Airtel yesterday launched Bangladesh’s first USSD-based access to Facebook, the mobile operator said in a statement yesterday. USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a menu-based system that enables interfacing with content-based services. Instead of a browser, which requires an internet/GPRS connection), the
Business
Time to go vertical as land shrinks
High-rise Construction Time to go vertical as land shrinks Construction of high-rise buildings is on the rise in Bangladesh as developers are eyeing vertical expansion to offset the decline of land in urban areas. Soaring urban land prices, technological advancement and population growth are some of the reasons behind the growing preference for tall buildings ... Read more
H&M chief to visit Bangladesh
Karl-Johan Persson, chief executive officer of the Swedish retail chain H&M, is due in Bangladesh tomorrow to attend important meetings with the readymade garment manufacturers and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Three officials from H&M, including the chief financial officer and chief of global marketing, will accompany Persson for the two-day visit, said Siddiqur Rahman, vice-president of ... Read more
Low quality urea being supplied to farmers in N-region
Dissatisfaction has been prevailing among hundreds of fertiliser dealers and farmers of 16 districts in northern region, as huge quantity of sub-standard fertiliser is being supplied to them from the buffer godown at Baghabari river port in Shahzadpur upazila of Sirajganj district in the peak season of Aman cultivation. They are apprehending that, the production ... Read more
Three mobile cos deposit Tk 2,372cr in fees, VAT
Licence renewal fee installment Three mobile cos deposit Tk 2,372cr in fees, VAT Mobile companies Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink on Thursday gave a total sum of Tk 2,372 crore to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission as the second instalment of licence renewal fee, spectrum charge and VAT. However Citycell submitted an application to the BTRC ... Read more
New horizon opens for drug makers
$50m research institute to accelerate pharma exports A new international clinical research institute will be set up in Bangladesh within a year, paving the way for further research in medical science and increased exports of pharmaceuticals. Bangladesh Clinical Research Organisation (BCRG) will help develop innovative life-saving drugs and give globally-accepted certification to exportable
Dhaka stocks surge on WB loan hope
Dhaka stocks surged on Wednesday after a two-day fall amid optimism that complexities over the World Bank’s $1.2 billion loan for the Padma bridge project would end soon. DGEN, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 3.76 per cent, or 161.56 points, to close the day at 4,453.43 points
ONE Bank to introduce e-banking
ONE Bank on Wednesday said it will introduce the e-Banking in three phases within November this year. Farman R Chowdhury, managing director of the ONE Bank, said three kinds of new products of his bank under the e-Banking would extend the banking services to the clients. As part of the move, the bank will firstly ... Read more
StanChart Bangladesh wins FinanceAsia award
Standard Chartered Bank has recently been named the “Best Foreign Commercial Bank in Bangladesh 2012” by FianaceAsia, a financial publication in the region. The bank received the award as part of FinanceAsia 2012 Country Awards for Achievement, the bank said in a statement yesterday. The award was handed over to Abrar A Anwar, managing director ... Read more
Oil production in Kailashtila gas-field from next August
Petrobangla, the state-run oil, gas and mineral resources corporation, has decided to start commercial oil production in Kailashtila gas-field from August next year, said Mohammad Enamul Haque, state minister for power and energy, on Tuesday. ‘We hope we’ll be able to start drilling a well in the gas-field in January next year and
Electronics sales go sluggish
Sales of electronic appliances could not meet expectations of the companies this Ramadan, one of the peak seasons. Leading brands have failed to achieve their sales targets due to a drop in people’s disposable incomes amid higher inflationary pressures. The companies also blamed a sluggish stockmarket and a long Eid vacation for the poor
Low jute price hits farmers again
Farmers in several districts in the country are frustrated by the low price of jute for the past two years as they are not being able to recover even the cost of production by selling the product. The price of one mound of jute is ranging between Tk 600 and Tk 1,500, depending on the ... Read more
5 mobile cos may get more time
Mandatory launching of 10-second pulse 5 mobile cos may get more time Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is likely to give five mobile companies more time to introduce a minimum 10-second pulse on each call, commission officials said Monday. Out of six mobile companies in the country only state-run Teletalk introduced the 10-second pulse within the ... Read more
Dhaka stocks surge after Eid vacation
DSE turnover hits 4-month high Dhaka stocks surged on Sunday with the turnover hitting a four-month high as both retail and institutional investors went on a buying spree hoping that the market would remain stable for a while. DGEN, the benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, gained 2.98 per cent, or 127.09 points, to ... Read more
Bangladesh finally gets undersea cable back-up
Bangladesh has finally got the much-needed back-up for the lone undersea cable by way of terrestrial connectivity, with commercial operation due in September. An international terrestrial cable (ITC) company, 1Asia Communication (BD) Ltd, was physically connected with Indian terrestrial cable company TATA Communications through Benapole in
Real estate business yet to see the real boom
The demand for flats in and around Dhaka city will stand at around 1 lakh in the next 10 years as the government is yet to ‘play its proper role’ in meeting the growing housing needs, according to a recent study. The 40-50 age group people are more interested to buy flats within the next ... Read more
Novo Air to spread wings in November
The local carrier plans to launch domestic flights on three routes A new airline — Novo Air — will spread its wings by end-November on the domestic routes with promises of better services and competitive fares. Initially, the carrier will operate passenger flights from Dhaka to Sylhet, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. The airline will later ... Read more
Fresh funds pour into shoemaking
Significant export prospects bring a growing number of local and foreign entrepreneurs into the shoe and leather goods industry. In the past several years, more than a dozen of local firms have signed up for making footwear and leather goods. The investors put the money in the
Mutual funds perform poorly
10 declare no dividend for investors The performance of mutual funds in the just concluded fiscal year witnessed significant fall as majority of those failed to declare dividend or announced lower dividends than last year. A mutual fund is a type of professionally-managed scheme that pools money from many investors and is supposed to invest ... Read more
Income tax revenue exceeds NBR target in July
The National Board of Revenue exceeded its revenue collection target from income tax in the first month of the current fiscal year by Tk 86 crore with a 32.48 per cent growth, NBR officials said on Tuesday. In July, the revenue board collected Tk 1,434 crore in income tax, which is Tk 352 crore higher ... Read more