Inward remittance fell below $1 billion in September — for the first time in six months. The central bank said the fall is seasonal and was mainly driven by a post-Eid slowdown. In September, the remittance inflow came down to $843 million, whereas Bangladesh recorded more than $1 billion in remittance a month since
Business
Stocks remain gloomy
Dhaka stocks declined yesterday, the indices losing 2.33 percent, following a market free fall due to investors’ low confidence. The falling trend of the market was at its worst in the last 12 days as the benchmark General Index, DGNE, the Dhaka Stock Exchange indicator, closed at 5,763 after falling 137 points. The benchmark index ... Read more
Rush to set up LPG plants
Surging demand for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the fast-expanding housing sector is forcing entrepreneurs to quickly install plants and grab a share of the growing market. About a dozen companies are in line to join the existing six, which include two state-owned firms. But some 30 companies have applied to the government, seeking permission ... Read more
Regulators put restrictions
The Securities and Exchange Commission has made changes to Securities and Exchange Commission (Public Issue) Rules, 2006 for unlisted securities, known as placement shares, restricting number of placement holders within 100 and made tax identification numbers mandatory for its holders. According to a SEC notification released on Sunday, shares allotted through private placement
Teletalk likely to get BTRC nod this week
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is likely to award a temporary permission for operating a test-run of 3G mobile phone service to state-owned Teletalk, initially for a period of six months, ending weeks of tussle with the telecommunication ministry. A formal assurance in this regard is expected to come within a week, sources in BTRC
Stocks inch down in late sell-offs
Dhaka stocks inched down on Sunday when the late sales pressure faded the early gains as investors still remained sceptical about the market condition despite several measures taken by regulators and stakeholders to stabilise the market. The benchmark general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, or DGEN, on Sunday lost
New mark set for solar home system project
The Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) has beefed up its target for installing solar home system (SHS) to 2.5 million units by 2014, company officials said. The previous target was to set up 1 million SHSs by December 2012, which the non-bank financial institute achieved by June this year. “If the current trend continues, we’ll ... Read more
Extra 7500 MW power by 2013 to help industrialisation
Minister assures business leaders Home minister Sahara Khatun has said the government is working with a plan to produce additional 7500 megawatt by 2013 to ease the industrialisation process. “Power and energy is urgently needed to flourish the industrial sector. In this context, the present government is working on producing additional 7500 MW electricity and ... Read more
New fund to prop up troubled stockmarket
The private sector has stepped in to rescue the ailing stockmarket with a ‘market stabilisation fund’ that also aims to give a new lease of life to retail investors who incurred losses. AK Azad, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), yesterday announced a concept paper on the fund after ... Read more
Stocks rise on market fund news
Stocks gained yesterday as investors used early losses as a buying opportunity following stakeholders’ move to form a market stabilisation fund. Stakeholders have decided to form a ‘market stabilisation fund’ to help recipients of margin loans and the lenders as they face difficulty while adjusting their loans when the market goes through
BB invites new banks’ applications
Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday invited applications from interested sponsors for establishing new private commercial banks in the country. The central bank, which took the decision to allow setting up of more banks apparently under political pressure, invited the sponsors to submit their applications by
SEC okays book-building method amendments
Withdraws cap on P/E ratio for IPO The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday finalised the book-building method for initial public offering withdrawing the proposed cap on price earning ratio or net asset value of any company, bowing down to pressure of a section of stakeholders. ‘After analysing the suggestions from the stakeholders and opinion ... Read more
GMG’s public offer far off
Airline launches special hajj services The initial public offering (IPO) of GMG Airlines is likely to be delayed as the airline looks to find a ‘good time’ to go public after having a revised business strategy. According to GMG, the stockmarket regulator had suspended the book-building method earlier this year, halting the carrier’s plan to ... Read more
Stocks slip back into the red
Stocks plunged 1.87 percent as a price correction pushed down market indices yesterday. The benchmark General Index, DGEN, the yardstick of Dhaka Stock Exchange, closed at 5,879, after declining 112 points. The market that started off amid buoyant spirits was on course to cross 6,000 points, a
Banglalink to pay Tk 1,980cr for licence renewal
Orascom Telecom Holding said its Bangladeshi subsidiary Banglalink will pay about Tk 1,980 crore ($26.3 crore) over the next three years as spectrum and licence renewal fees. Banglalink, the country’s second largest mobile phone operator with 21.62 million subscribers, has received the final 2G (second generation) licence renewal guidelines, Orascom said
Bandwidth use triples in 3 years
The use of internet bandwidth tripled in the last three years as international voice and data traffic has increased manifold during the period, said officials of the country’s lone bandwidth providing company. In 2008, bandwidth use was 7.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) that leapfrogged to 22 Gbps now, said the officials of state-owned Bangladesh Submarine ... Read more
Stocks back in red as spirits ebb
Stocks declined again yesterday, as the central bank’s positive step on single borrower’s exposure failed to create enthusiasm among the investors whose confidence is eroding by the day. Rather, they feared that the market might experience a long-term downtrend in the days ahead. A lack of institutional investors’ participation also led the retailers to go ... Read more
Protests mark stock trade
BB’s move on exposure limit pushes up benchmark index by 40 points Stocks rose yesterday amid a positive step by the central bank and street demonstration by a group of investors. Police detained eight protesters in Motijheel. Banks with merchant banks and brokerage houses as subsidiaries will now have until December 31 next year to ... Read more
Dhaka bourse now Asia’s worst
Dhaka Stock Exchange became the worst performer in Asia this year, ridiculing the premier bourse’s ranking last year when it was the third among the global best, according to Bloomberg News. The Dhaka bourse lost 25 percent in the last nine months this year, while its general index advanced 82.81 percent last year
Walton plans to export fridges to Europe, America
Walton Hi-Tech Industries Limited, a local Bangladeshi company, is setting up a new factory at Gazipur to manufacture and export refrigerators to the markets in Europe and North America. Officials of the company told reporters at a briefing on Monday that encouraged by the demand for Walton fridges in the home market and in neighbouring ... Read more