China and Bangladesh have agreed to promote bilateral economic relations with the intention to narrow the trade imbalance and also to encourage investment between the two countries, Xinhua News Agency reported. Trade between the two countries reached a record level of about US$3.19 billion in 2006, an increase of 28.5 percent from the previous year. The increase in trade was largely due to the fact that China had granted tariff-free access to 84 Bangladeshi items within the framework of the … [Read more...] about BANGLADESH: China, Bangladesh boost economic ties

Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the loss-making fl ag carrier of Bangladesh, will soon fl oat an international tender to fi nd a strategic partner to take over its management, Dr M. Abdul Momen, Biman’s managing director, was quoted as saying in Gulf News. The airline, which is being incorporated as a public limited company, is also seeking a CEO to spearhead its growth, as it is graduallyreducing its $330m liabilities. “We have already cut down manpower by a half through a voluntary … [Read more...] about BANGLADESH: Biman tenders for management partner

BA World Cargo (BAWC) said it will launch two new weekly Boeing 727 freighter services from Pakistan this month. The fi rst fl ight will be Karachi - Bahrain and the second will be Lahore - Bahrain. These two new routes will connect with the Bahrain - London line fl ights allowing customers in Pakistan access to the BA global network. The routings come as a direct response to customer demand for dedicated capacity. … [Read more...] about PAKISTAN: BAWC to launch Pakistan freighter service

Aaron Heslehurst, the BBC World Business news presenter will be anchoring Air Cargo India 2008, the 2nd biennial international networking conference being organized by STAT Times, at the World Trade Centre,Mumbai from January 23-25, 2008. Heslehurst has been a BBC World news presenter since February 2002 and is currently presenting the World Business Report and hourly business news bulletin covering the latest from the leading international corporate news to global business as well … [Read more...] about INDIA: BBC presenter to anchor Air Cargo India 2008

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has tried to quash concerns that it would favour Emirates airline over other carriers if it won approval for its US$1.99 billion bid for Auckland International Airport. The company acknowledged that some fear DAE and Emirates would pursue a common dedicated strategy for developing an Emirates hub in Auckland. But Kjeld Binger, CEO of DAE Airports, said in Gulf News that the company would treat all airlines fairly despite the fact that DAE and Emirates are … [Read more...] about NEW ZEALAND: Air NZ questions DAE Auckland bid

Australian airline Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd said it planned to invest A$70 million (US$62 million) in a new long-haul carrier it hopes will be fl ying on lucrative US routes by late 2008. The new airline, called V Australia, still needs US regulatory approval for its plan to operate 10 weekly services between Australia and the US, which requires changes to existing bilateral air service agreements. Virgin is spending more than A$2 billion on six B777-300ER widebody aircraft for the new … [Read more...] about AUSTRALIA:Virgin Blue launches long-haul airline