Business

Citi Foundation yesterday launched the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards programme to recognise and honour leadership, entrepreneurial skills and best practices of individual micro-entre-preneurs in Bangladesh. Being hosted for the sixth time, the goal of the awards is to promote micro-enterprises and

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has said it is to cut 1,800 jobs. It made the announcement as it reported a net profit of 529m euros ($741m; £471m) for the three months to September, after a loss of 559m euros a year ago. Nokia, the biggest handset maker in the world, said it had sold ... Read more

Asiatic 360° organised a workshop at Jamuna Resort in Tangail recently with the participation of 70 of its staff for enhancing their efficiency and capability in the world of advertising. The workshop from October 7 to 10 was held with a plan to introduce new entrants to the real world of advertising, said a press

The number of mobile subscribers in the country crossed 6.5 crore mark in September while the state-run operator Teletalk netted a few subscribers in the month after steady fall in the company’s subscriber base in the previous three months. The active mobile subscriber base in the country reached 65.14 million or 6.51 crore at the ... Read more

A customer protection law should be framed to safeguard migrant workers, as the exclusivity clause limits the reach of remittance, migration analysts said yesterday. The exclusivity clause also works against the economy in favour of big companies, they said. The comments came at a dialogue on ‘Institutional and Regulatory Reforms on

HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Ltd in collaboration with Heidelberg Technology Centre, Germany held a series of technical seminar on cement and concrete technology in Dhaka and Chittagong recently. Frank Obst, senior engineer of material technology of HTC, Germany, delivered key speech in the seminars, said a news

The Power Development Board on Monday signed agreements with a Chinese company for installation of two more peaking power plants, each having 50MW capacity. Under the agreements, Dongfang Electric International Corporation of China will install a 50MW plant at Shantahar in Naogaon

A strong nexus between trade union and political party acts as a major obstacle to reining in corruption in the state-owned banks, said a research paper published yesterday. “Trade union leaders are fabulously rich and refuse promotion to remain labour leaders. They dictate transfer, posting and promotion on monetary consideration,” said the

Five bidders have submitted their request for proposals (RFP) with Power Development Board (PDB) for two power projects that will generate a total of 675 megawatts. The two gas-fired power plants to be built under the private sector are Bibiyana phase-2 450 MW and Bhola 225 MW combined cycle power projects

Singer has introduced its high-tech personal computer brand SINGTECH in Bangladesh recently, says a statement. The computer is available in two models, such as SINGTECH Standard and SINGTECH Pro. Customers can buy the computers both in the forms of cash and instalment from Singer Plus shops across

ONE Bank opens 42nd branch at Jagannathpur ONE Bank has opened its 42nd branch at Jagannathpur of Nadda in Dhaka recently. Chairman of the bank Zahur Ullah inaugurated the branch, said a news

Dutch-Bangla Bank has launched its 1,000th ATM booth and 50th Fast Track booth in Chittagong recently. The bank launched the 1,000th ATM booth on the factory premises of the GlaxcoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd in the Fouzderhat Industrial Area of Chittagong. Chairman of the executive committee of the DBBL board Sayem Ahmed inaugurated the

An international CSR conference will be held in Dhaka later this month focussing corporate social practices of German businesses. Organised by the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the conference will be held on October 28, chamber officials told

Declining shipments of apparels had earlier kept the demand for cotton dull, but revival of export to the US and EU markets has pushed up cotton procurement by Bangladeshi spinners sharply in the past few months, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture. The report shows that Bangladeshi spinners purchased 9,14,000 tonnes ... Read more

Bangladesh will be able to take part in the decision-making process of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the country has been elected a council member of the union, telecom regulator BTRC said yesterday. At an election on Tuesday, Bangladesh got 123 votes out of 161 and acquired the sixth position, beating giants like Australia, India ... Read more

Grameen Krishi (agriculture) Foundation (GKF) has tied up with a leading Japanese agro-company, Yukiguni Maitake Company (YMC) Ltd, to produce mung beans in Bangladesh. Both the sides entered into a joint venture agreement yesterday. Prof Muhammad Yunus, chairman of GKF, the agriculture arm of Grameen Bank, and

The Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) will announce next week a uniform interest rate for microfinance institutions, officials said. “MRA will give a cap on lending rates and some slabs,” said Lila Rashid, a director of MRA. She, however, did not say what the maximum rate would

North-West Power Generation Co Ltd and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) yesterday signed an agreement to set up a peaking power plant to produce 150 megawatts of electricity. According to the agreement, the Chinese company will install the plant at Soydabad in Sirajganj at a cost of Tk 962.5

The government on Monday decided to reopen five state-owned jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation for rejuvenating the industry. The mills to be reopened include Quami Jute Mills in Sirajganj, Daulatpur and People’s jute mills in Khulna, MM Jute Mills in Chittagong and the second phase of the Rajshahi Jute Mills,

The wage board finalised yesterday the draft copy of new pay structure for garment workers without any changes. The new monthly salaries will come into effect from November 1. A minimum pay at entry level has been fixed at Tk 3,000 a month from the previous amount of Tk