Apple ordered to pay $625m in patent dispute with VirnetX

Reuters, New York

Apple Inc must pay VirnetX Holding Corp more than $625 million for using the patent licensing company's Internet security technology without permission in its FaceTime and iMessage features, a federal jury in Texas said on Wednesday.

The award was more than the $532 million VirnetX had sought before the trial began on Jan. 25 in Tyler, Texas. The jury said Apple's infringement was wilful.

VirnetX stock was trading at $9.30 after hours, up 94 percent from its Wednesday close. Apple was down 45 cents to $95.90 in after-hours trading.

The verdict, though a blow for Apple, does not pose a threat to the company, which reported in January that its cash pile had reached $216 billion. Still, the amount is high for a patent case.

Brokers ask govt to reconsider profit sharing of Titas Gas

Star Business Report

The DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh yesterday urged the government to revise the net profit distribution margin that it set for Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, as it has affected its share prices and dividend declarations.
The investors always consider the listed state-owned companies, including Titas Gas, as fundamentally strong companies, said Ahsanul Islam, president of the association.
“But if the government reduces the profit margin, the companies also lose their ability to provide healthy dividends, frustrating the general investors,” he said at a press briefing at the bourse premises.
The net-profit distribution margin was re-fixed following the new tariff structure for gas consumption, which was set by Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission in August last year. The association is making this recommendation to the government now after studying the recent reports of its market watch committee.
The margin has been reduced by 33.72 percent, which means that if Titas Gas was previously receiving Tk 100 as net profit, it will get Tk 33.72 less now. “It was major price sensitive information, but it was not disclosed properly,” alleged the association's president. It had a negative impact on the Titas Gas share prices, he said.
As a result of the new profit distribution margin, Titas Gas has recommended only 15 percent cash dividends for 2014-15, the lowest since its listing on the stock exchanges in 2008; its earnings per share for July-September this fiscal year came down to Tk 1.57, from Tk 2.37 in the same time last year.
The company's share price dropped to below Tk 50 yesterday, though its price never dipped below Tk 60 in the last two years. It also left a negative impact on the six other listed state companies.
“All the seven companies have lost over Tk 5,000 crore in market capitalisation since August 30 last year, due to a fall in their share prices,” Islam cited, adding that neither Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission nor Dhaka Stock Exchange took action against Titas Gas.
“We are requesting the government to revise the profit distribution margin and fix it at a rational rate,” he said, urging the government to discuss the matter with the stockmarket regulators prior to taking any sensitive decision, especially on the listed state-owned companies.
Any comment without appropriate evidence leaves a negative impact on the capital market, he added.
“If there are irregularities, action can be taken after identifying those,” he said, referring to the recent negative comments on the capital market that affected the market adversely. The market lost around Tk 2,500 crore in market capitalisation in just two weeks due to the negative comments, he said. Stocks, however, closed almost flat yesterday. DSEX, the benchmark index of DSE, slightly declined 2.21 points or 0.04 percent, to finish the last day of the week at 4,571.11 points.
Of the traded issues, 149 advanced, 122 declined with 53 securities closing unchanged on the premier bourse. Turnover, another important indicator of the market, declined 17.4 percent to Tk 342.45 crore, with 10.7 crore shares and mutual fund units changing hands on the DSE.
Referring to the government probe report on the market crash of 2010, Islam said the report was mainly based on opinion, not facts and figures. “That's why proper action cannot be taken.”

American EXIM Bank offers easy loans to Bangladesh

Star Business Report

US-based EXIM Bank yesterday extended an offer to give easy loans to the Bangladesh government and private entrepreneurs to boost economic development in the country.
Bangladesh can use the loans to purchase aircraft, machinery, satellites and power equipment, the bank's Chairman Fred Hochberg said at a luncheon meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, at the Westin Dhaka.
Hochberg referred to loans to Bangladesh Biman a few years ago to purchase four Boeing planes. The US EXIM Bank provides loans to foreign clients in sectors that eventually increase the export potential of US goods and services.
In 2011 and 2013, the bank had financed more than $500 million to allow Biman to acquire four Boeing 777-300ER long-range passenger aircraft. “Fostering jobs and economic growth are the primary goals of EXIM Bank.”
Bangladesh is an important market for the US, as it has been maintaining economic growth at 6.5 percent over the years and the income of the middle-class consumers is also increasing, said Hochberg.
American companies are especially interested in helping Bangladesh meet its ambitious infrastructure investment goals with sustainable and quality services and goods, he added.
He suggested improving infrastructure and the ease of doing business in Bangladesh so that more foreign direct investment, even from the US, can come here.
During his visit to Dhaka, he met with the business community and ministers to assure them that the EXIM Bank will assist the American firms to compete for Bangladeshi business.
Since President Barack Obama took office, the bank has supported over $650 million in US exports to Bangladesh -- more than any previous administration, he said.
Hochberg said 90 percent of their customers are small and medium enterprises. So, Bangladesh has a lot of potential investors and they can take loans for their enterprises, he added.
“Bangladesh is becoming an increasingly important market for the US for higher growth potential,” said Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, the US ambassador to Bangladesh.
Similarly, the US also wants to be a partner of the growth potential for the next decade, she added.
Attracting foreign investment is critically important for the economic development of Bangladesh, Bernicat said.
Nurul Islam, president of AmCham, said EXIM Bank invests in sectors that mainly create jobs. For example, the bank provided $1 billion to Vietnam in the manufacturing sector three years ago, which created a lot of jobs there, he added.