IFIC Bank, IRRI launch agri-credit facility for farmers

IFIC Bank Limited has partnered with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Bangladesh to pilot a new innovative agri-credit facility for farmers in Jessore and Satkhira districts.

IRRI, Bangladesh in coordination with IFIC Bank and with support from USAID's mSTAR project launched this innovative intervention recently at the Rural Reconstruction Foundation (RRF) in Jessore, according to a statement..

A total of 25 farmers were also present at the event to have their registration done with the IFIC Bank's MFS platform. In this system, mobile phones will be used to transfer money from banks to farmers. Farmers will be able to pay for inputs and services by transferring funds from their IFIC Mobile Bank account to the merchant account of retailers of IFIC Mobile Bank.

Kbd. Chaitanya Kumar Das, Director (Monitoring), Field Services Wing, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) graced the event as chief guest while Mr. Shah Md. Moinuddin, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Business, IFIC Bank Ltd, Kbd. Chandi Das Kundu, Additional Director, DAE, Jessore Region, and Shah Abul Kashem, Deputy General Manager, Bangladesh Bank, Khulna were present as special guest. The event was chaired by Mr. Timothy Russell, Chief of Party (CoP) of Feed the Future Bangladesh Rice Value Chain Project.

Under the pilot project, IFIC Bank Limited will offer farmers one of their newest product IFIC AAmar Account, which is a unique transactional account where both deposit and loan facilities are bundled in a single account. Farmers will operate the account and avail agri-credit through IFIC Mobile Banking system. IFIC Bank introduces this type of account for the first time in Bangladesh.

"This mobile phone based banking system will encourage farmers' groups to invest as a business group which will eventually support the cash flow in the country's economy. This type of initiatives is important to implement the government's vision for 2041. Quality agri business depends on quality production, processing and marketing of agri products which can be expanded by a financial service like this - a mobile phone based banking transaction. This will save farmers' time and money that now occurs from the hassle of commuting to a bank branch from their remote locations," said Mr. Kbd. Chaitanya Kumar Das, Director (Monitoring), Field Services Wing, DAE.

"Farmers have to pay approximately 25 - 30% interest when they borrow from money lenders to continue their cultivation. So, IRRI and IFIC Bank joined forces with a proposal to develop an agri-credit program through mobile phone based banking. We are now here with you with this innovative financial service where the interest rate will be counted on the outstanding money only… This has been launched as a pilot project for six months. We want to continue this noble work in the future. So, your timely repayment of the loans will let us provide you with more credit as a tested party," said Mr. Shah Md. Moinuddin, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Business, IFIC Bank.

Event participants, among others, were Mrs. Ferdousi Begum, Head of Retail Bank, Mr. Asaduzzaman, Head of Corporate Communication and Branding, and other regional and divisional employees and of IFIC Bank, Mr. M. Ataur Rahman, Team Lead of mSTAR/Bangladesh project, Mr. A.K.M. Ferdous, Senior Specialist - Agricultural Research and Development, and Hub Manager - Jessore,  Feed the Future Bangladesh Rice Value Chain Project, IRRI, Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Faruk Hossain, Senior Specialist - Agricultural Research and Development, and Hub Manager - Khulna,  Feed the Future Bangladesh Rice Value Chain Project, IRRI, Bangladesh, Bikash Kumar Roy, Deputy Director, Jagarani Chakra Foundation (JCF).

SOURCE:http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/09/04/44644/IFIC-Bank,-IRRI-launch-agri-credit-facility-for-farmers

Beximco Group to construct power plants

Country's largest company Beximco Group signed a treaty with China Energy Engineering Corporation on developing several energy projects. China Energy Engineering Corporation is a Fortune 500 Company and currently one of the biggest power solution supplier companies in China and in the world.

CEO of Beximco Power Company Ltd, Ajmal Kabir, signed the agreement at Beximco Group’s head office. President Fu Hongwei signed the agreement on China Energy Engineering Corporation's behalf. Beximco Group’s chairman Sohail F Rahman, its vice chairman Salman F Rahman, director Shayan F Rahman and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang were present at the occasion. After signing the agreement, vice chairman of Beximco Group, Salman F Rahman said that it was a significant day for the company. He said the projects will have significant contribution in the energy sector of Bangladesh. Salman F Rahman is one of the top businessmen in Bangladesh and has always looked for new and challenging ventures. Signing agreements with China Energy Engineering Corporation of four energy projects is another feather to his list of contribution to Bangladesh's economy.

Beximco Group plans to work on four major projects in Bangladesh with China Energy Engineering Corporation. Among these four, one is an 8 MW capacity solar power plant to be developed at the Beximco Industrial Park premises, one is a 660 MW coal fired power plant, and one is a 200 MW solar power plant in Gaibandha. The fourth one is on setting up a large nationwide distribution system. All projects will be developed with state of the art technology.

Beximco Group was founded in the early 1970’s by Sohail F Rahman and Salman F Rahman. The company has strong presence in both domestic and international markets.

Source: http://bangladesh-corporate-world.blogspot.in/2016/07/beximco-group-to-constract-power-plants.html

RealVU offers Electronic Program Guide services

DHAKA: RealVU, the first “Direct-to-Home” (DTH) service provider in Bangladesh, has launched electronic program guide (EPG) in partnership with Gracenote.

RealVU EPG provides a preview of ‘Program Information’ of seven days, so that the subscriber can choose comfortably and plan what to watch next, said a press release.

The technology will provide subscribers the flexibility to choose their favorite TV program at the press of a button.

CEO of RealVU Dmitry Lapitskiy said, “EPG inclusion will give our subscribers the convenience to choose their favorite programs. As customer care is our utmost priority we are very happy to have this service”.

There is another special functionality of RealVU set-top-box (STB), called personal Video Recorder (PVR) that help  the subscribers to record any TV shows, movie or any other TV program in an external USB storage.

To protect any kind of video piracy, the recorded movie or TV shows can only be played in RealVU STB.

Gracenote is a provider of the World’s Largest Entertainment Metadata, powering billions of devices and entertainment products, apps and services.

It is the industry standard for music and television metadata, featuring descriptions of more than 180 million tracks and TV listings for 60+ countries

Bangladesh greenlights three new power plants, including one of Beximco

Beximco will construct a power plant in association with a Chinese company in Gaibandha.

Two other Chinese firms are constructing another in Khulna while the other in Sylhet will be set up by a Bangladeshi company in partnership with a Japanese firm.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved the proposals in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday.

Cabinet Division’s Additional Secretary Mostafizur Rahman told reporters Beximco Power Limited and Xinjiang TBEA Sunoasis Co Ltd will set up a 200-megawatt solar power plant in Gaibandha.

The plant will supply power for 20 years and the government will buy each kilowatt-hour (kWh) at Tk 12, Rahman said.

Sun Solar Power Plant Ltd Bangladesh and Japanese Iki Shoji Company Limited will commission 5MW solar peaking power plant in Sylhet’s Goainghat.

It will sell electricity to the government at Tk 11.12 per kWh.

Chinese consortium Harbin Electric International Co Ltd and Jiangsu Etern Company Limited will build a 200-300MW power plant at a cost of Tk 23.7 billion, Secretary Rahman said.

He said another proposal to extend by six months the import of 250MW from India through its Power Trading Corporation was also cleared in the meeting.

source:http://bdnews24.com/economy/2016/08/03/bangladesh-greenlights-three-new-power-plants-including-one-of-beximco

Salman F Rahman reelected as IFIC Bank chairman

Salman F Rahman has recently been reelected as the chairman of IFIC Bank.

Upon completion of his first term in the board of the bank, he was reelected as a director of the bank in its 39th annual general meeting held on July 14.

He is the vice chairman of Beximco Group, IFIC Bank said in a statement yesterday.

He was also the president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the apex trade body of businesses in the country.

RealVU adds travelxp on their Channel Bouquet

RealVU opens the door to travelxp, world’s leading travel channel for the viewers of Bangladesh.
RealVU, which is owned and operated by Beximco Communications Limited, is the first ever “Direct-to-Home” (DTH) service provider in Bangladesh, said a press release.

travelxp’s entry in Bangladesh is a very important step for RealVU as it further expands its reach to its target viewers and caters to global citizens.

There is expectedly a lot of excitement for the viewers as one of the best travel channels in the world and Bangladesh’s first DTH service provider come together to bring the best travel content for the audiences.
This alliance will give the Bangladeshi audiences a close look at some of the best travel contents filmed in more than 40 countries across the world. Audiences in Bangladesh will be delighted with the quality of the content and the opportunities to explore destinations across the world from the comfort of their homes.
Having a firm footprint in North America, Middle-East and Africa, the channel’s entry in Bangladesh is intended towards strengthening its hold.

Commenting on the occasion, CEO of RealVU, Dmitry Lapitskiy said “Bangladesh has a wide range of travel lovers and adding a channel like travelxp is going to cater our subscribers better. RealVU constantly tries to ensure customer satisfaction and adding new channels for the betterment of our valued subscribers”.
CEO of travelxp, Prashant Chothani said “travelxp’s launch on RealVU in Bangladesh marks another milestone in our mission to reach out to the travel loving viewers world over. We bring the world into the homes of this great aspiring nation with our localized Bengali feed and would love to showcase Bangladesh’s fascinating history, culture and beauty to the world.”

Source:  www.daily-sun.com/

আবার আলোচনায় সালমান এফ রহমান

ইন্ডিয়া টুডের একটি প্রতিবেদনে বলা হয়েছে বাংলাদেশের একজন অন্যতম শীর্ষ ব্যবসায়ী বিতর্কিত বক্তা জাকির নায়েকের পিস টিভিতে ১০ বিলিয়ন ডলার বিনিয়োগ করেছেন। সেখানে কোন নাম উল্লেখ করা হয়নি। তবে পরে বাংলাদেশের কিছু অনলাইন ভিত্তিক পত্রিকা শীর্ষ ব্যবসায়ী সালমান এফ রহমানের সাথে জাকির নায়েকের একটি ছবি ছেপেছে এবং ইঙ্গিত করেছে সালমান এফ রহমানই সেই ব্যক্তি।

 সালমান এফ রহমান ইতিমধ্যে জানিয়েছেন পিস টিভিতে ১০ বিলিয়ন ডলার বিনিয়োগ করার প্রতিবেদনটি সত্য নয়।

দেশের অন্যতম শীর্ষ ব্যবসায়ীকে নিয়ে এইরুপ ভিত্তিহীন রিপোর্ট দেশের ভাবমূর্তি ধ্বংস করবে। সাংবাদিকদের উচিৎ তথ্য যাচাই বাছাই করে প্রকাশ করা এবং প্রকৃত সত্য বের করে আনা।

উল্লেখ্য, জাকির নায়েকের বিরুদ্ধে অভিযোগ এসেছে তিনি ইসলামের ভুল ব্যাখ্যা দেন এবং তার মালিকানাধীন পিস টিভি সূক্ষ্ম ভাবে জঙ্গিবাদকে উসকিয়ে দেয়।

বাংলাদেশ সরকার সম্প্রতি পিস টিভির সম্প্রচার বন্ধ করে দিয়েছে।