

After the Rana Plaza building collapse, Bangladesh signed the International Labour Organisation-brokered

Sustainability Compact with the EU committing to responsible business behaviour and improving workplace safety and

labour rights.

Later, the US and Canada became partners of the Sustainability Compact. “So, we are running preparations for both

the meetings,” the commerce ministry official said.

The commerce secretary will lead the Bangladesh side in the meeting and the assistant USTR the American side.

Before the suspension of GSP, only 0.54 percent of Bangladesh's total exports were covered by the scheme in a year.

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Products like dried fish, ceramics and plastic goods enjoyed the benefit but not the main export earner: apparel.

Earlier, the first Ticfa meeting was held in Dhaka in April 2014 and the second one in Washington in November 2015.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/gsp-demand-dominate-ticfa-talks-may-17-1400158

Investment in NSCs hits annual record of Tk 37,600cr in 9 months The net investment in the national savings

certificates and bonds broke the yearly

record within the first nine months of the

fiscal year 2016-17 hitting Tk 37,648.41

crore.

The net investment in the national savings

instruments earlier registered a record at

Tk 33,688.60 crore in FY16.

Directorate of National Savings and

Bangladesh Bank officials said a section of

people continued to invest heavily in the

savings tools in recent time due to lower

interest rates in banks’ fixed deposit schemes.

The net investment in the national savings certificates and bonds in the July-March period of the current financial year

2016-17 increased by 62.35 per cent to Tk 37,648.41 crore compared with that of Tk 23,188.26 crore posted in the

same period a financial year ago, according to the latest DNS data.

The officials said that the government did not cut the rates of interest on the savings certificates and bonds in the

interest of politicians and bureaucrats.

The politicians and bureaucrats are now investing heavily in the instruments to enjoy higher interest rates for the

tools, they said.

Underprivileged people are not investing in the government savings tools as they have no capability to purchase such

high-worth instruments, they pointed out.

The huge net investment in the savings certificates and bonds has already created a risky situation for the country’s

macro-economy as the government will have to face a budget mismatch due to providing large amount of money as

interest against the savings tools, they said.

According to the latest DNS data, the monthly net investment in the national savings certificates and bonds also

increased to Tk 4,365.85 crore in March 2017 from Tk 3,297.71 crore in the same month of 2016.

In the budget for FY17, the government set an annual borrowing target of Tk 19,610 crore from the NSCs.

Due to the rush for the NSCs, the finance ministry has been forced to reduce the auctions for treasury bills and bonds

for banks in the recent months as the government has decided not to borrow much from the banking sector.

The government made a net repayment of Tk 25,785.55 crore against ‘low-interest’ loans to the banking sector in the

first nine months of FY17 by taking loans from the NSCs, a BB official said.

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He said that the government was basically taking loans through the NSCs which carry interest rates between 11.04

and 11.76 per cent and repaying the bank loans (taken through T-bills and bonds) that carry interest rates between

2.84 per cent and 7.60 per cent.

He said that the government faced pressure in paying interests to the clients who invested in the NSCs in recent years.

He said that the government had not decreased the rates of interest on savings certificates and bonds in the interest

of vested quarters.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/14816/investment-in-nscs-hits-annual-record-of-tk-37600cr-in-9-months

NBR to include more products in SD list to protect local industries The National Board of Revenue has decided to increase the number of products for imposition of supplementary duty

(SD) at import stage under the new VAT act to ensure protection to local industries from uneven competition with

imported finished goods.

A high-powered team of the value-added tax wing of the revenue board has already started working to identify the

goods produced in the country that need further protection.

Under the new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act-2012, which is scheduled to come into force from July 1 this year,

the number of products having SD at the import stage is reduced to 170 from the existing 1,430 products.

Entrepreneurs have been expressing their concern over withdrawal of SD from many products produced in the country

saying that it would severely reduce the level of protection for the domestic industries.

Local products will not be able to survive as the price of imported finished goods will be lower due to withdrawal of

the SD.

Local entrepreneurs have sought protection for few more years to achieve competitiveness with imported goods.

According to an NBR estimate, the level of protection for the domestic industry will drop to 23.3 per cent from the

existing 50.7 per cent due to the measures to be implemented under the new law.

The government will also lose Tk 3,000 crore in revenue because of the reduction in number of products which are

subject to SD.

In fiscal year 2014-15, the revenue board received Tk 17,000 crore from the sector but the amount will drop to Tk

14,000 crore under new VAT regime.

In this context, the NBR took the decision at a recent meeting with NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman in the chair

following widespread demand from local investors.

The revenue board also found negative impact on locally produced goods like ceramics and plastic items due to

withdrawal of SD. The sectors will have to face stiff competition from imported goods.

Under the review, the number of items on which SD will be imposed may be increased by more or less three times,

officials of the NBR told New Age.

The NBR will also impose regulatory duty on some items in case of any problems in imposition of SD, they said.

According to the Customs Act-1963, the government may impose a regulatory duty on any goods at the rate of two

times of the highest rate of customs duty which is now 25 per cent.

Under the provision, the government may impose regulatory duty at the highest 50 per cent on any goods.

9 | P a g e

They said that the government would need to amend the new law to increase the number of products.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith also instructed the NBR to examine the issue to find out ways to save the

local industry, they added.

Under the new law, supplementary duty will be applicable only on selected luxury items like motor car and health

hazardous goods like tobacco and alcohol.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/14815/nbr-to-include-more-products-in-sd-list-to-protect-local-industries

Banned poultry feed processing from tannery wastes begins at Savar Poultry feed processors of Hazaribagh shifted their facilities to Savar to recycle tannery wastes and continue their

illegal business flouting court orders in place since 2011.

Feed makers recycle toxic tannery waste and supply poultry and fish feed ignoring ban imposed by the High Court

Division which was later upheld by the Appellate Division.

The feed makers relocated to Savar even before all the tannery factories were shifted from Hazaribagh to the Tannery

Industrial Park at Savar.

Some of the feed makers already began collecting wastes from the tannery factories that had shifted to Savar.

Savar Model police station inspector Md Wahiduzzaman, who also heads the tannery estate police camp, told New

Age Wednesday that the facilities for making poultry and fish feed were dismantled last month.

Even then, he said, that some of the feed makers were still making poultry and fish feed using clandestine facilities.

During recent visit to the new Tannery Industrial Park, New Age came across

at least six crude facilities for processing poultry and fish feed hardly 200 yards from the tannery park.

Feed processing workers said that tannery waste per pick-up costs Tk 3,000.

They said that their company uses its own pick-up to collect dried wastes at night.

Instead of dumping the toxic wastes, tannery factory owners illegally sell them to the feed makers.

The enforcement authorities took no action either against the tannery owners or the feed makers, locals told New

Age.

Feed makers said that they have to grease so many palms to continue in business and meet the huge demand for

poultry, fish and animal feed amid obvious risks.

On April 8, the Appellate Division upheld a High Court verdict of July 21, 2011 that had asked for stopping poultry and

fish feed production using tannery wastes as raw materials.

The HC gave the verdict after hearing a public interest writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh

in 2010.

The HC had also ordered shutting down feed making facilities within a month.

The HRPB writ petition pointed out that tannery wastes contain around 30 types of toxic chemicals including acid,

chromium salt and sodium chloride that cause cancer.

Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation officials said they were yet to take any action against the banned

feed makers.

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The tannery park is under construction at Savar since 2003 for relocating 154 tannery factories from Hazaribagh.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/14840/banned-poultry-feed-processing-from-tannery-wastes-begins-at-

savar

Indian cabinet approves MoU on US$ 4.5 billion LoC to Bangladesh The Indian cabinet has given "ex-post facto" approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on third Line of

Credit (LoC) worth $4.5 billion to Bangladesh for implementation of development projects.

The approval came from a meeting held on Wednesday chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The MoU was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi in April.

The MoU provides for deepening the strategic partnership, development of infrastructure in Bangladesh, improving

connectivity between India and Bangladesh, thus enhancing accessibility for India to its North Eastern Region, as well

as creating new business opportunities for Indian companies in Bangladesh, said the Press Information Bureau of India.

The concessional financing system to Bangladesh would strengthen bilateral relations and development cooperation

between India and Bangladesh, the PIB said.

The MoU specifies a list of projects which will be undertaken under the concessional financing system.

This provides an opportunity to ensure that projects forwarding India’s interests are undertaken under this LoC.

Some of the projects will ensure better and faster connectivity to the so-called ‘7 Sister States’ of north-east India with

the remaining states of the Indian union, as well as to the outside world.

The PIB report also mentions it will ensure India’s security and will open up business for Indian companies.

Source: http://www.daily-sun.com/post/223973/Indian-cabinet-approves-MoU-on-US-4.5-billion-LoC-to-Bangladesh

PHP-assembled Proton cars hit market Cars of Proton brand of Malaysia, assembled by PHP Group in Chittagong, have hit the Bangladesh market, said PHP

officials.

PHP has so far assembled 35 vehicles of three models, Proton Preve, Proton Saga and Proton Exora, at its Chittagong

plant by importing the parts from Malaysia, they said.

PHP through its newly-established arm, PHP Automobiles, has started to sell the cars to customers in Bangladesh, said

an official.

He, however, could not immediately confirm the prices of the cars and the annual production capacity of the plant.

At a soft-launching of PHP Automobiles, PHP Group chairman Sufi Mohammad Mizanur Rahman in Chittagong on

Monday said that they were producing new cars at low prices and requested everyone to buy the proton cars instead

of old or reconditioned cars.

He said that the new cars were already being brought to the showroom for the customers.

PHP Group director and PHP Automobiles managing director Mohammed Akther Parvez, PHP Group director

Mohammed Anowarul Haque, director (finance and administration) Mohamed Ali Hossain, director Mohammed Amir

Hossain Sohel and Mohammed Zahirul Islam Rinku were present.

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Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/14818/php-assembled-proton-cars-hit-market

International News

Oil rebounds from near 2017 lows Oil prices rebounded from near 2017 lows on Wednesday after preliminary data showed a much larger-than-expected

fall in US crude stocks, reviving bullish sentiment about easing oversupply.

Benchmark Brent crude was up 35 cents at $50.81 a barrel at 1010 GMT. On Tuesday the futures had settled at their

lowest since Nov. 30, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to cut oil supply.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude traded at $47.94 a barrel, up 28 cents. WTI had slid 2.4 percent on Tuesday

on concerns about falling Opec compliance with its production-curbing deal.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) assessing closely watched US oil inventories showed late on Tuesday

that crude stocks had fallen last week by 4.2 million barrels, nearly double the drop expected by analysts polled by

Reuters.

"The API statistics are helping the market recover, but the underlying sentiment is still bearish," said Tamas Varga,

analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.

The US government releases official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday at

1430 GMT.

The data will also provide an update on growth in US oil production, a key factor that has kept a lid on price gains

driven by output cuts elsewhere.

"(US) production growth has slowed during the past couple of weeks. If continued today it may also add some glimmer

of hope for the bulls, who increasingly have been losing patience," said Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at

Saxo Bank.

Oil investors continue to eye producing countries' compliance with their pledge made in late 2016 to cut production

by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) by the middle of the year.

Russia, contributing the largest production cut outside Opec, said on Wednesday that as of May 1, it had curbed output

by more than 300,000 bpd since hitting peak production in October.

Its largest oil producer, Rosneft, said it had contributed just over 70,000 bpd to Russia's cuts.

This means Russia has achieved its reduction target a month ahead of schedule, just as the latest Reuters survey of

Opec production showed compliance had fallen slightly.

More oil from Angola and higher UAE output than originally thought meant Opec compliance with its production-

cutting deal slipped to 90 percent from a revised 92 percent in March, the Reuters survey showed.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/global-business/oil-rebounds-near-2017-lows-1400056

Eurozone economy gets strong start Growth in the eurozone remained resilient in the first quarter of 2017 as the economy continued to brush off the

unknowns of Brexit and a high stakes election in France, data showed on Wednesday.

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The fresh data lent credence to a survey last month suggesting the eurozone economy is growing at its fastest pace

since it emerged from the worst of the financial crisis six years ago.

The economy “is proving to be resilient to uncertainty both abroad and at home. Bar a surprise at the French elections

on Sunday, eurozone growth is set for a strong 2017,” said ING economist Bert Colijn.

The EU’s Eurostat statistics agency said growth in the eurozone landed at 0.5% in the first quarter of 2017, the same

as the previous quarter and on par with analyst forecasts.

The eurozone economy has seen a steady period of growth, expanding by 1.7% in 2016.

That was faster than the United States’ growth rate of 1.6% last year.

The IMF forecasts that the eurozone will maintain the healthy pace in 2017 with annual growth of 1.7%.

Spain was a solid performer in the period from January to March, growing by 0.8% as the country continues to recover

from a damaging crisis marked by sky-high unemployment.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2017/05/04/eurozone-economy-gets-strong-start/

JPMorgan set to move hundreds of staff from UK over Brexit US bank JPMorgan will move hundreds of staff from London to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg as part of their

Brexit plans, the firm's head of investment banking said Wednesday.

"We are going to use the three banks we already have in Europe as the anchors for our operations," Daniel Pinto told

Bloomberg News.

"We will have to move hundreds of people in the short term to be ready for day one, when negotiations finish, and

then we will look at the longer-term numbers."

UK-based banks and other financial firms face losing "passporting" rights to sell services to clients operating in the

European Union once Britain definitively quits the EU in March 2019.

Talks between the two sides are not set to begin until after a UK general election slated for June 8, at which Prime

Minister Theresa May is expected to be returned with an increased majority.

Many banks are now looking to cities in the eurozone to set up a European presence supervised by the European

Central Bank.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/global-business/jpmorgan-set-move-hundreds-staff-uk-over-brexit-

1400134

Preparing for G20 summit is like 'herding cats', says Merkel Preparing a meeting of the Group of 20 economic powers is like "herding cats", German Chancellor Angela Merkel said

on Wednesday as her officials try to reach consensus among the group ahead of a leaders' summit she will host in July.

The G20 was a crucial forum for tackling the global financial crisis that took hold in 2008, but forging consensus has

proven harder this year as the group must deal with a shift towards more protectionism under US President Donald

Trump.

"We are 20 different countries, with 20 different political systems, with 20 different development levels. Everything

must be unanimously approved," said Merkel, who will host world leaders at the July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg.

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"This is no simple task," she told a G20-sponsored meeting of business leaders in Berlin. "The sherpa process, as you

could imagine, is quite a challenge. It is like herding cats." The Hamburg G20 summit is taking on increased significance

as Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to hold their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the

meeting.

Ministerial meetings in the build-up to the summit have proven tricky.

At a meeting in March, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors dropped a pledge to keep global trade free

and open, acquiescing to a protectionist United States after a two-day meeting failed to yield a compromise.

Merkel rejected protectionism in her speech on Wednesday, arguing that an increasingly interconnected world meant

countries must work more closely together. "The existence of the G20 means that isolation and protectionism are

dead-ends and not ways forward," she said.

"Anyone who tries to withdraw from international competition, can perhaps deliver short-term advantages.

But over the medium- and long-term, their own capacity to innovate will be weakened."

Trump campaigned for the US presidency on an "America First" platform. His protectionist rhetoric and disputes about

the benefits of free trade are likely to rank high on the agenda of the G20 summit in Hamburg.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/global-business/preparing-g20-summit-herding-cats-says-merkel-

1400113

Apple delivers higher profits, but iPhone sales slip Apple reported a rise in quarterly profits Tuesday, but its shares took a hit from weaker iPhone sales ahead of a 10-

year-anniversary model on the horizon.

Apple said its profit climbed 4.9 percent to slightly more than $11 billion on revenue rising 4.6 percent to $52.9 billion

in the quarterly period that ended April 1.

Shares of the California-based company were down nearly two percent to $144.94 in after-market trades that followed

release of the earnings figures.

"We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and

continued robust demand for iPhone 7 Plus," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in the earnings release.

Still, iPhone sales dipped slightly compared with a year ago to 50.8 million units, below most forecasts for the key

profit machine for Apple.

During a conference call with analysts, Cook said Apple was seeing a "pause" in iPhone purchases that he felt was

caused by unconfirmed "reports about future iPhones."

"That is clearly what is going on," Cook said.

Apple has annually unveiled new iPhone models during special events in September, with major innovations

anticipated this year because it will mark the tenth anniversary of the debut of the world-changing mobile device.

Still, the company contended that iPhone sales were better than it had expected, and skewed toward large-screen

iPhone 7 models that have higher margins of profit.

- Buying back shares -

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Apple also announced that its board of directors authorized an additional $50 billion for dividends and buying back

shares in the company, raising to $300 billion the total amount of cash to be spent in the program.

While Apple has become the world's most valuable company, analysts are looking at how the company is diversifying

in the face of a saturated smartphone market and increasing competition.

Tuesday's report showed weaker sales of iPads and Mac computers.

Apple also reported a 14 percent drop in revenues from a year earlier for "Greater China," dropping the region behind

Europe and the Americas in terms of sales.

A strong US dollar facing off with weaker currencies were blamed for a strong "headwind" that pushed revenue down.

- Keen on India -

Sales of Macintosh computers did well in China, with revenue up about 20 percent, and the company's retail shops

were drawing crowds.

"We continued to believe there is an enormous opportunity there," Cook said of mainland China.

"In the scheme of things, our business is pretty large there."

Apple is also investing heavily in India, the third largest smartphone market in the world behind China and the US,

according to Cook.

Apple set a new March quarter revenue record in India, growing by double digits.

"We're very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young and tech savvy population,

fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure," Cook said.

Apple touted growth of revenue from online services or digital content, which it boasted was on its way to be on scale

with a Fortune 100 company in terms of revenue.

For the second quarter in a row, revenue reported from Apple services topped $7 billion.

While not disclosing exact numbers, executives said Apple Watch sales double from the same quarter last year and

touted it as the best selling smartwatch in the world.

Sales of "other products," which include AirPods wireless ear pieces and Apple Watch, posted a 31 percent increase in

revenue over the prior year.

Combining revenue from Apple Watch, AirPods and Beats headphone sales over the course of the last year would give

Apple's "wearables" offerings the scale of a Fortune 500 company, according to Cook.

Apple's cash holdings meanwhile rose to a record $256.8 billion, a figure that raises questions for how the company

will manage its massive reserves.

Apple remains under pressure to wow the world with a tenth anniversary edition iPhone and to come up with a must-

have next big thing.

"Among many consumers, there is a sense that Apple is falling behind rivals," GlobalData Retail managing directory

Neil Saunders said in an earnings note.

"Apple needs to get back on the front foot if it is to grow its market share in phones."

While Apple spotlights its growing services business, those offerings are tied to having iPhones in people's hands.

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Rumors buzzing ahead of an annual Apple developer’s conference next month include possible plans for a voice-

controlled speaker that would take on Amazon's Echo and Google Home in the digital home assistant market.

"In more cutting edge areas, like personal home assistants, Apple has seemingly little to offer and has allowed players

like Google and Amazon to steal a march," Saunders said.

Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/92943