United News of Bangladesh

Billionaire Indian industrialist Mukesh Ambani kickstarted a dynastic succession on Tuesday, handing over the reins of his conglomerate Reliance Industries' telecom arm Jio to his eldest son Akash. The 65-year-old senior Ambani stepped down as the director of Reliance Jio Infocomm and made Akash the chairman of the company's Board. Read:Ambani pays 22K USD a month for top govt security in India Jio Infocomm, at a meeting on June 27, "approved the appointment of Akash M Ambani, non-executive director, as the chairman of the board of directors of the company", the telecom giant intimated India's bourses. Akash, 31, who graduated in economics from Brown University, joined Jio in 2014. He is married to Shloka Mehta in 2020 and the couple have a son, Prithvi. Jio has attracted some 400 million subscribers to its network since its mega launch in 2016, despite being a late entrant to India's telecom sector.  By offering free voice calls and data at the world's cheapest price, it has already changed the country's digital landscape.  Read: India to export $500bn green energy by 2042, Ambani says UNB had earlier reported about the senior Ambani's plan to split his USD 200 billion business empire among his three children -- Akash, Isha and Anant. Over the past two years, Reliance went on an aggressive fundraising spree to make the conglomerate debt-free, a step to trim its dependence on the flagship oil sector to diversify into telecom and e-commerce.

The 12th Social Business Day, hosted by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, began on Monday with focus on healthcare, fighting unemployment, cross country collaboration in tackling climate change, 3Zero Clubs and all aspects of building a New Civilisation. A series of African universities such as Catholic University of Zimbabwe along with Kampala International University and Makerere University Business School, Uganda, Tangaza University College, Kenya, Abomey Calavi of Benin, CAM School of Business from Central African Republic have arranged the hybrid (both online and in person) event  to showcase all regional social business practitioners, academics, promoters, and friends. The four-day event will end on Thursday with a theme ‘Building a New Civilisation—Before the Current Civilisation Destroys Us,’ according to a press release issued by the Yunus Centre. Read: Yunus for creating social business pharm companies to bring vaccines, medicines to common people The current civilisation which is based on profit maximisation has set us on a suicidal path.  Global warming, wealth concentration, and unemployment caused by artificial intelligence are leading us to our ultimate extinction.  "Our window of opportunity to put humanity on a new path towards a new direction is getting smaller and smaller. We must prepare the seed-bed of a new civilisation before the opportunity slips away,” said the media release. Read Prof Yunus gets highest viewership in Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, says Yunus Centre “The new civilisation has to be built on an economy based primarily on zero personal profit to solve the problems of the people and the planet. Social business presents this option. Social business aims at finding compassionate, practical, and long-lasting solutions to social issues while expanding opportunities for the people and the economy. The new civilisation will analyse the breakthroughs achieved while preparing for the next leg of our journey before our time runs out.” There will be 150+ speakers, which includes 30 globally prominent speakers, 14 country forums, 16 plenary sessions during the four days.  More than 700 registered participants from 66 countries are joining globally. Read: Grameen Yemen launches microcredit, Social Business in Yemen There will be keynote speeches from President José Ramos-Horta, 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate and President of East Timor, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Chair, Nobel Women's Initiative, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE , founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, UNAIDS, Máiread Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Dr. Devi Shetty, Managing Director, Narayana Hrudayalaya. The event included the annual convention of the ‘3ZERO Clubs,’ a global initiative for the youth aimed at realising a World of 3ZEROS: zero net carbon emission, zero wealth concentration for ending poverty, and zero unemployment through entrepreneurship. This convention of the youths will give an opportunity to the members of senior generations to listen to the issues being discussed by the present day youth and catch any opportunity to build bridges among the generations. Read Grameen America Inc receives $25 million grant from MacKenzie Scott Besides, some sessions will be hosted in languages in Bengali, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, French and Portuguese; these sessions will be simultaneously presented during country-specific forums, the release added. Country Forums for countries and regions where the social business concept is in practical use are planned to be held.  Country Forums will be devoted to sharing experiences, exploring potential, and analysing the actual practice of social businesses within each country, or group of countries.  The discussion will take place in the language of that country, and will be headed by practitioners of these different countries. Read 74th UNGA side event on Social Business, Youth and Technology held Closing speeches will be presented by Marina Mahathir Writer, Human Rights Activist, Kerry Kennedy, President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Andrea Jung, President and Chief Executive Officer, Grameen America, Dr. Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Special Advisor to the Federal Chancellor, Head of Strategy Unit – ThinkAustria, Forest Whitaker, UN SDG Advocate, Founder and CEO, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative, Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, Sharon Stone actor and activist and Zanele Mbeki Former First Lady of South Africa. Every year, Social Business Day is organised to discuss and celebrate the groundbreaking idea of social business.  This event also creates an opportunity for participants to engage in various interactive panel sessions and workshops to broaden their understanding in their specific areas of interest. Read Prof Yunus invited to join Padma Bridge inaugural programme Social Business Day is an annual event gathering that platforms the accumulated experiences of social business leaders and entrepreneurship to give shape to the future.

China's foreign trade rebounded in May as total imports and exports went up 9.6 percent year on year to 3.45 trillion yuan on top of April's 0.1-percent expansion, official data showed Thursday. In the first five months of 2022, the country's foreign trade volume gained 8.3 percent year on year to 16.04 trillion yuan, outpacing the 7.9-percent-growth in the January-April period, according to the General Administration of Customs. In U.S. dollar terms, total foreign trade came in at 2.51 trillion U.S. dollars in the five-month period, up 10.3 percent year on year. In the first five months, exports grew 11.4 percent year on year while imports rose 4.7 percent, leading to a trade surplus of 1.84 trillion yuan, customs data showed. Read: Bangladesh yet to reap full benefits of Chinese market facilities: Speakers During this period, China's trade with its top three trading partners -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and the United States -- expanded by 8.1 percent, 7 percent and 10.1 percent from a year ago, respectively. From January to May, China's trade with Belt and Road countries jumped by 16.8 percent year on year to 5.11 trillion yuan. Private enterprises reported a faster growth as their imports and exports rose 11.8 percent to 7.86 trillion yuan in the first five months, accounting for 49 percent of the country's total, marking an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the same period last year.   In terms of types of goods, exports of mechanical and electrical products expanded by 7 percent to account for 57.2 percent of the total, while labor-intensive products increased 11.6 percent in the first five months, customs data showed. Read: Chinese investors can maximise profits by setting up industries in Bangladesh: Envoy

The European Union’s groundbreaking decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine is a blow to Moscow’s economy, but its effects may be blunted by rising energy prices and other countries willing to buy some of the petroleum, industry experts say. European Union leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a dramatic move that was considered unthinkable just months ago. The 27-country bloc relies on Russia for 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas, and European countries that are even more heavily dependent on Russia had been especially reluctant to act. European heads of state hailed the decision as a watershed, but analysts were more circumspect. The EU ban applies to all Russian oil delivered by sea. At Hungary’s insistence, it contains a temporary exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline to certain landlocked countries in Central Europe. In addition to retaining some European markets, Russia could sell some of the oil previously bound to Europe to China, India and other customers in Asia, even though it will have to offer discounts, said Chris Weafer, CEO at consulting firm Macro-Advisory. “Now, for the moment, that’s not financially too painful for Russia because global prices are elevated. They’re much higher than last year,” he said. “So even Russia offering a discount means that it’s probably selling its oil for roughly what it sold for last year also.” He noted that “India has been a willing buyer” and “China’s certainly been keen to buy more oil because they’re both countries who are getting big discounts on global market prices.” Still, Moscow has traditionally viewed Europe as its main energy market, making Monday’s decision the most significant effort yet to punish Russia for its war in Ukraine. “The sanctions have one clear aim: to prompt Russia to end this war and withdraw its troops and to agree with Ukraine on a sensible and fair peace,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Ukraine estimated the ban could cost Russia tens of billions of dollars. Read: Budget to include scheme for whitening black money again “The oil embargo will speed up the countdown to the collapse of the Russian economy and war machine,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address that Ukraine will be pressing for more sanctions, adding that “there should be no significant economic ties left between the free world and the terrorist state.” Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert and research fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Bruegel, called the embargo “a major blow.” Matteo Villa, an analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan, said Russia will take a pretty significant hit now but cautioned that the move could eventually backfire. “The risk is that the price of oil in general goes up because of the European sanctions. And if the price goes up a lot, the risk is that Russia starts to earn more, and Europe loses the bet,” he said. Like previous rounds of sanctions, the oil ban is unlikely to persuade the Kremlin to end the war. Moscow seized on the new sanctions to try to rally public support against the West, describing it as bent on destroying Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council who served as the country’s president, said the oil ban aims to reduce the country’s export earnings and force the government to scale down social benefits. “They hate us all!” Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. “Those decisions stem from hatred against Russia and against all of its people.” Read: Experts: Iran disrupts internet; tower collapse deaths at 34 Russia has not shied away from withholding energy to get its way. Russian state energy giant Gazprom said it is cutting off natural gas to Dutch trader GasTerra and Denmark’s Oersted company and is also stopping shipments to Shell Energy Europe that were bound for Germany. Germany has other suppliers, and GasTerra and Oersted said they were prepared for a shutoff. Gazprom previously stopped the flow to Bulgaria, Poland and Finland. Meanwhile, the EU is urging other countries to avoid placing trade barriers on farm products as Russia’s war increases the risks of a global food crisis. Zelenskyy has said Russia has prevented the export of 22 million tons of Ukrainian grain, much of it meant for people across the Middle East and Africa. He accused Moscow of “deliberately creating this problem.” Russian oil delivered by sea accounts for two-thirds of the EU’s oil imports from Moscow. In addition to the EU cutoff of such imports, Germany and Poland have agreed to stop using oil from the northern branch of the Druzhba pipeline. Agreeing on sanctions against Russian natural gas is likely to prove much tougher because it represents a larger percentage of Europe’s energy mix. “The very loud and clear message that Moscow will hear is that it will be near impossible for the European Union to get any agreement on blocking gas because gas will not be as easily replicated from other sources in Europe as oil will be,” Weafer said.

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that India will continue to allow wheat export for countries which are in serious need and are friendly and also have the letter of credit. Goyal said this during the ongoing World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, reports NDTV.  “India wheat exports are less than 1 per cent of world's trade and our export regulation should not affect global markets. We continue to allow exports to vulnerable countries and neighbours,” the minister said. He said that though 7 per cent to 8 per cent of wheat production was expected during the year, due to the severe heat waves there was early harvest and and also production loss. Also Read: India open to exporting wheat to needy nations despite ban  “Given this situation, what we are producing is about enough for domestic consumption,” Mr Goyal added. He made it clear that India was never a traditional player in the international wheat market and export of wheat only began about two years ago. Speaking at Davos Summit, the Commerce Minister said that last year 7 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of wheat was exported and majority was done within the last two months when the war between Russia and Ukraine erupted.  

More than three decades after it became the first American fast food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union, McDonald’s said Monday that it has started the process of selling its business in Russia, another symbol of the country’s increasing isolation over its war in Ukraine. The company, which has 850 restaurants in Russia that employ 62,000 people, pointed to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, saying holding on to its business in Russia “is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values.” The Chicago-based fast food giant said in early March that it was temporarily closing its stores in Russia but would continue to pay its employees. Without naming a prospective Russian buyer, McDonald’s said Monday that it would seek one to hire its workers and pay them until the sale closes. CEO Chris Kempczinski said the “dedication and loyalty to McDonald’s” of employees and hundreds of Russian suppliers made it a difficult decision to leave. “However, we have a commitment to our global community and must remain steadfast in our values,” Kempczinski said in a statement, “and our commitment to our values means that we can no longer keep the arches shining there.” As it tries to sell its restaurants, McDonald’s said it plans to start removing golden arches and other symbols and signs with the company’s name. It said it will keep its trademarks in Russia. Also Read: McDonalds raising US workers pay in company-owned stores Western companies have wrestled with extricating themselves from Russia, enduring the hit to their bottom lines from pausing or closing operations in the face of sanctions. Others have stayed in Russia at least partially, with some facing blowback. French carmaker Renault said Monday that it would sell its majority stake in Russian car company Avtovaz and a factory in Moscow to the state — the first major nationalization of a foreign business since the war began. For McDonald’s, its first restaurant in Russia opened in the middle of Moscow more than three decades ago, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a powerful symbol of the easing of Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union, which would collapse in 1991. Now, the company’s exit is proving symbolic of a new era, analysts say. “Its departure represents a new isolationism in Russia, which must now look inward for investment and consumer brand development,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a corporate analytics company. He said McDonald’s owns most of its restaurants in Russia, but because it won’t license its brand, the sale price likely won’t be close to the value of the business before the invasion. Russia and Ukraine combined accounted for about 9% of McDonald’s revenue and 3% of operating income before the war, Saunders said. McDonald’s said it expects to record a charge against earnings of between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion over leaving Russia. Its restaurants in Ukraine are closed, but the company said it is continuing to pay full salaries for its employees there. McDonald’s has more than 39,000 locations across more than 100 countries. Most are owned by franchisees — only about 5% are owned and operated by the company.    

Recent deep cuts to overseas aid budgets by governments, will have direct, and negative impacts on the ability of the world to reach the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN chief said Friday. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern over the fall in overseas development aid (ODA) following a meeting of the UN Chief Executives Board, which brought together the heads of 30 entities, to discuss ways of alleviating the crises holding back economic recovery from Covid, and boost the implementation of the SDGs. Read: Ensure quality to venture into global market in electronic goods He noted that the current "moment in history" had thrown up "cascading challenges" including a climate emergency, uneven economic recovery, and the triple crisis of food, energy and debt, all exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Guterres said a critical ingredient of the UN's ability to "rescue" the SDGs and provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance was "predictable and additional funding," underpinned by the commitment of nations to provide 0.7 percent of gross national income to overseas aid – a target adopted in a UN General Assembly resolution for advanced economies in 1970. He said several countries have met, "and in some cases" gone beyond the threshold. "However, there are recent indications that other states are making deep cuts of ODA in a reversal of their commitment." Read: Vulnerable nations threatened as Ukraine war shrinks food supplies, hikes prices "This will have direct negative impacts on the achievements of the SDGs. This is alarming and I urge member states to reconsider, given the dire consequences for the vulnerable among us in these turbulent times," said Guterres.He reiterated the UN's commitment to strengthened coordination in support of coherent national strategies for reaching the ambitious targets of the SDGs, agreed by 193 countries in 2015 – a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and make peace and prosperity accessible to all. "At a time when global conflicts are at their highest levels since the creation of the United Nations, the evidence demonstrates that investing in development is the best way to prevent crises and maintain international peace, which remains the UN's central mission," said the UN chief.

Billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani-owned oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries has become the first Indian company to record a gross revenue of over 100 billion US dollars in a year. The company on Friday declared its quarter four earnings for the last financial year (April 2021 to March 2022), showing a gross revenue of over Rs 58,000 crore against Rs 57,700 (approx) in the previous quarter.  And for the entire fiscal, Reliance reported a gross revenue of Rs 7.92 lakh crores (102 billion US dollars) -- a feat the company attributed to the rise in earnings in its telecom, retail and refining businesses. "Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and heightened geo-political uncertainties, Reliance has delivered a robust performance in FY2021-22,"  Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said in a statement.  "Over the past year, we added over 2.1 lk new employees across our businesses with our consumer & technology biz creating a large part of these new jobs. I am pleased to report that our Retail biz has crossed the 15,000-store benchmark," he said. Also Read: Reliance eyeing stake in Google-backed Indian unicorn? "I am confident that Reliance will create sustainable and affordable new energy solutions for India to help her meet growing energy needs, while ensuring that we achieve our ambitious target of Net Carbon Zero by 2035," Ambani added. One of the richest persons in Asia, Mukesh's current net worth is nearly USD 80 billion. His Reliance Group is now India's most valuable company by market capitalisation. UNB had earlier reported about Mukesh's rumoured plans to hand over three core business areas of Reliance Industries to his three children -- Akash, Isha and Anant -- and also about his aggressive fundraising spree to make his conglomerate debt-free amid the pandemic. The fundraising spree was aimed at reducing Reliance's dependence on the flagship oil sector to diversify into telecom and e-commerce. In 2020, Reliance raised USD 15.2 billion by selling stakes in its telecom unit Jio and another USD 7 billion through rights issue.    

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the United States is a friend of Bangladesh and if Americans invest in Bangladesh's special economic zones, they will be benefited. The Minister said this while exchanging views with Peter D Haas, US Ambassador to Bangladesh, at the Secretariat on Thursday. The United States is a big market for garment exports for Bangladesh. For the sustainable development of the readymade garments sector, Bangladesh has upgraded its labor law to world standard, said the minister. "Safe and friendly working environments have been created in the factories. Building and electricity safety has been ensured," he added. There are 157 factories certified by Lead Green Garments Factory of the USA in Bangladesh. Of the top 10 green factories in the world, nine are in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is now the second-largest exporter of readymade garments in the world. Although the production cost of readymade garments in Bangladesh has increased, the buyers have not increased the price in comparison. It is necessary to ensure fair price of readymade garments in Bangladesh, Munshi added. Read: World Bank loan to bolster Bangladesh's economic growth Ambassador Haas said the USA is a development partner of Bangladesh. The development of Bangladesh is now visible. Bangladesh has already graduated from LDC and become a developing country. In the future, US economic and trade relations with Bangladesh will be further enhanced, he hopes. Commerce Minister said Bangladesh is making efforts to sign trade agreements with various countries like PTA or FTA to create trade facilities. Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce (Exports) Md Hafizur Rahman, Additional Secretary (FTA) Nur Mohammad Mahbubul Haque, Additional Secretary (Export-2) Md Abdur Rahim Khan were present.

India's biggest initial public offering of the state-run insurance behemoth -- the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) -- is all set to open next week, with the government deciding to sell 3.5% of its stake in the company. For anchor investors, the initial public offering will open on May 2. For retail investors, it will open on May 4 and close on May 9. The price band for the offering has been set at Indian rupees 902 to 949, UNB has learnt. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the country's stock markets regulator, approved the red herring prospectus on April 25. LIC has time and again bailed out the government by acting as its internal financier. READ: E-payments unicorn Paytm launches India's biggest-ever IPO Experts predict a stellar debut for LIC on the country's bourses just like that of private food delivery giant Zomato last year. The food aggregator was, in fact, India's first new-age technology unicorn to go public in 2021. Zomato, in fact, rode on the Covid outbreak that has prompted a trend of people moving to order food items online the world over. Such was the fantabulous listing that Zomato's market capitalization breached 12 billion US dollar mark in the first hour itself.