WORLD BRIEFS

* BANGLADESH

The government of Bangladesh is to introduce an e-procurement system to increase transparency in government spending.

The country has appointed staff to set up the system in its central procurement technical unit. The government hopes the system will be in place by July next

* INDIA

Procurement for India's railways is plagued by corruption, cartels and bid rigging, according to a report by the country's Competition Commission (CCI).

It revealed that in a tender for steel seven out of the nine firms participating quoted the same price.

CCI director Amitabh Kumar told the Press Trust of India: "Railways officials have been complaining to us about the prevailing cartelisation in the bidding process."

* DENMARK

Denmark's public sector purchasing organisation, National Procurement, has signed a deal with Cybercom for the provision of consultancy services.

The two-year contract covers consulting in areas such as project management, IT systems and administration.

National Procurement assists around 11,500 public organisations in Denmark with purchasing goods and services.

* US

Packaging firm Sonoco has been recognised by Coca-Cola for its efforts to promote supplier diversity.

The firm, which is a supplier to the drinks company, has been awarded the 2007 "Partners in the Promise" award for its work on supplier diversity in its supply chain.

Johnnie Booker, global director of supplier diversity at Coca-Cola, said: "Sonoco has become a proactive partner in helping us reach and include more minority and womenowned business suppliers in our procurement process."

* JAPAN

Japanese embassies around the world have been told to introduce competitive bidding, after more than £500,000 was spent on 18,000 items of tableware in the past three years.

A single manufacturer is currently responsible for supplying the country's 186 embassies and ambassadorial residences around the world. The proposals were made in an annual survey on government spending, according to the Press Association.