Yunus' brothers, while talking to journalists at their Panchlaish home, said the joy and pride they felt was beyond expression.

"When former US president Bill Clinton during an election campaign said Yunus could win the Nobel prize for his contribution to economics and activities to alleviate poverty, it made us hopeful," said Abdus Salam, eldest brother of Yunus.

"We hoped that one day he would achieve this, and today our dream has become reality and he has been awarded with the honour," said Muhammad Ayub, another brother of Yunus.

Bangladesh Economic Association, Chittagong President Prof Muhammad Sikandar Khan said, "It's indeed a great moment of joy for us all, and we feel proud of Yunus."

Renowned social scientist Anupam Sen expressed his joy and happiness over Yunus' winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

He observed that Yunus always thought of improving the condition of the poor people, particularly of the third world.

"Yunus thinks that a man should not sell his labour, he should use his labour to create means for being self-employed and self-reliance," Sen said.

"Yunus took the initiative to provide them with the funds they needed to move towards prosperity," he added.

"I think he deserved the Nobel Prize for Economics but he missed it," Sen observed, adding that as far as he knew, Yunus missed it because he believed that the traditional economy could do very little to improve the lot of the poor.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Chittagong University, Agrani Bank and many other business and organisations expressed their joy yesterday with separate press statements.