Business

The imports of capital machinery and rice increased by 28.54 per cent and 148.63 per cent respectively in the first half of the current financial year 2014-15 compared with the corresponding period of the FY14. Bangladesh Bank officials and experts said there was no logical cause of increase in the capital machinery import in the first ... Read more

Food inflation again started to rise just after falling in December and stood at 6.07 per cent in January from that of 5.86 per cent in December due mainly to the ongoing blockades and hartals causing severe disruption in transportation of essential food items. Point-to-point inflation, however, continued to drop

Average monthly earning of a rickshaw puller is Tk 11,517 while a three-wheeler driver earns Tk 35,915 a month, according to a survey report of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. A battery-run easy bike consumes electricity worth Tk 2,600 a month, the report said. The BBS on Tuesday released the report titled

Four-day textile machinery expo begins today Country’s ongoing political crisis is affecting the textile industry as the buyers are refraining from placing new orders and also offering lower prices, said the textile mills owners on Tuesday. They said the prolonged political crisis has been severely hampering the production, but the cost of production remained unchanged which ... Read more

Eight Age-Old Mutual Funds ICB submits fresh time-extension plea to BSEC twisting proposal The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh has submitted a fresh proposal to the capital market regulator, seeking another 10-year extension of the tenure of the eight age-old mutual funds it manages. Officials of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission said the state-owned investment firm ... Read more

The inflow of remittance decreased by 2.05 per cent in January of this financial year compared with that in the corresponding month of FY2013-14 due mainly to the recent spate of political violence, said officials of the central bank. According to Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, the expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$ 1.23 billion in remittance ... Read more

Want restoration of uninterrupted supply chain The Buyers Forum, the platform of the representatives of global brands, retailers and buyers, on Monday expressed its deep concern over the ongoing political unrest in Bangladesh and requested the government to resolve the impasse immediately. In a meeting with the garment manufacturers at Hotel Westin in the capital the ... Read more

Bangladesh Tanners’ Association claimed on Monday the ongoing political programmes including nationwide nonstop blockade and intermittent general strikes caused a loss of over Tk 450 crore in the tannery industry in the month of January. At a press conference at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, the association made a clarion call to the prime minister, Bangladesh

Finance minister AMA Muhith on Sunday said downward revision of the targeted growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal year is a must as the ongoing blockade has crippled all kinds of economic activities. ‘It (blockade) is not only hampering the implementation status of the budget but also destabilizing all kinds of economic ... Read more

The World Bank will lend US$ 300 million soon to facilitate long-term financing for the country’s export-oriented manufacturing sector and to strengthen financial market infrastructure, sources in the finance ministry and Bangladesh Bank said. The support from the multilateral lending agency will come under ‘Bangladesh Financial Sector Support Project’. Officials concerned

Relaxes condition on engine capacity The National Board of Revenue has increased the lower limit of paid-up capital for companies to run taxicab business to Tk 2.5 crore from Tk 10 lakh and relaxed the condition related to engine capacity of taxicabs, officials said. Investors intend to enter into taxicab business will be able to import ... Read more

Monetary Policy For January-June Pvt sector credit growth target unrealistic amid unrest : UO The private sector credit growth target of 15.5 per cent set by Bangladesh Bank for the second half of the current fiscal 2014-15 is unrealistic amid the current state of severe political unrest, said Unnayan Onneshan, a local independent think-tank. In a ... Read more

Foreign investors’ transaction at the Dhaka Stock Exchange dropped by 17 per cent or Tk 103 crore in January this year compared with that of the previous month due to a lingering political uncertainty in the country, operators said. The DSE data released on Sunday showed that in January this year overseas investors’ total transaction was ... Read more

Indo-Bangla Customs Meeting Dhaka to seek removal of NTBs, infrastructure dev on border Bangladesh will seek removal of non-tariff barriers, improvement of infrastructure and connectivity and harmonisation of customs procedures at the land customs stations along the border between India and Bangladesh at the upcoming meeting of the Joint Group of Customs to facilitate bilateral ... Read more

Capital Machinery RMG factory owners to enjoy 4-yr deferred LC payment Readymade garment factory owners are going to enjoy four-year deferred letter of credit payment facility in importing capital machinery and five-year repayment facilities for foreign loans in place of existing one year. According to a recent decision of the Board of Investment and Bangladesh Bank, ... Read more

Wants speedy transportation of ICD-bound containers Inland Container Depot of Bangladesh Customs has requested the Bangladesh Railway to speed up the transportation of ICD-bound containers from Chittagong Port to reduce congestion and the cost of doing business, officials said. They said that a severe container congestion was created at Chittagong Port because of delay in transportation ... Read more

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is likely to file a case against country’s first cellular mobile phone company Citycell to realise Tk 246 crore dues, said officials. BTRC officials said the commission has already initiated a process to file case against Citycell under the Public Demand Recovery Act. ‘Last week the commission decided to issue a show-cause

DSE Weekly Review Political upheaval sends Dhaka stocks down for 3rd week Dhaka stocks declined last week, the third week in a row, with a decreased turnover as investors were shaky amid rising tension on the political front. The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, closed at 4,724.05 points on Thursday, shedding 1.54 per cent ... Read more

Checking Financial Crime AD branches of 8 state-run banks must use SWIFT network: BB Bangladesh Bank has asked the country’s eight state-run scheduled banks to ensure using SWIFT network while issuing back-to-back letters of credit in a bid to check fraudulent act and financial crime, officials of the central bank have said. The BB issued a ... Read more

The foreign participants of the month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair, the country’s largest and most vibrant showcasing event, experienced a ‘very dull’ business due to the ongoing political instability compelling them to rethink about their future plan. A number of foreign participants at the fair venue