Vol. 4 Num 336 Mon. May 10, 2004       Advertise with The Daily Star -- Advertising on the Website    Advertising in the Printed E dition-- Home  News Today's Index Front Page Business Political Sports Point-counterpoint Metropolitan National International Culture General Views Editorial Letters to Editor Write to Editor Sections Others About Us Contact Advertisement Supplements Archives Business   New offices of registrar of jt stock cos planned Move may create redundancy as existing offices outside Dhaka remain mostly idle The government plans to set up four new branch offices of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC) when existing offices outside Dhaka mostly remain idle.   Bangladesh, Lanka to be worst affected by MFA phaseout: Oxfam Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will be the worst affected countries by the phasing out of textile import quota from January next year, according to the latest Oxfam report.   Relax rules of origin for RMG export BGMEA urges EU Garment manufacturers once again have requested the European Union to relax the rules of origin conditions for export of apparels from Bangladesh.   BCI urges govt to remove blocks to industrialisation A delegation of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) meeting with the Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury yesterday urged for removing the impediments to industrialisation.   Runaway oil prices raise spectre of new oil shock With world oil prices simmering at 13-year highs amid fears of fresh terrorist attacks hitting Middle East supplies, concerns of a new "oil shock" befalling the global economy are growing.   Manufacturers asked to make quality footwear Industries Minister advised footwear manufacturers to produce quality and cost effective footwear to become more competitive.   Shahjalal Bank gets new name Shariah-based Shahjalal Bank Limited has been re-named as Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited, says a press release.   Discovery gets service partner award from Sony Ericsson Discovery Communications Limited, lone authorised service centre of Sony Ericsson Bangladesh, received Global Service Partner award from Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications International AB yesterday.   Global Ins okays 10pc cash dividend Global Insurance Limited has approved a 10 percent cash dividend for the shareholders for the year 2003.   Textile factory to be set up in Ctg EPZ A Bangladesh-Pakistan joint venture textile factory with an investment of $ 2.458 million will be set up in Chittagong Export Processing Zone.   HeidelbergCement declares 15pc stock dividend HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Limited (HCBL) has declared a 15 percent stock dividend for the shareholders for the year 2003.   Mercantile Bank signs loan deal with Midas Financing Mercantile Bank Limited has signed a loan agreement with Midas Financing Limited.   Asian currencies drop on concerns over China, US rate rise Asian currencies struggled to make gains against the dollar over the past week as troubles at home left markets grumbling despite prospects of a sunnier week ahead.   Italy battles to save face over EU deficit warning Italy will try to stave off an official warning over its ballooning deficit at a meeting of European Union finance ministers this week joined by 10 new member states, officials say.   US announces jobs explosion in March, April The United States announced Friday an explosion of 600,000 new jobs in March and April, casting aside the slur of a "jobless recovery" and igniting interest rate rise speculation.   Saudi inks $4.3b petrochemical deal with Japan’s Sumitomo Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed an agreement with Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Co. setting the stage for the development of a 4.   Swiss banks welcome huge flow of foreign money As Switzerland's two largest commercial banks announced huge rises in quarterly profits over the past week, Swiss bankers were welcoming the return of large amounts of foreign cash to their vaults.     Advertisement