Business Report 5

New body on IT Tower to
meet in Ctg Sunday
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Chittagong

The government will soon build an Information Technology Tower in the port city of Chittagong with a view to expediting trade and industrialisation and also strengthening the share market by creating a network with the global market.
A committee formed in this regard earlier will hold its first meeting on Sunday in Chittagong to discuss issues related to selection of site, budget for construction of the IT Tower and other technical aspects, said chairman of the Chittagong Develop-ment Authority Shah M Aktar Uddin on Friday.
The CDA chairman, also convener of the six-member committee, said the IT Tower would work as a milestone in further developing the country's trade and business depending on this most modern technology.
'It will help Chittagong seaport, various industrial units, and export-import businesses including readymade garments,' he said, adding that no country in the present world could progress without development of IT.
Commerce and education adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman at a meeting with the businessmen, professionals and officials at the local circuit house recently disclosed the government's plan to build Chittagong as a world level commercial capital.
As part of that plan, the process to resolve various problems in the port city has already begun. Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed recently formed a committee with the commerce adviser as the convener to solve power crisis and other problems in the city.
Shah M Aktar Uddin said the CDA has undertaken a number of projects to build garments' village at Fateyabad, marine drive at Patenga and riverside ring road on the bank of the River Karnaphuli.
Global tourism registers 5pc growth
Press Trust of India . New York

Despite insecurity in various parts of the world, international tourism grew by five per cent during the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation, however, expects slower annual growth due to economic crisis facing the world.
Fluctuation in tourism demand will be contingent on 'how the economy evolves and consumers react, both of which are directly interrelated to oil and food prices,' said UNWTO secretary-general Francesco Frangialli.
The northern hemisphere's summer season, traditionally the busiest period of the year, will need to be followed closely, he added.
All of the world's subregions posted growth between January and April this year, with the Middle East, North-East and South Asia and Central and South America registering the strongest results.
In the same period, countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, Cuba, Jamaica, Sweden, Bulgaria, Israel, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco witnessed double-digit growth rates.
Global factors could drive
China grain prices higher
Xinhua . Beijing

A State Administration of Grain official said on Friday grain prices might continue rising this year despite a rough supply-demand balance in China.
‘Price pressure for major grains in China this year persists as a result of increasing agricultural costs, soaring prices in the global market and bullish sentiment driven by higher minimum purchase prices,’ SAG deputy head Zeng Liying told a seminar.
The country raised its minimum purchase prices for rice and wheat twice this year to spur grain production and curb inflation, which hit an 11-year high of 8.7 per cent in February.
A bumper summer crop for the fifth year in a row has strengthened the government’s confidence in securing supply and easing inflation. Globally, grain shortages are easing as better weather helped increase output in the world’s producing areas.
However, Zeng said grain demand would keep rising as the world had 76 million more people to feed during the past five years and a surge in grain-consuming bio-energy development impelled by soaring oil prices increased already voracious demand.
She said the supply of wheat, corn and rice was sufficient in China while that of soybean was not. However, soybean imports would expose the country to global inflationary risks.
In the long run, the country’s grain market would be increasingly influenced by the global market, she added.