Business

Manpower Export Govt holds meeting with BAIRA The expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry has held a meeting with the leaders of the BAIRA and discussed ways how to ensure smooth and safe manpower export against the backdrop of a downward trend in the country’s manpower export, officials and recruiters said. They said the ministry on ... Read more

The polls-time government, formed to perform routine activities only in the run up to the upcoming national elections, on Thursday awarded licences to five new insurance companies owned by businessmen loyal to Awami League. Earlier on July 4 this year, the AL-led government had issued eleven new insurance licences on political consideration.

The country’s foreign exchange reserve crossed $18-billion mark on Thursday after Bangladesh Bank purchased fresh US dollar worth $2.28 billion in the first five months and 19 days of the current fiscal year to keep the inter-bank foreign exchange market stable. Higher export earnings against a lower import

Petroleum Product Import IMF limits foreign loan to $775m by June 2014 International Monetary Fund has asked the government to limit borrowing from foreign sources to $775 million by June 2014 for fuel oil import by the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, officials said. The condition has been tagged with further disbursement of the IMF’s $1 billion loan ... Read more

Political Unrest Losses Govt to give stimulus to RMG exporters Finance minister AMA Muhith on Thursday said readymade garment exporters will be given stimulus to recoup the losses they have incurred because of lingering political unrest. He, however, told reporters that the incentives were not finalised after a meeting with the officials of central bank, ... Read more

Dhaka stocks ended four-day losing streak on Thursday with the bourse’s general index inching up by 4.50 points amid volatile trading as investors remained skeptical about the possibility of end to the ongoing political impasse. The benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, closed flat at 4,244.63 advancing by 0.10 per cent.

Target Corp said data from about 40 million credit and debit cards might have been stolen from shoppers at its stores during the first three weeks of the holiday season, in the second-largest card breach at a US retailer, reports Reuters. The data theft, unprecedented in its ferocity, took place over a 19-day period that began ... Read more

Airtel Bangladesh Limited has launched its 3G network in considerable parts of the Sylhet metropolitan city as part of its 3G roll-out plan. Right after its network outreach in the capital city, Dhaka, and the port city, Chittagong, Airtel Bangladesh Limited has announced the availability

POLITICAL UNREST Telcos seek security from govt for infrastructure The telecom operators have sought security of countywide network infrastructure from the government to continue their operation safely amid the ongoing political violence across the country. The Association of Mobile Telephone Operators of Bangladesh in a letter on December 15 to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission expressed

Frequent strikes and blockades have struck a big blow to the export and import business through the Chittagong port as the container delivery service has tumbled amid the programmes called by the opposition political parties. Officials concerned and business leaders said ships were departing from the port, loading export cargoes below their capacity.

INCLUSION IN ADVISORY BODY BGMEA opposes EU Accord’s proposal The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has opposed the EU Accord’s proposal of inclusion of a BGMEA representative in its advisory committee and demanded that the trade body be included in the steering committee of the platform of EU retailers and buyers. Officials of EU Accord ... Read more

Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday relaxed SME loan classification and rescheduling policy as such loans disbursed by scheduled banks would be turned into defaulting condition due to the country’s existing political turmoil. To this end, the BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks saying that they (banks) should consider

Finance minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said there will be new announcement to off-load government stakes in the local and multinational companies in the share market. He said this after a meeting with the officials of Dhaka Stock Exchange at his office. The finance minister said decision of off-loading of

The branches of all scheduled banks will remain open on Friday as they are facing a problem to conduct their regular banking operation in the recent working days due to blockade programmes called by the opposition alliance. Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday asked scheduled banks to keep all their branches open on Friday. To this end,

Mohammad Shahjahan Khan, a shipping an1d real estate businessman, has recently been elected as president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the year 2014. Osama Taseer and Kh Shahidul Islam have been elected as senior vice-president and vice-president respectively. The new board of directors of

SHARE PRICE MANIPULATION BSEC fines 4 investors, 7 entities Tk 75 lakh The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday fined 11 individuals, merchant bank, stockbrokers and firms Tk 75 lakh for manipulating share prices of different companies. The BSEC made the decision at a regular commission meeting presided over by its chairman M Khairul Hossain. Abdur ... Read more

Bangladesh Bank will introduce a monitoring tool named ‘Inter-bank Transaction Matrix’ from January 2014 to supervise liquidity management of banks and non-bank financial institutions. To this end, the BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all scheduled banks and NBFIs saying that the central bank

Dhaka stocks dropped for the fourth trading session on Wednesday with a fall in turnover as the ongoing political violence across the county continued to impact on investors. DSEX, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, declined by 0.71 per cent, or 30.45 points, to close at 4,240.12 points.

Political Unrest Idle fund forces banks to rush for govt securities Scheduled banks with huge idle fund continue to submit a large number of bids in the auction of treasury bills and T-bonds with a view to invest their fund although the government do not accept any bid excluding the auction calendar, said officials of ... Read more

Indian exporters reluctant to send trucks into Bangladesh Export-import business with neighboring countries, mostly with India, through land ports and land customs stations remained almost suspended due to ongoing political unrest, particularly frequent spells of nonstop blockades and hartals, trading insiders said. Exporters, importers and clearing and forwarding