Dhaka stocks rally as banking, engineering shares shine
Dhaka: Banking and engineering shares have literally helped Dhaka stocks to rally on Saturday, brokers told news agencies. The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) General Index rose 0.11 per cent or 1.91 points to 828.69. Losers led gainers 108 to 34, and 39 stocks were unchanged, the DSE said in a statement. "Banking and engineering sectors attracted fresh investments, though majority small investors sold out shares," Imtiyaz Husain, of Imtiyaz Husain and Company, a brokerage house, said.

A section of investors bought banking and engineering shares hoping for profit as some banks and engineering firms were expected to distribute dividend for the 2002/03 (July-June) fiscal year soon, he said. But most investors were frustrated at the beginning of the new fiscal year as the national budget lacked incentives for small investors, he added. Newly listed Mutual Trust Bank rose 7.41 per cent to 174 taka on 106,950 shares valued at 18.1 million taka. Saturday's overall turnover totalled 70.07 million taka ($1.21 million) against 76.42 million taka on Thursday, ahead of the Muslim Friday weekend. Some 1.54 million shares changed hands on Saturday against 2.28 million the previous day.
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US cigarette wholesalers take tobacco firms to court
Washington: More than a dozen cigarette wholesalers across the US are suing Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co for pricing programmes that the wholesalers say are illegally designed to stifle competition, reports suggest. Both lawsuits, filed in the federal court in Greeneville, Tennessee, allege it is unlawful for the tobacco giants to offer deep discounts only to wholesalers who sell more of their brands than those of competitors.

Philip Morris spokesman Brendan McCormick, however, said his company's wholesale pricing programme was not discriminatory because it was based on the percentage of company cigarettes wholesalers sold, not volume, and was, therefore, open to all wholesalers, large and small. "We make the discounts available to all wholesalers, and they are free to sell the brands that make the most sense for their business," McCormick said. RJ Reynolds made the same argument.
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Singapore companies will help run Baghdad Airport
Singapore: A Singapore consortium has been chosen to provide ground services at Baghdad airport when it reopens for commercial services after the Iraq war, two government-linked firms told news agencies on Saturday. The companies, conglomerate Keppel Corp and Singapore Airport Terminal Services, confirmed their involvement in the consortium but declined to give further details. SATS is the ground handling and catering arm of Singapore Airlines.

"We are finalising the partnership agreement and contract, and will make an announcement once it's signed," a Keppel spokeswoman said. A SATS spokesman said the consortium is likely to make an announcement early next week on the deal. "We are still in discussions with some parties about providing ground handling and cargo services at Baghdad Airport, but no agreement has been signed yet," he said. The contract had been won by a consortium led by unlisted Singapore trading and logistics firm Windmill International, Singapore's Straits Times newspaper said.
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Boeing plans $100-million JV in China
Shanghai: Boeing, the US aircraft giant, is planning a $100-million airplane repair and maintenance joint venture with Chinese partners in Shanghai late this year, according to the official China Daily. "Boeing is looking at a long-term partnership [with China] and finding ways to expand it, to build on it for long-term future," the newspaper quoted Boeing chairman and chief executive officer Philip Condit as saying in China.

The aircraft-maker thinks China will be involved in Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner aircraft, which will be offered to customers in early 2004 and was expected to enter into service in 2008, the newspaper said. "The role of China in the development and manufacture of the 7E7 airplane is being worked on at this time," Condit said.
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