Business

The prices of meat and fish soared in the capital’s kitchen markets over the week ending Friday as Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals for Muslims, is approaching and the demands for the items increased. The prices of vegetables, however, remained stable in the markets over the week. Traders said the prices of all ... Read more

The Microcredit Regulatory Authority has primarily selected 705 new microfinance institutions for giving licence to run microfinance business in the country, MRA sources said. ‘More than 1,200 new institutions submitted applications for licence. But, we have primarily selected 705 institutions to provide them with conditional licences,’

Bangladeshi exports to India witnessed a healthy rise from $498.4 million in 2011-12 fiscal to $563.9 million in 2012-13. According to the latest figures released by the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau, this marks an increase of 13.15 per cent over the previous year, and is the highest ever level of exports from Bangladesh to India. ... Read more

The number of loss-making branches of Agrani Bank increased by 70 per cent in three months to 58 as on March 31, 2013 from 34 as on December 31, 2012 as the defaulted loans in the bank soared in the period, said officials of Bangladesh Bank. The number of loss-making branches of the bank was

The National Board of Revenue has issued a comprehensive strategic plan and around 50 directives to its field offices to achieve its revenue collection target for the current fiscal year, NBR officials said. The revenue board on Tuesday issued the plan focusing on prevention of evasion of income tax, import duties and value-added tax by ... Read more

The government has cut the income tax rate for farming of mushroom, honeybee, sericulture and floriculture for next two years from the existing five per cent to three per cent. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) took the decision to reduce the taxes in a bid to boost production and promote the sectors. The NBR ... Read more

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve marked a slight rise to above $15 billion mark as it totalled $15,494.76 million as of July 30, up from $15,315.23 million on June 30. The forex reserve also sees a big rise of $4,993.27 million from the $10,501.49 million registered on July 30 last year, according to data released by ... Read more

Construction of the 128-kilometre rail extension between Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar under a Tk 1,852-crore project is yet to begin after receiving the government’s approval for it three years before, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division sources said. The sources said the project was approved in July 2010 to

UNAPPROVED FLAT TARIFF PROMOTION Banglalink keeps violating BTRC order to refund money Mobile phone operator Banglalink has kept delaying the refund of Tk 9 crore the operator collected by charging the subscribers of an unapproved promotional package in 2011 extra money. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission asked Banglalink to refund Tk 92.33 crore on the same ... Read more

Despite a cold rapport with the present government, the World Bank has disbursed an impressive amount of loans in Bangladesh in the last fiscal year 2012-13, a senior official of the government said. ‘Due to the hitch over the Padma Bridge project, some people thought that the World Bank may reduce its assistance in Bangladesh, ... Read more

Dhaka stocks declined for the third session on Thursday as investors continued to be in cautious over the possible political unrest after the Eid-ul-Fitr. The key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, declined to 3,911.75 points, shedding 0.73 per cent or 29.05 points. The DSEX have now lost 63.37 points

Grameenphone shareholders approved the 51 per cent share transfer of GPIT to Accenture Holdings BV at an Extra-ordinary General Meeting chaired by M Shahjahan, member of the board, on Thursday. The meeting was conducted by Hossain Sadat, company secretary of Grameenphone. At the meeting, the shareholders approved the transfer

Loan recovery far away from target Major financial indicators of the state-owned Rupali Bank declined in the first quarter of this year as it failed to recover the defaulted loan against the BB target and number of its loss-making branches also increased. The BB earlier asked Rupali Bank to recover defaulted loan of at least ... Read more

Welfare of RMG Workers Govt wants written action plan of EU Accord The government on Wednesday asked the visiting delegation of European Union Accord to submit their plan of action in writing for welfare of workers in the export-oriented readymade garment sector. ‘We have asked for a written work plan from the European Union Accord ... Read more

Bows down to mobile cos’ pressure in desperate bid to hold 3G auction before its tenure ends The government, bowing down to the pressure from the mobile operators, decided to slash again the VAT on the proposed 3G licence fees and revenue sharing in a desperate effort to hold the auction for the liecences before ... Read more

The telecom regulator on Wednesday changed the 3G auction schedule for the third time by setting the auction date on September 8 following pressures from the mobile phone operators. The 3G auction was scheduled for September 2 after being delayed twice — first from June 24 and later from July 31 — as some issues ... Read more

The old key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, DGEN, which was there for 12 years, will not be shown at the bourse’s web site from today as many investors found it confusing and providing misleading information. The DSE board took the decision on July 22 following a verbal direction from the Bangladesh Securities and ... Read more

Uninterrupted Onion Import Banks at land ports asked to keep open on Friday, Saturday Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday asked the scheduled banks to keep open their authorised dealer branches on Friday and Saturday before the vacation of Eid-ul-Fitr at the country’s land ports along the Indian boarder in a bid to uninterrupted import of onions ... Read more

The state-owned House Building Finance Corporation has again requested the finance ministry for allowing it to operate as a specialised bank after the Bangladesh Bank rejected the proposal once. The finance ministry earlier sought BB’s opinion on the matter, but the BB turned down the request, saying HBFC can get license as a financial institution ... Read more

Dhaka stocks declined on Wednesday as the big investors were inactive on the trading floor, opting to observe the political situation before making their next move. The benchmark general index of the bourse, DSEX, lost 0.41 per cent, or 16.39 points, to close at 3,940.80 points on the day. The DSEX have now lost 34.32 points