Business

The government on Thursday approved a proposal for setting up three information technology villages in Dhaka and Rajshahi and a hi-tech park in Sylhet, officials said. The cabinet committee on economic affairs gave nod to the proposals by ICT division to set up an IT village at Karail in the capital, two in Rajshaihi and

Finance minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said the growth of the country’s gross domestic product would be projected at 7.3 per cent for the upcoming fiscal year. In the outgoing fiscal year, the revised GDP growth is 6.5 per cent, he told reporters after a meeting of the national coordination council on the country’s

The inflow of remittance decreased to US$ 10.47 billion in nine months of the current financial year 2013-14 against US$ 11.12 billion in the same period of FY 2012-13 although the remittance posted the highest growth in March in the last 14 months. According to the Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, remittance inflow dropped by ... Read more

Alleges Muhith Finance minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said the Bangladesh Bank misrepresented the fact about its autonomous status to the International Monetary Fund. He told this to reporters after a meeting with a visiting IMF mission at his secretariat office. He said he had no idea why the BB officials lied to

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has launched a drive to check the sales of pre-activated SIM cards of the mobile phone companies operating in the country, said officials. The sales of pre-activated subscriber identification module cards are rampant as retailers in collusion with the mobile operators selling such SIM cards, violating BTRC rule,

Pre-Budget Meeting Fy 2014-15 BSREA demands equipment import duty cut NBR chairman criticises solar panel cos for installing substandard products The National Board of Revenue chairman Ghulam Hussain on Wednesday blasted the solar panel companies for installing substandard solar system and poor services to customers in the country. At the first day of month-long pre-budget discussion ... Read more

The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday further lowered the GDP growth projection for Bangladesh to 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal year because of disruption in economic activities amid political unrest. This was the lowest growth projection among the estimates made by the government, Bangladesh Bank and other international lenders for the 2013-14 financial year.

RMG Sector Consultative body of stakeholders to be formed soon The government will soon form a stakeholders’ consultative committee on readymade garment to deal with the problems and prospects of apparel exports, workers safety and their rights in the garment industry. Representatives from ministries concerned, owners associations and labour organisations will comprise the committee, commerce minister ... Read more

One Year Of Rana Plaza Disaster Industriall urges brands to provide compensation before anniversary IndustriALL Bangladesh Council on Tuesday urged the global buyers and brands, who used to source products from the garment factories located in the collapsed Rana Plaza, to contribute significant amount of money to the Rana Plaza compensation trust fund before the ... Read more

Bangladesh Bank on Monday asked the scheduled banks to start implementation of international Basel-III guidelines by raising banks’ capital bases from July 1. The banks will have to implement the new guidelines on capital arrangement in five and a half years. The BB issued a circular to managing directors and

Urge govt for ensuring uninterrupted supply chain Prices of essential products will remain stable in coming months, particularly during Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims, as the country has sufficient import, stock and supply of the items, traders on Monday assured the commerce ministry. At a meeting with the ministry, they, however, urged the government to ... Read more

Finance minister AMA Muhith on Monday said the long-overdue financial reporting act would be placed in the next session of parliament for passage of the bill to release US$ 150 million loan from Asian Development Bank. ‘It is essential to enact the act,’ he told reporters after a meeting with visiting director General of South Asia ... Read more

The cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for establishment of a new foundation with four finished project of BSCIC on poverty alleviation, aimed at continuing its poverty alleviation drive through development of small scale industries. The cabinet in its weekly meeting approved a proposal of the industries ministry for establishing the ‘Small, Micro and Cottage

Stocks’ Refinance Scheme Application deadline extended for fifth time The supervision committee for Tk 900-crore government refinance scheme for the affected small-scale investors is going to extend the timeline to get loan applications from merchant banks and brokerage houses for the fifth time by another month. The deadline expired on Monday. The supervision committee will extend ... Read more

They also urge govt to ensure political stability, power, gas supply Businesses on Sunday urged the government to remove the industrial land crisis through a speedy completion of the special economic zones and to ensure electricity and gas supply to the manufacturing units to facilitate local and foreign investments in the country. At a meeting ... Read more

Finance minister AMA Muhith has opposed an International Monetary Fund proposal saying monitoring concessional debts was not in the jurisdiction of the multilateral lending agency. He made the observation after a meeting with visiting IMF South Asian executive director Rakesh Mohan at the secretariat on Sunday.

The government has offered special incentive for the raw jute exporters allowing them to reschedule their defaulted loans with the state-owned commercial banks at 8 per cent interest rate in next 10 years, officials said. Ministry of finance on Sunday issued a notice in this connection stating that the businessmen who exported raw jute between 2009 ... Read more

BSEC to conduct test run in April The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to conduct a test run on collecting initial public offering subscription fees through brokerage houses by the end of April this year. The BSEC expressed the intention at a meeting held at its office on Sunday with the Dhaka and Chittagong ... Read more

Country’s leading mobile phone operator Grameenphone on Sunday said that it has completed the 3G rollout in 64 districts within six months since its commercial launch. ‘This is the fastest 3G-rollout in the history of Telenor Group with our ambition to provide internet for all,’ GP chief executive officer Vivek Sood

Foreign Exchange Regulations Fin Min hesitates to implement IMF roadmap The finance ministry hesitates to the implement pledges that it told the International Monetary Fund it would do about reforming foreign exchange regulations to ensure foreign investments by Bangladeshis, high officials at the ministry and the Bangladesh Bank said. The visiting IMF team under the ... Read more