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Information Technology in BangladeshE-Commerce

PAGE INDEXIntroduction

Banking on the WebWeb BankingMemberships

NGO's on the WebComponents

1999 ObservationsHotels

IntroductionMany Bangladeshi companies currently distribute their images through the

Internet to clients all over the world, but the monetary transactions take placethrough conventional means. Some companies put messages on bulletin board, on '

internet yellow pages' with email links, and sometimes web pages, but there neveris a place to submit a credit card. This is because currently the government doesnot permit credit card charges over the internet. However, the ISPs in Bangladeshdo have the technology for e-commerce, and are anticipating governmental approvalwithin the next year(12).

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E-commerce sites needed too be hooked up to a merchant bank account. Amerchant bank account allows a company to accept and process credit cardtransactions. All businesses that use electronic credit cards need to be hooked upto their merchant account. For example, in a grocery store, when one swipes a card

through the card swipe machine, machine is hooked up to the grocery store'smerchant account.Page Index|Site Index

Banking on the Web: Not Today!Though there are 28 banks in bangladesh, mostly head quartered in Dhaka(7).(,

only a select few have web pages. Listed below are the names of the few that dohave sites. However, most of these banks do not offer online or electronic service

such as Direct Deposit. There are some ATM machines, though not nearly asconcentrated as in the United States.Arab Bangladesh Bank Ltd.The first private bank of Bangladesh with a long standing experience in domesticand international banking. Its 53 branches in all the major commercial centers ofthe country and 152 correspondents worldwide provide proficient banking servicesto its customers(1).Grameen BankThis bank provides no on line transactions, but has the best web site of all thebanks in Bangladesh(4).Standard Chartered BankWorldwide bank, with some services available for customers living inBangladesh: Current Accounts, Overdrafts, Foreign Currency TermDeposits, Local Currency Cash Checks, Check Purchase, Drafts, Savings Accounts,Term Deposits, Telegraphic Transfers, Traveler's Checks, and Personal Loans(5).ANZ Grindlays Bank LimitedGrindlays is the oldest bank in Bangladesh dating back to 1905 when one of itsforebears, the National Bank of India, opened a branch in Chittagong. Today, there

are 10 branches of ANZ Grindlays Bank and 4 cash offices in Dhaka, Chittagong,Khulna and Narayanganj (6).National Bank LtdThis is the governmentally run bank. It had a site but it was taken off due to nonpayment of web development bill.Page Index|Site Index

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GIIC MEMBERSHIPAsia is the fastest growing regional market in the world for information and

communications services. The first GIIC Regional Meeting brought together seniorgovernment officials from 20 Asian economies, including Bangladesh, private sector

business leaders, regional organizations, academics and technical experts to shareexperiences, and review best practices to help develop an informationinfrastructure to promote economic and social development in the region. Theconference focused on the use of telecom and IT in health care and telemedicine,education and human resources development and the management of governmentservices.Bangladesh has accepted the obligations of Article VIII of IMF Articles ofAgreement which means removal of all restrictions on making payments andtransfers for current international transactions. By accepting these obligations,

Bangladesh has given a clear signal to the international community that it wouldpursue sound economic policies, and thereby create a congenial climate forinvestment (8). Because of this potential influx of investment, one can onlyconclude that electronic payment systems are only a short breath away frombecoming part of the Bengali way.Page Index|Site Index

NGOs ARE ON THE WEBIkota Forum in Bangladesh is an NGO that represents 14 producer organizations

that represent 75,000 women. They have a web site produced entirely in

Bangladesh. The site shows many of the products, all of which were made by verypoor people in remote rural settings in Bangladesh.Page Index|Site Index

E-COMPONENTS: POWER, HARDWARE, COMMUNICATION (10)BANGLADESH'S PUBLIC POWER SECTOR IS INADEQUATEOverloading and lack of maintenace cause frequent outages and necessary plannedblackouts. How can a country like this be able to provide E-commerce, when themain component, "e," is never there!THE GOVERNMENT HAS SIGNED 3 AGREEMENTS

Bangladesh began to purchase power in 1998 from private companies in theU.S. The country has significant natural gas reserves, but the inadequate gastransmission system, as well as electricity transmission system, is a bottleneck togrowth in this area. The gas company has signed exploration and developmentagreements and aid is coming in from the ADB and World Bank. A new major gaspipeline built in 1997 could also mean a end to some of the power problems. In

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addition, transformers, wood poles, insulators, surge protectors, line tools andother parts needed for the electricity transmission system are being brought intothe country.

THE MARKET FOR COMPUTER HARDWARE, PERIPHERALS IS INCREASING ATA 15%-20%There are approximately 90,000 desktop PCs in Bangladesh. In 1998, the duties onimports were eliminated, decreasing prices 30-40% and increasing sales. Thus,hardware needed for e-commerce is coming in headstrong.THE COUNTRY'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES ARE INADEQUATE.60% of the lines are analog, and the quality of the service is poor; there is a 30%connectivity rate.EFFORTS ARE SLOWLY UNDER WAY TO UPGRADEThere are plans for expansion of the domestic and international capacity. AJapanese firm is completing the installation of 67,000 digital lines in Dhaka, withmore on the way. Private companies were allowed to enter the market as of 1997,and email and ISP providers are now available in Dakar. BTTB has proposed otherupgrades, such as fiber optics, but there is a budget constraining this idea. 70,000telephone lines have been installed in rural bangladesh, most of which are cellular.The Jamuni Bridge, built in 1998, connects east and west Bangladesh for the firsttime ever. It hosts communication cables so that e-commerce may one day live inBangladesh.Page Index|Site Index

1999 OBSERVATIONSIve personally seen about 20 Internet sites whose hosts are located in

Bangladesh. The big ones are Bangla.net and Banladeshonline.com. Some servicesinclude internet access, internet fax, network setup, web page design, andhosting. Many of these ISPs also provide other computer services, such as CD-ROM development.

At http://www.citechco.net, there are several items, such as the I-mac, that I canalmost buy. The site has a "buy now" button, but no link with that button thattakes me to a page where I can enter my credit card information. Many companieshave web sites where they market a product, but to purchase it you have toactually come into the store or mail in a check. This is because of thegovernment's current restriction on e-commerce, which is expected to be resolvedsoon.

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One thing that is interesting to note: Several sites, such as eDhaka.com, the"Bangladeshi Supermarket" present themselves so that one thinks the host is inBangladesh. However, they only take U.S. Dollars, and can only ship to the UnitedStates(9).They do sell over the internet, but not from Bangladesh!Page Index|Site Index

Hotels

Hotels that allow for internet booking are worldwide chains, thus the wholetransaction occurs outside of Bangladesh, despite the fact that the service will beperformed in Bangladesh.At Pacific Hotel, subsidy of Pan Pacific, an person can make reservations through asecure server that is protected by an independently certified Secure Certificate.So that a browser can verify such certificates, the browser contains details withinits preferences of the various Certifying Authorities. These details are known asRoot Certificates and for security they all have expire dates. The hotel'sCertifying Authority is Thawte Certification, whose Root Certificate in Netscape 3expired on 27 July 1998. In order for Netscape 3 to connect to the hotel's secure

server (and the estimated 20% of all secure servers using Thawte certificates), auser needs to go through a "rollover" process outlinedat http://www.thawte.com/certs/server/rollover.html. When the procedure iscomplete, the user can then return to the Pan Pacific reservation page.

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