Continuous fall in growth in agriculture and industry sectors may cause a slowdown in GDP growth in the current fiscal year, said local think-tank Unnayan Onneshan on Saturday. In its current issue of Bangladesh Economic Update on recent trends of growth in agriculture, industry and power, UO projected that GDP growth in
Business
Govt launches web site with RMG sector database today
Gsp Action Plan Govt launches web site with RMG sector database today A web site of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments will be launched today containing a database on garment sector in line with the action plan for restoration of US generalised system of preference. The government has incorporated initial information of about ... Read more
`Information gap major hurdle to Dhaka-Delhi trade’
The Indian high commissioner in Dhaka and Bangladesh officials at a seminar on Saturday said that information gap between Bangladesh and India was one of the main hurdles to facilitate the trade and investments of the two countries. The seminar on ‘Foreign Investment in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Prospects’ was jointly organised by India-Bangladesh
British newspaper bosses optimistic on print future
The future of news is not just about print versus digital as delivery mechanism, but what is the best user experience, said Jay Lauf, publisher at Quartz. Thereby, it would not be wondering sometimes print is better than digital. Quartz is the business news publication of the
State-run banks still hold huge defaulted loans
Rescheduling before Jan 5 polls fails to make situation better The country’s eight state-run banks held 61.51 per cent of the total defaulted loans in the banking sector as of December 31, 2013 despite a rescheduling spree by the banks in the last quarter of the year on political consideration. Three out of the eight state-run ... Read more
430 receive Tk 50,000 each in first phase
Rana Plaza Donor’s Fund 430 receive Tk 50,000 each in first phase Four hundred and thirty workers and families of deceased workers of New Wave Bottoms, one of the five clothing factories housed in Rana Plaza that collapsed on April 24, 2013, on Friday received Tk 50,000 each in compensation from the Donor’s Trust Fund ... Read more
Muhith eyes ambitious budget again
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Thursday said the next budget would be an ‘ambitious’ one as it would be the first of the new government. He projected the size of the next budget at around Tk 2.50 lakh crore. Talking to reporters after a pre-budget discussion with local think-tanks including state-funded BIDS and Policy Research Institute at ... Read more
UAE deep-sea port investment proposal puzzles govt
Senior bureaucrats of the government are puzzled with a unique investment proposal from the United Arab Emirates linking their participation in Sonadia deep-sea port with awarding contracts for two other infrastructure projects. A senior official of DP World, a UAE government-owned company, placed their new investment proposal at a high-level meeting at the
More curb put on Sonali, Janata loan disbursement
Bangladesh Bank has reduced credit ceiling for two state-owned commercial banks — Sonali and Janata — due to their poor financial health for this year. The central bank, however, raised the limit for Rupali Bank and kept it unchanged for Agrani Bank. The BB took the move in a bid to curb the rise in
US senator warns against torture of trade unionists
Gsp Restoration US senator warns against torture of trade unionists Tofail terms comments unwanted The chairman of the US senate committee on foreign relations Robert Menendez has warned that he would not support the reinstatement of generalized system of preferences for Bangladesh if the factory owners continue harassment and intimidation of trade union organisers and ... Read more
Foreign loan commitment drops by 24pc
Commitments of foreign loans and grants declined by 24 per cent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year because of political unrest surrounding the national election and the government’s thorny relations with the international lenders over Padma Bridge scam. The latest data of the Economic Relations Division
IPO of Far East Knitting gets BSEC nod
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved the initial public offering of Far East Knitting and Dyeing Industries to raise fund worth Tk 67.50 crore floating its 2.50-crore shares. As per the BSEC approved, the offer price of each share of the company has been set at Tk 27 including premium of Tk 17 ... Read more
BTRC to review all date-expired call tariffs of last 5yrs
The telecom regulator on Tuesday asked all telecom, internet and interconnection operators to submit their documents of expired and lifetime duration service and tariff approvals of last five years for a review in order to reduce the tariff and extend the time. According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission notice issued on the day, the
Trade gap with India swells to $2.59b in H1
Exports slump as Delhi continues to put non-tariff, para-tariff barriers The country’s trade gap with India swelled to US$ 2.59 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year and could hit US$ 5-billion in the year-end due to falling exports amid continuous non-tariff and para-tariff barriers imposed by New Delhi, officials said. Bangladesh’s exports ... Read more
NBR to cut tax on all non-RMG exports to 0.6pc
To lower rate to 0.30pc for RMG The National Board of Revenue is going to reduce tax at source on export of all but RMG products to 0.60 per cent from the existing 0.80 per cent for 15 months, officials of the NBR said. Export of the readymade garment items, however, will enjoy 0.30 per cent ... Read more
Muhith eyes 6.5pc GDP growth despite many hurdles
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Monday hoped that the country’s gross domestic product would grow at the rate of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal year despite sluggish annual development programme and falling foreign aids. He expressed his optimism on the country’s economic growth while presenting the half-yearly budget review report in parliament. The
BB asks Sonali again to settle accepted bills
Hallmark Scam BB asks Sonali again to settle accepted bills Bangladesh Bank on Monday asked again Sonali Bank to settle the accepted bills with other banks relating Hallmark scam as the state-owned bank failed to fulfil its own commitment. The BB also asked the SBL to inform the scheduled banks concerned about which payment of ... Read more
Agent needs to deposit Tk 10 lakh with bank
Agent Banking Agent needs to deposit Tk 10 lakh with bank Bangladesh Bank on Monday said that the organisations willing to operate agent banking would have to deposit minimum Tk 10 lakh with their banks concerned. The BB also said that the agents would have to conduct their operation outside the metropolitan cities, city corporations ... Read more
FDI hits record $1.73b in FY13
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh increased by 44.83 per cent to $1.73 billion, the highest in recent years, in the financial year 2012-13, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank data. The BB data showed that the country had received $1.73 billion FDI in the FY13 against $1.19 billion in the FY12. Bangladesh received $779.04 million ... Read more
Govt to consider cash incentive for furniture exports: Tofail
Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday said that the government would take an initiative to provide cash incentive for the furniture exporters to encourage the entrepreneurs in the sector. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of three-day Bangladesh Furniture and Interior Decor Expo-2014 at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city, the minister