SAARC

Indian telecom firm plans $ 767 m investments

Indian telecommunications firm Hughes Tele. com. (India) Ltd. recently unveiled plans to invest 33 billion rupees (767 million dollars) over two years in a regional fibre-optic telephone and broadband network. Hughes Tele. com. is already providing telephone services to about 23,000 customers in Bombay, India's financial hub.

Hughes Tele. com also unveiled plans to buy 175 million dollars worth of telecom equipment from the US based Lucent Technologies to build the network.

India, Korea to expand bilateral trade to $5 billion

India and the Korean Republic have agreed to intensify efforts to expand bilateral trade volume to touch $5 billion and to improve market access for products of interest to both the countries. This is indicated in the agreed minutes of the third Indo-Korean trade minister's Meeting which concluded in New Delhi recently.

CII projects 7 percent GDP growth

After taking over as president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Arun Bharat Ram recently projected a 7 Percent GDP growth, 8.5 percent industrial growth and 9 percent growth in the service sector arena for the year 2000-2001 in India.

Bharat Ram said that chambers will initiate consensus approach among political parties to further second generation reform process as well as initiate fresh dialogues with trade unions.

"Government should keep themselves off from sectors where they have no business to continue," maintained Bharat Ram. "We will play a catalytic role in energising privatisation of PSUs." He pointed out that economy must grow at 8 to 10 percent over the next few years and the inefficient parts of the government systems has to be removed.

Bangla service sector major GDP contributor

The service sector in Bangladesh is now contributing more than 49 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) after reorganisation of different sectors under the newly adopted national accounting system, The Financial Express reported.

The report quoted sources of the finance and planning ministries as saying the relative contributions of the service and industry sectors have increased over the years while those of agriculture have declined. The contributions of the agriculture sector dropped from about 30 percent in the early 1990s to 25.28 percent at present, but the industry sector commanded 25.69 percent in the last financial year. The contribution of the service sector stood at 49.03 percent in the same year.

The share of the agriculture sector in the total GDP is expected to be 25.47 percent, the service sector 48.86 percent and the industry sector 25.67 percent at the end of the current financial year.

The sources said that after improving the national accounting system and increasing the number of sectors from 11 in the old series to 15 in the new series, the latest sectored shares in the GDP have been compiled.

Under the new system, the service sector has nine components including wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communications, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities, public administration and defense, education, health and social work, community, social and personal services.

Pakistan rice export prices seen down

Pakistan has a surplus of 3-4 lakh tonnes of rice for export in the current season, but prices are seen lower due to the new Vietnam crop entering the market, Anjum I Varsy, director of operations of SGS Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. said recently.

Pakistan traditionally exports about 1.6-1.7 million tonnes of rice in the September October rice season. Vietnam usually exports about 4 million tonnes and harvests two crops a year.

Currently Pakistan's 25% broken white rice fetches around $ 180/tonne and Vietnam can sell at $ 12-$15/ tonne below that, Varsy said.

Bangladesh, Bhutan to discuss trade accord renewal

Bangladesh and Bhutan recently decided to hold talks in July on renewing a trade and transit agreement which expires this year.

The decision was contained in a joint statement issued recently at the end of a vision by Bhutanese Foreign Minister Lyonpo Jigme Thinley during which he met Bangladeshi counterpart Abdus Samed Azad, the official BSS news agency said.

The agreement expires in September, it said, but gave no details. The new agreement could before 10 years, earlier reports said.

Bhutan is a tiny landlocked Himalayan Kingdom.

Thinley and Azad also agreed to work towards revitalising the South Asian Association for Regional Coopertion (SAARC) whichs groups India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, besides Bangladesh and Bhutan.

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