Business

The soaring price of yarn in the last six months has hit very hard the handloom owners and artisans already suffering from tough competition from power looms, forcing even more handloom units to close down all around the country. According to local businessmen in Narsingdi, in the last two years 15,000 of the 20,000

Woven, cut-and-sew apparel makers also hit hard Yarn price has increased further over the past one week, putting the small- and medium-size knitting units, which mostly cater to buyers searching for low-cost products, in a more difficult situation, industry insiders said. At the end of the past week a kilogram of widely used 30-count yarn ... Read more

The Bangladesh Handloom Board has taken a Tk 35.55-crore project for establishing a fashion design and training institute and a basic centre for the development of handloom fabrics in the country. BHB chairman Mostafa Kamal Haider told the news agency that the government had taken the plan to increase skill and productivity of handloom weavers ... Read more

The Bangladesh Solar Energy Limited launched its solar-powered products in Barisal with a programme at the Celebration Point Auditorium in the city on Friday. The BSEL chief executive officer, Rokonuzzaman Khan, managing director Enamul Huq, directors Nayon Murad and Zakirul Islam, and senior trainer MA Ahsan Kibria presented Power Point

The government is going to amend the trade organisations act making it mandatory for businesses involved in foreign trade and all local trading companies and industries to be affiliated with a registered trade body, representing their respective sectors. Commerce minister Faruk Khan on Wednesday said that a draft on the proposed amendment

The World Bank (WB) has projected that the economy may grow by 6.1-6.3 percent this fiscal year, driven by recovery in investment and exports. The projection came in the WB quarterly report on ‘Bangladesh State of Economy’ released from its country office yesterday. It identified some risks that may affect growth

BRAC Bank has launched a project to research the socioeconomic impact of SME finance on people, planet and profit, in association with the Centre for Corporate Governance and Finance Studies (CCGFS) of Dhaka University. The research will follow the ‘five action track’ goals of

AIMS allowed to issue bonus and right shares Dhaka stocks on Wednesday lost only 8.67 points as a quiet price correction on the bourse continued for the straight third day, market operators said. The benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange shed 0.10 per cent to close at 7,931.61 points on the day. The index ... Read more

The government should provide assets to the poor so they can fight well against poverty, using those resources, said the chief of a parliamentary standing committee yesterday. The beneficiaries of various safety net programmes spend all they receive, and cannot come out of poverty, said Israfil Alam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on

Bangladesh’s largest private airline GMG Airlines has added Riyadh to its list of destinations by launching direct flights from Dhaka. The inaugural flight landed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday. Bangladesh Ambassador to Saudi Arabia M Fazlul Karim and high officials of

Fariduddin Khan Siddiqui has recently joined Global Insurance Ltd as its managing director. Prior to joining the Global Insurance he was the managing director of Phoenix Insurance Company. Siddiqui obtained his Masters Degree in economics from the University of Chittagong and MBA and LLB degrees from USIC & Southern University Chittagong respectively, said

Reazul Chowdhury has joined Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh Limited as the managing director on Monday. Prior to joining here he was the managing director of Reckitt Benckiser Sri Lanka where he joined in 2008, said a news release. Reazul started his career at British American Tobacco and worked there for 10 years in different

Sri Lanka’s state-owned budget carrier Mihin Lanka Airlines is likely to launch direct flights between Dhaka and Colombo from December 2, said a statement yesterday. “We are very happy to be able to start direct services to the capital of Bangladesh. Mihin Lanka flights will connect three Saarc capitals — Dhaka, Colombo and Male,” said

Computer fair comes to an end The country’s biggest IT showcase — BCS ICT World 2010 — ended in Dhaka yesterday, with the local market witnessing a shift towards mid-range personal computers. Better configuration, rather than the price range, became the determining factor in laptop sales during this year’s gala event. Top vendors hailed this ... Read more

The second Global Social Business Summit, a two-day conference designed for the academics, businessmen, technology leaders and young people practicing and promoting social business, starts tomorrow in Germany. The November4-5 summit will dwell on social business experiences, its structure and

The world-class BMW 5 series motor vehicles have hit Bangladeshi market with an aim to tap the growing demand for luxury cars here. The acclaimed automobile, a trademark product of German automaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, has been touted for its sporting and elegant looks as well as aesthetic designs and

A five-day housing fair of the Real Estate and Housing Association will begin tomorrow at the International Trade Fair venue at the city’s Agargaon. The ninth version of the annual fair of the association titled REHAB Vision Fair 2010 will house a total of 36 stalls of different housing and real estate companies, said association ... Read more

MetLife has completed its acquisition of American Life Insurance Company (Alico) for $16.2 billion and will be known as MetLife Alico in Bangladesh. “We are now well positioned to deliver better services to our customers in the region, including Bangladesh,” Michel Khalaf, chief executive officer of MetLife Alico for Middle East,

The premier bourse has formally apologised to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for launching a different index calculation method without disclosing its details. The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) sent a letter to the stockmarket regulator on Sunday, as the SEC earlier sought explanation from the bourse following a report on the

Says leading South Korean businessman Bangladesh’s government, business community and civil society should brace themselves for competition in bringing in more foreign direct investment to the country, said a top South Korean businessman yesterday. “Competition is everywhere, even in attracting FDIs,” said Kihak Sung, chairman of Korea-Bangladesh Economic Cooperation Committee