Fast Retailing will become the first Asian company to set up a ??social business?? ? a term given to companies formed to address a social cause and whose profits are ploughed back into the company ? in the region. It will own 99 per cent of the new company withsocial business the other 1 per cent. It will begin operations in September.

Muhammed Yunus, Nobel peace prize-winner and the founder of Grameen Bank, said: ??It [sends] a big message to Japanese companies to use their technology to solve the problems of the people.??

Fast Retailing, whose president, Japanese companies , is Japan??s richest man, joins companies such as Adidas in creating a social business in Bangladesh. It is the first time Grameen participates in a venture that focuses on bringing clothes to the impoverished.

Bangladesh is one of the world??s poorest countries with 36.3 per cent of the population living below the poverty line of $1.25 per day.

However, it has an economic growth rate of 5.6 per cent and is benefiting from a shift out of relatively high-cost production bases, such as southern China.

The Japanese government this year established a new study group with the aim of creating public-private partnerships in developing countries to target middle- and low-income groups as developed country markets stagnate.

The venture, which has a temporary name of Grameen Uniqlo, will sell products such as underwear, blankets, raincoats and school uniforms to families living in poverty at affordable prices ? likely to be about a $1 or less. This will demand the most efficient and low-cost production.

Grameen Uniqlo is planning to employ 1,500 people within three years, the vast majority of whom will be sales people, who will use techniques such as door-to-door selling and education about the importance of sanitation and cleanliness. The venture also aims to nurture entrepreneurs through their sales training and employment.

The venture will benefit from access to Grameen??s 8m borrowers and the use of its well-known brand in Bangladesh.

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?This covers very-high-end products, including anti-cancer medication, anti-viral drugs and even the H1N1 vaccine,? said Ahsan.
He related that in a meeting with Minister of Health, he had the opportunity to tell him that if Brunei wanted to, it was possible at anytime and at short notice to import the H1N1 vaccine from Bangladesh.Asked what advantages importing pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh had, the High Commissioner said, ?Quality at a very cheap price. For example, the cost of one paracetamol tablet is four cents.?

The pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in Bangladesh have been certified by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency from the United Kingdom, and the equivalent from Australia and Singapore, said Ahsan, ensuring that the products were of international-standard quality.

?For example, there are some companies that regularly supply Raffles Hospital in Singapore,? he added.

The High Commissioner said that while some trade between Brunei and Bangladesh does exist, it has not reached the extent that he would like to see. ?Singapore is the regional hub and it is surmised that some kind of re-export of Bangladeshi products is taking place,? he said.

?As for Bruneian products, we cannot confirm what is taking place, but we do see from some of the statistics we have been given that there is a trickle of exports from Brunei in the area of garment manufacturing.?

The High Commissioner believes that some components that go into the manufacturing of garments in Bangladesh came from Brunei, meaning that the finished products coming from Bangladesh used materials from the Sultanate.

While trade between Bangladesh and Brunei is not be as high as he would like it to be, Ahsan said that it was growing. ?Given the right amount of interest on both sides, it will increase. When I came over a year ago trade amounted to less than US$70,000 ($98,000). But in the last financial year ending July 2009, it has grown to US$100,000 ($140,000),? he said.

On the subject of tourism, Ahsan said that Bangladesh had a lot to offer in terms of historical and archaeological sites, but by looking at Bruneian preferences when going abroad, Bangladesh does not seem to offer the attractions that Bruneians find appealing.

?It?s competitive,? he said, adding that there were many contenders offering similar tourism products, such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

?We are looking into eco-tourism, but it is not yet as developed as we would like,? he said.

In addition, there are currently no direct flights between Brunei and Bangladesh. ?It is difficult to say (whether direct flights will be introduced), we still have to look at profitability.

?But that doesn?t mean it will not happen one day. Hopefully, if it does, it will increase tourism between our countries,? he added.

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“We will soon transfer our retrofitting technology to local engineers by retrofitting some public buildings here on pilot basis,” Project Formulation Officer of Disaster Mitigation and Climate Change wing of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Hideki Katayama told BSS.

After the pilot project, Katayama said, Jica can consider formulating a project to provide financial support for re-strengthening all important public buildings, if the Bangladesh government shows their interest in this regard.

Retrofitting is such a kind of technique, which is applied to a building as an extra protection with additional support of by wall or steel.

Katayama said all important buildings in Japan, one of the most tremor-prone countries in the world, are retrofitted, a modification technique of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion or soil failure due to earthquakes.

Bangladesh must take prompt steps to re-strengthen its important public buildings, including hospitals, fire stations and schools with seismic resistance, he said.

Jica Disaster Management and Climate Change Programme officer M Anisuzzaman Chowdhury said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has already been signed between Jica and Public Works Department to transfer the technology.

A Jica expert team will be deployed here soon to retrofit one building of secretariat and Dhaka Medical College Hospital building on pilot basis, he said.

“During the pilot programme, the Japanese experts will provide theoretical and practical training to the local engineers about the technique,” he said.

Bangladesh Earthquake Society President Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury told BSS that the government needs to ensure strict implementation of building codes as well as identify and retrofit the vulnerable buildings.

“The government should retrofit all public buildings as soon as possible and can offer soft loan to the people to retrofit their old buildings,” he said.

Prof Jamilur Reza also said an earthquake preparedness master plan must be prepared for the cities and towns of Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Rangpur districts, as about 100 million people of this areas are living under huge threat of devastating tremor.

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Mobile Broadband technology will enable the Bangladesh population to embrace the range of social and economic benefits associated with increased internet penetration

bangladesh is stepping in 3G to speed up information delivery,exchange

GSMA, the global trade body representing the mobile telephone industry, on Thursday called on Bangladesh to issue third-generation (3G) radio spectrum, to develop broadband services and internet access in the country.

In order to achieve this Bangladesh Government and regulators should consider allocating 2100 MHz spectrum immediately required for high speed packet access (HSPA) Mobile Broadband deployment,”

“With limited fixed line coverage unable to adequately serve the widely dispersed Bangladesh population, more focus must be given to releasing the urgently needed spectrum for mobile broadband,” Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer at the GSMA said in a statement.

About 90 percent of fixed lines in Bangladesh are in urban areas where about 25 percent of the population lives, the GSMA said.

The Bangladesh Telecoms regulator said it plans to award 3G licenses through an open auction this year. The move could help more people access the internet.

About 52 million people have mobiles in the country, compared with 1.65 million fixed-line phones. [ID:nSGE60D0EG]

Analysts predict the number of mobile subscribers could top 70 million by 2011, nearly half the country’s population of 150 million people.

There are six cellphone carriers in Bangladesh, including five foreign operators. Grameenphone, mostly controlled by Norway’s Telenor (TEL.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) leads the market with 23.26 million subscribers followed by Egyptian Orascom Telecom’s (ORTE.CA: Quote, Profile, Research) Banglalink with 13.87 million.

Analysts expect competition to heat up in the telecom sector as India’s top operator Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) is buying 70 percent stake in Bangladesh’s fourth-largest carrier Warid.

Internet access is expected to contribute 2.6 percent of GDP in 2020, by stimulating the agricultural, service and manufacturing industries, according to the Boston Consulting Group. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Anis Ahmed and Sharon Lindores)

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PM-Sheikh Hasina has expressed her vow to build a science and technology-based modern Bangladesh free from hunger and poverty by implementing its development goal: “Vision 2021″.

“We are working to carry forward the country by using modern technology as well as ensuring balanced development across the country in line with our election pledges,” the PM said in a video conference with the local people after inaugurating a newly-installed 1000 kilowatt medium wave transmission of Bangladesh Betar here today.

The PM told the audience who took part in the video conference that it would be possible to generate jobs for the young generation and build Bangladesh a modern one with the optimum use of new generation technology.

Earlier, the PM formally launched the transmission of the state-run Bangladesh Betar by pressing a button at Super Power Transmission Centre here as Information Secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury briefed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the transmission, its utility and on the whole installation project.

Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad, local lawmaker and a large number of local people, among others, were present on the occasion.

On her arrival at the venue, the PM unveiled the plaque of the new transmitter and offered a special Munajat there.

Talking to local people who joined the PM in the video conference from at least one kilometre away from the venue, Sheikh Hasina said even after 38 years of attaining independence, the desired goal could not be attained due to absence of uninterrupted democracy.

The PM said the country’s development process has been disrupted several times due to grabbing state power through unconstitutional means by vested quarters after the brutal assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The PM said her government after assuming office through a free, fair and credible December 29 election is working relentlessly to build a self-reliant Bangladesh through implementing its election pledges.

The PM said apart from bringing down the prices of essentials, her government has undertaken various programmes for self-employment of the country’s youths.

Sheikh Hasina said her government is implementing various development programmes in district and upazila levels, as it believes in balanced development of the country.

Referring to the judgment of Bangabandhu Murder Trial, Sheikh Hasina said the long-standing hopes and aspirations of people have been fulfilled through the verdict. Besides, the PM said the trial of BDR killing has begun and the killers will be punished.

“We will not patronise any wrong doings and the killers of the brilliant army officers inside BDR Headquarters must be punished,” the PM said adding that the BDR carnage had been staged to destabilise the two-month old government.

Referring to various demands of the local people, the PM said the government has a plan to expand Dhaka-Savar Road into a four-lane one and the dredging of Banghshi river.

Responding to a host of queries from the audience, the Prime Minister said her government is implementing capital and maintenance dredging in the country’s major rivers to revive their navigability.

She said under the project special measurers have been taken to save the Buriganga river, the lifeline of capital Dhaka.

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Mobile broadband services, which require the licensing of the 2100 MHz spectrum band for third-generation (3G) services, would give many more people access to the Internet as Bangladesh has a high number of mobile phones and comparatively few fixed lines.

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“If the government releases appropriate spectrum for 3G, which is the proven global mainstream for the mobile broadband, then we are confident that it will contribute significantly to the country’s GDP (gross domestic prodcut) growth,” Arun Bansal, managing director of the Ericsson Bangladesh, told a news confrence.

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The mobile phone sector contributed 6.2 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP in 2007. Research firm Deloitte & Touche have estimated that mobile communication has raised GDP growth in Bangladesh by 0.12 percent for each 1 percent increase in penetration.

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“It is estimated that there are over 6 million mobile internet users and already today 15 percent of the mobile handsets used in Bangladesh market are 3G enabled,” Bansal said.

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Bangladesh’s mobile sector has grown rapidly, with the number of users reaching around 46 million at the end of March from 200,000 in 2001, compared with only 1.37 million fixed-line phones.

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Analysts have predicted that by 2011 the number of mobile subscribers could top 70 million, which is nearly half the country’s population.

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There are six cellphone carriers in Bangladesh, of which five are foreign operators. Grameenphone, controlled by Norway’s Telenor (TEL.OL) leads the market with 21 million subscribers followed by Egyptian Orascom Telecom’s (ORTE.CA) Banglalink.

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Although nearly half of the country’s population is still below the poverty line, the country has been one of the world’s fastest growing cellular markets.

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Telecom analysts have said that the 3G broadband services would enable people to get easy access to information on health, education, agriculture and job opportunities

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About 3?G

3G is the third generation of telecommunication hardware standards and general technology for mobile networking, superseding 2.5G. It is based on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards under the IMT-2000.[1]

3G networks enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency. Services include wide-area wireless voice telephone, video calls, and broadband wireless data, all in a mobile environment. Additional features also include HSPA data transmission capabilities able to deliver data rates up to 14.4 Mbit/s on the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s on the uplink.

Unlike IEEE 802.11 networks, which are commonly called Wi-Fi or WLAN networks, 3G networks are wide-area cellular telephone networks that evolved to incorporate high-speed Internet access and video telephony. IEEE 802.11 networks are short range, high-bandwidth networks primarily developed for data

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It is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and deadening custom and tradition , of vast resources running to waste, of a rich country inhabited by starving people who indeed could afford to ignore science, and those today. At every turn we have to seek its aid ?The future belongs to those who make friends with science” said Pandit J. Nehru, Late Prime Minister of India.

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