Business

Availability of housing finance in Bangladesh is increasing but only for the high-income groups, World Bank said, suggesting policy reforms for ensuring access of the lower-income people to housing finance. Less than 10 per cent of the potential borrowers have access to housing finance, said World Bank in its report titled ‘Expanding Housing Finance to ... Read more

United Airways (BD) Ltd has strengthened its fleet by adding two aircraft last week to cement its foothold on domestic and international aviation market. The size of the airline’s fleet has now been raised to six from four. “The measures we’ve taken are aimed at expanding our network as well as ensuring

Facilities offered for businessmen, private firm staff The City Bank introduced American Express Corporate Cards in Bangladesh yesterday, targeting a growing number of business travellers. The Amex Corporate Card and Gold Corporate Card, the latest in American Express credit cards, which were launched in the country earlier, offer a range of payment and transaction

Yet to make cars, Bangladesh is set to enter the global automotive industry by hosting a Draxlmaier lab for designing interior facilities for top brands like BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac. World’s leading suppliers to auto industry, Dräxlmaier Group decided to set up it’s a state of the art design lab in Dhaka, the company’s first ... Read more

DSE crosses 7,400-point mark The government is planning to invest the employees’ provident fund in the local bond markets to increase the balance of the funds, officials of the finance ministry have said. They said the balance of the provident fund declined to around Tk 260 crore at the beginning of the current financial year ... Read more

Bharti Airtel has said it has selected Swedish telecom equipment-maker Ericsson and Huawei from China as vendors to deploy, expand and manage its mobile network in Bangladesh. It was announced at a press conference held in the city yesterday. High officials of Bharti Airtel and Warid Telecom were present at the

The last date for the submission of tax returns ended yesterday as the government refused to extend the deadline. About nine lakh people have submitted tax returns this year, up nearly 18.9 percent from last year, according to the officials of the National Board of Revenue

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Spanish retail giant Inditex have jointly opened a testing laboratory at the BGMEA office in Dhaka to conduct chemical and dye tests of exportable clothing items. Inditex will provide technical supports for setting up the lab, which will go into

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Ltd in Bangladesh is organising a two-day long ‘Home Loan Fair” at Sheraton Winter Garden from 8 to 9 October 2010, in association with some of the leading real estate companies of Bangladesh. A few renowned home appliances and home decor solution providers are also participating

Bay Leasing and Investment Ltd has appointed Iftekhar Ali Khan as its managing director recently, says a statement. Prior to joining Bay Leasing, he also served a Singapore based finance company as country head. Starting career with ANZ Grindlays Bank, Khan joined Standard Chartered Bank in 1994 as

Brokerage firm IDLC Securities Limited, a subsidiary of IDLC Finance Limited, recently opened its 9th branch at sector 4 of Uttara in Dhaka. IDLC Finance chairman Anwarul Huq and chief executive officer and managing director Selim RF Hussain, also chairman of IDLC Securities, inaugurated the branch, said a

Bank Asia held the 5th meeting of its Shariah council at the bank’s board room at Motijheel in Dhaka on Monday. Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman, a member of the Shariah council of the bank, presided over the meeting, said a news

Dhaka stocks rose for the 10th session, taking the key index to a new high. The DSE General Index, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, reached a peak of 7,412 points, yesterday gaining 85 points, or 1.16 percent. Stockbrokers however were worried about the rising trend, which in their view is

Textile maker Generation Next Ltd yesterday held a roadshow for institutional investors, as the company plans to go public under the book building method. BRAC EPL Investment Ltd, the issue manager of Generation Next, valued shares at Tk 50 each: Tk 10 in face vale and Tk 40 in premium

Citycell and Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) have recently signed an agreement to offer mobile-based electricity bill payment facility. Under this agreement, Citycell will collect electricity bills from DESCO customers. This unique service can be availed in two ways. Citycell customers will be able to

Dutch-Bangia Bank Ltd (DBBL) has opened its 87th Branch at Habiganj Regency Habiganj on Wednesday. Like the other DBBL branch network, this branch also provides truly On-line Banking facilities to the clients from the opening day of the branch. KS Tabrez, Deputy Managing Director of the bank formally inaugurated the

The High Court on Tuesday declared illegal the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision not to approve the bonus and rights offers of the AIMS 1st Mutual Fund. The court also asked the SEC to approve the mutual fund’s proposal for declaring rights and bonus offers for investors within 10 days after receiving application from the ... Read more

Dhaka stocks gained on Tuesday riding on shares with ‘sound fundamentals’ as the Securities and Exchange Commission clamped down further on junk and non-fundamental shares. ‘Buying pressure of shares with sound fundamentals like banking, non-banking financial and insurance issues, pulled the market on the day as the commission tightened its move on

Unilever has introduced in Bangladesh its water purifier Pureit recently, said a statement. This new product directly purifies tap water and provides safe water, which does not require to be boiled. Pureit Classic does not need continuous supply of tap water and incurs low maintenance costs. “It is made with the best quality plastic and ... Read more

Second largest IPO after Grameenphone Mobil Jamuna Bangladesh Ltd is set to make the second largest public offering, after Grameenphone, in the country’s stockmarket, as the regulator gave a green light to the public-private energy venture yesterday. The company will float four crore ordinary shares of Tk 10 each using the book building method, a ... Read more