Sajjadur Rahman Bankers fear random import of low-cost yarn from neighbouring India will cost them heavily by making their clients defaulted. Banks have also tightened their grip on new lending to this sector to see the bad time of the industry, which had a consistent growth for the past one decade, bankers said. “Payment from ... Read more
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Economists, exporters differ on possible taka devaluation
Kazi Azizul Islam and Asif Showkat Economists and commodity importers on Wednesday suggested that the government should be careful before framing any policy to allow depreciation of taka, as it may fuel inflation and erode the customs revenue. If the government wants to encourage exporters and wage-earners abroad, they could be offered some other interim ... Read more
VAT, Income Tax, Customs laws in simple language in offing
UNB, Dhaka The government has taken initiative to simplify the textual language of Income Tax, VAT and Customs rules and regulations for easy understanding of the stakeholders, as many shy away from paying taxes for legal encumbrance. “The language and attitude of the rules and regulations concerning Income Tax, Customs and VAT will be changed ... Read more
Leaders of the MCCI yesterday
Star Business Report Leaders of the MCCI yesterday urged Industries Minister Dilip Barua to modernise the BSTI so that its certification is accepted worldwide for smooth running of international trade and commerce. At present, many countries especially India does not accept the certification of the state-owned Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI). As a result, ... Read more
Low-profile shares dominate stock markets
Staff Correspondent The volatility in share prices of low-profile companies continued on Wednesday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange as retailers chased shares of ‘Z’ category companies to make some quick cash, market operators said. Dhaka stocks, however, finished downbeat on Wednesday for the third consecutive day in volatile trading. The DSE general index lost 1.46 ... Read more
Top textile, RMG machinery expo begins Feb 8
Staff Correspondent The 6th Dhaka International Textile and Garments Machinery Exhibition is set to start on February 8 with suppliers from 30 countries participating in this top textile technology event in Asia. Some 600 suppliers or their local representatives will showcase their products at around 800 booths at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, organised by ... Read more
RAK Airways shuts operation
Sohel Parvez UAE-based carrier RAK Airways has shut down its operation in Bangladesh as global financial meltdown is causing a drop in demand for air travel, officials said yesterday. The closure of operation has forced about around 15 employees of the Dhaka office of the airline out of job. However, the carrier’s General Sales Agent ... Read more
ACC to be recast, Hasina tells JS
She censures the commission for playing into hands of interim govt Staff Correspondent The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Wednesday said her government would reconstitute the Anti-Corruption Commission to eliminate the vices from the society. ‘The commission will be reconstituted so that it can operate effectively and with transparency and accountability,’ she said responding to ... Read more
Sheraton’s star at risk
Govt refuses to renovate the oldest 5-star hotel; ranking may go down Sayeda Akter Reluctant to renovate the country’s first five-star hotel, Bangladesh Services Ltd (BSL) is pushing Dhaka Sheraton into a franchise arrangement away from the existing management contract system, which is likely to downgrade the
EC okays results of 435 upazilas polls, halts 40
Staff Correspondent The Election Commission approved the result of 435 upazilas elections for gazette notifications and kept pending the results of 40 upazilas out of the 475 upazilas where polling were held on January 22 amid irregularities. Among the 435 upazilas, the results of 427 upazilas in 62 districts have already been sent to the ... Read more
MPs won’t give up on duty-free cars
Ordinance banning the privilege would not be made law Shakhawat Liton Lawmakers of the ninth parliament might get back the controversial privilege of importing duty-free cars as the ordinance promulgated by the immediate past caretaker government scrapping the opportunity is unlikely to be ratified. The ordinance was not among the 44 short listed ones that ... Read more
BNP wants speaker to intervene
SSF PROTECTION FOR KHALEDA BNP wants speaker to intervene Staff correspondent Lawmakers of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday urged Jatiya Sangsad speaker Abdul Hamid to use his good offices to restore protection of Special Security Force for the leader of the opposition, Khaleda Zia. ‘We have requested the speaker to use his ... Read more
Illegal VoIP trade back
Captures 40pc of int’l call Staff Correspondent The illegal business of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) based call termination made a rather robust comeback since the assumption of state power by the newly elected Awami League-led alliance government. The reinvigoration of the illegal telecom business based on the illegal technology has been eroding the market ... Read more
Free drugs from public hospital stores available on market
Alpha Arzu A section of employees of the drug stores of public hospitals are selling medicines in the market, thus depriving the poor patients of free medicines provided by the government for their treatment. In January the Drug Administration in association with law enforcing agencies conducted a drive in various drug markets in the city ... Read more
Let world know what Bangladesh needs
Danish minister tells The Daily Star to get a truly global deal to fight climate change Pinaki Roy Visiting Danish Minister for Climate and Energy Connie Hedegaard yesterday said climate change is not a “distant future” and Bangladesh should speak up clearly and loudly to get a truly global deal in Copenhagen in December this ... Read more
Something stinky in Wasa water supply
Excessive use of chemicals, river pollution blamed Helemul Alam For the past one week, residents in different parts of the capital are struggling to deal with a rather unpleasant whiff in the water supply. The areas affected by the stinky water supplied by Wasa include Kamalapur, Gopibagh, Mugdapara, Maniknagar, Jatrabari, Khilgaon, Chowdhuripara, Basabo, Nayatola, Shantinagar, ... Read more
ACC Chief’s call to join ongoing anti-corruption drive
UNB, Rangpur Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury has called upon all to join the ongoing anti-corruption drive for turning it into a social movement. “People who think the movement does not have its appeal like previous are wrong and the drive will not be halted for them,” he said while ... Read more
BNP, allies continue to abstain from JS session
Staff correspondent The lawmakers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led opposition on Wednesday continued abstaining from the parliamentary sessions. ‘We have kept the decision whether to return to the house pending till 4:00pm on February 9,’ senior opposition lawmaker and BNP’s vice-chairman, MK Anwar, told reporters after a meeting with the speaker, Abdul Hamid, on Wednesday ... Read more
100 heritage sites listed
Gazette notification soon Tawfique Ali The government is all set to publish a gazette notification within next week to urgently conserve around one hundred buildings and sites that are parts of the country’s national heritage in the capital. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), to this effect, sent the gazette notification on Tuesday to the government press ... Read more
Transit not political but economic issue: Mahmud
UNB, Dhaka Apparently in a subtle deviation from the country’s past foreign policy on the sensitive issue of giving transit to India, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Hasan Mahmud Wednesday said transit is not a political but an economic issue that should be considered from the perspective of mutual benefit. “Some quarters want to ... Read more