A report of fisheries ministry and WB finds Bangladesh’s agriculture sector is under threat from climate change, as the sea level rise may reduce availability of cropland by 24 percent in coastal divisions across growing seasons by 2045, a new report said yesterday. “With two-thirds of the country at an elevation of less than 5 ... Read more
Business
ADB maintains robust growth outlook for Bangladesh
Cuts forecasts for India, China Bangladesh is expected to grow robustly in 2019 and 2020 riding on domestic consumption and strong remittance earnings, said the Asian Development Bank yesterday as it kept the growth outlook for the country unchanged. In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook 2019 Update, the Manila-based lender, however, trimmed its ... Read more
Faster project implementation boosts access to finance: experts
Faster implementation of projects is a key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Asian Development Bank Country Director Manmohan Parkash said yesterday. “If we want higher achievements, we need higher capacity.” Financing will be simplified and access to finance will be enhanced if projects are
BTCL offers unlimited landline calls for Tk 150
Landline provider Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) has offered unlimited calls within its network for only Tk 150 per month as the struggling state-run company fights for a turnaround. BTCL has also removed the monthly fee, said a statement yesterday. The monthly fee for connections in the Dhaka, Chattogram and Khulna metropolitan city
Samsung offers new SpaceMax refrigerators
Samsung at a Dhaka hotel yesterday launched SpaceMax, a side-by-side refrigerator brand available in two and three-door options. Its new technology provides more room for food storage and consumes less electricity, the consumer electronics company said in a statement yesterday. The series features an all-around cooling system that blows cold air through multiple
Khirshapat mango gets GI recognition
The Khirshapat of Chapainawabganj, one of the most popular varieties of Mango which is popularly known as Himsagar, has got Geographical Indication (GI). Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun formally handed over the certificate to Modon Gopal Saha, director of Horticulture Research Center (HRC), at a programme at
BTRC to monitor mobile internet speed in rural areas
The telecom regulator is set to start a field-level monitoring drive Saturday in three districts to gauge the quality of data service following complaints from customers. The drive will eventually cover 45 upazilas in 15 districts. Other than checking the internet speed with equipment, the team from Bangladesh
BTRC moves to lower mobile phone call tariff
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has initiated a move to study the inter-operator charges of the voice call tariff in a bid to lower the call rate at the user level, said officials. BTRC officials said the commission has called a meeting with the chief executive officers of the mobile phone companies on Thursday to ... Read more
HSBC launches 6th export excellence awards
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Bangladesh has launched the 6th instalment of HSBC Export Excellence Awards. The programme recognises and honours exporters from Bangladesh for their contribution to the sustainable growth of Bangladesh through export. Exporters will be able to nominate themselves as the Exporter of the Year in four categories— readymade
MoneyGram stands by educational campaign
MoneyGram, a global money transfer company, yesterday donated $53,600 (around Tk 41.73 lakh) to UCEP Bangladesh to improve teaching and learning environment at 25 schools run by the non-profit organisation. The collaboration with the MoneyGram Foundation will help 18,000 poor students learn mathematics and science using modern technology and gather
Three-day smartphone, tab expo begins Aug 13
The three-day Robi Smartphone and Tab Expo will begin at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital on Thursday. Mobile operator Robi is organising the event with the aim of speeding up the digitalization in the country and to make mobile users familiar with the local and international technologies. State minister for ICT Zunaid ... Read more
TVS opens outlet in Tejgaon
A new showroom of TVS, a popular brand of two and three-wheeler vehicles, was opened on Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani in Tejgaon industrial area in Dhaka on Sunday. J Ekram Hussain, managing director of TVS Auto Bangladesh, opened the showroom, the company said in a statement. Geeteara Safiya Choudhury,
Mobile banking to get a further boost
Mobile banking will get a further boost as the central bank proposes to channel all financial payments through mobile phones under stronger tie-ups between banks, cell phone operators and other service providers. The draft Regulatory Guidelines for Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh, published on Monday, will turn every mobile phone into a digital wallet and
GP’s net profits fall as political unrest bites
Grameenphone’s net profits fell slightly in the first half of 2015, hurt by political turmoil and intense price competition. Between January and June, the country’s largest mobile operator logged in Tk 1,050 crore in net profits, down 0.94 percent year-on-year. Grameenphone’s net profits in the second quarter stood at Tk 513 core, which is a ... Read more
Intex launches smartphone in Bangladesh
Indian smartphone maker Intex Technologies launched its Aqua Power+ handset in Bangladesh recently. The smartphone is equipped with a 4,000 mAH battery, which allows 20 hours of talk time with a standby time of 500 hours, Intex said in a statement. The Aqua Power+ that has a 2 GB Ram runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop ... Read more
Tourism fair in Oct to offset past losses
A three-day international tourism fair will be held in Dhaka in October to jumpstart the sector’s peak season after the previous two ones were virtually written off due to political turmoil. The sector’s peak season starts from October and lasts until March, and in the past two years it coincided with political unrest, which put ... Read more
Transactions cross Tk 420cr
The value of the total number of daily transactions through mobile financial services (MFS) has crossed Tk 420 crore in May for the first time since the launch of the service in 2011. “After negative growth in April this good news. MFS is gaining popularity as people can send and receive money when they need ... Read more
DSE to introduce smartphone-based share trading system by June
The Dhaka Stock Exchange has planned to launch a smartphone-based share transaction system by June this year with a view to making share trading more convenient for investors, DSE officials said. The DSE management earlier had said that the bourse would launch a mobile-based trading system within April this year. The DSE on December 11 last year ... Read more
Banks to reschedule farm loans without down payment
Bangladesh Bank has asked scheduled banks to reschedule the defaulted farm loans without taking any down payment in a bid to save the farmers from the existing political unrest, said officials of the central bank. The BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks on Monday asking them to disburse ... Read more
BGB plans to enter into banking business
Moves to set up Shimanta Bank in six months Border Guard Bangladesh got the green signal from the Prime Minister’s Office to launch a commercial bank, Shimanta Bank, within six months, said officials. ‘We are advancing with all the formalities necessary to set up a bank since the prime minister gave approval in principle,’ the ... Read more