Vol. 5 Num 241 Fri. January 28, 2005       Home  News Today's Index Front Page Business Sports Metropolitan Culture General Views Editorial Letters to Editor Write to Editor Sections Environment Urban World Others About Us Contact Advertisement Supplements Archives Business BGMEA, BAB to pursue central bank to reduce bank service cost In a bid to cut banking services cost, Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) and BGMEA have decided to form a subcommittee comprising representatives of private, foreign and nationalised banks and exporters   Dhaka-Laksam straight line planned to bail BR out of loss Bangladesh Railway (BR) is contemplating to introduce a new straight line between Dhaka and Laksam, which is expected to reduce distance between Dhaka and Chittagong by 80 kilometres.   Textile boom helps domestic investment grow 22pc in '04 Domestic investment increased by 22 percent in 2004, thanks to a record investment in the country's textile sector. WTC in Ctg may hit snag as CCCI moves to cancel tender The construction of World Trade Centre (WTC) in Chittagong may be delayed once again as the new chief of WTC's financier Chittagong chamber yesterday hinted at cancelling the tender of the 20-storiedbuilding.   India defers BHEL, Maruti equity sales The Indian Cabinet yesterday deferred a politically sensitive decision on selling equity in two profit-making public sector undertakings -- Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Maruti Udyog Ltd.   China, India to share Asian refining growth in 2005 Asia will add more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of primary refining capacity this year, allowing China to just keep pace with demand growth while India boosts exports, a Reuters survey showed.   WB mulls charging non-borrowers for advice The World Bank may soon need to charge advisory fees to countries seeking its advice as growing numbers of middle-income developing countries no longer require loan programmes, the departing head of the   Sri Lanka heads for record trade deficit Sri Lanka's trade deficit hit a record 1.95 billion dollars in the first 11 months of last year due to higher expenditure on oil imports, figures released Thursday by the Central Bank showed.   Thailand unveils tourism revival plan after tsunami Thailand on Thursday announced plans to lure tourists back to the tsunami-ravaged Andaman coast as a minister revealed that arrivals through Bangkok have fallen nine percent since the December 26 tragedy.   US oil imports hit record high in 2004 The US appetite for foreign petroleum hit an all-time high last year, rising four percent to top 10 million barrels a day for the first time, the American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday.   US seeks to clear way for China clothing curbs The US Justice Department will appeal a federal court ruling that has blocked the Bush administration from considering textile industry requests for emergency restrictions on clothing imports from China,   EU chief rejects US model to revive flagging economy The head of the European Union's executive arm denied Wednesday he is proposing an American free-market model to revive Europe's flagging economy, saying Europe does not need McJobs.   China open to talk currency at G7 meet China will call for forex market stability at the upcoming G7 finance ministers meeting but reiterate that it will not succumb to outside pressures to lossen the yuan's peg to the dollar, senior financial     Advertisement