Target business, corporate visitors New hotels and guesthouses are coming up in the country’s premier port city Chittagong to tap the rising demands for comfortable accommodation and better hospitality services for businesses including foreign buyers. A rise in industrial activities and overseas trade has recently pulled in investments for establishing hotels in Chittagong, the major business ... Read more
bangladesh
Fake handsets swarm market, weigh on top brands
Telecom regulator seizes 89,000 counterfeit phones in two days Shafiq Ahmed, a worker at a motor workshop in front of Mohakhali bus terminal, uses a smartphone of a renowned Taiwanese brand. He said he bought the new handset for Tk4,000 only. He cares less about the brand, though. People like Shafiq are aplenty. These counterfeit ... Read more
Let’s ride on two giants
Odommo Chattagram Let’s ride on two giants Prof Yunus spurs country to cash in on ever-growing China, India Bangladesh’s future depends on a world-class seaport and a technology savvy young generation who would drive the country into a new global order in less than two decades, said Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus yesterday. Bangladesh must be ... Read more
MoU with KL for building Padma bridge
Bangladesh and Malaysia have signed a MoU to build the country’s longest bridge over the river Padma at a cost of US $2.9 billion (TK 23.4 thousand crore). The Padma Multipurpose Bridge will be built as a government-to-government cooperation project. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak witnessed the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur ... Read more
Bangladesh must ready itself for Rio Earth Summit
Govt should make an outline, say analysts at CPD dialogue Bangladesh must prepare for negotiations at the upcoming Rio Earth Summit that will focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability, analysts said yesterday. The government needs to outline what it may get from the negotiation process, and should negotiate accordingly, they said. For the least developed ... Read more
3 heatwaves to follow
At least one severe heatwave will hit northern and central parts of the country, including the capital, while two medium to minor heatwaves the other areas this month, according to the weather forecast. This seems quite hard to anticipate when people are in relief from the scorching sun as the current spell of rain has ... Read more
Population 14.8cr: BIDS
After verifying the fifth census data, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) has said the country’s population primarily stands at 14.8 crore. During the verification BIDS found that 3.97 percent people had been left out in the Population and Housing Census, 2011. This means that around 57 lakh people did not come under the enumeration process ... Read more
New logistics company gets off the ground next week
A new logistics service provider — Nippon Express Bangladesh Ltd — will start operations in the country next week. The company, a joint venture initiative of a Japan-based logistic giant Nippon Express Co and a Bangladeshi company Golden Harvest logistic Ltd, will come into operation on April 17. The Bangladesh unit of Nippon aims to accomplish ... Read more
Nod to 6 more new banks
Central bank rules out political consideration The Bangladesh Bank yesterday gave the go-ahead for six new private banks, all linked with either lawmakers of ruling Awami League and Jatiya Party or influential persons. BB Deputy Governor Sitangshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury told reporters that the new banks were approved after “proper evaluation” and without any political
Training aircraft crashes
Injured pilot dies at hospital A pilot officer died and a squadron leader was injured when a Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed in Madhupur upazila of Tangail yesterday. Pilot Officer Shariful Haque succumbed to his injuries at Combined Military Hospital in Ghatail, reports our correspondent in Tangail. Squadron Leader Muhammad Mamunur Rashid is receiving treatment ... Read more
Destiny challenges central bank report
Files petition with HC; sues 4 newspapers for Tk 5,000cr compensation Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd yesterday filed a writ petition with the High Court, challenging the Bangladesh Bank report that said the company had been doing illegal banking. Md Rafiqul Amin, chairman of the cooperative and also Destiny Group, lodged the petition, seeking a ... Read more
3 NRB banks get approval
Central bank unhappy with ranking of local aspirants, sits again Sunday The central bank yesterday approved three new banks sponsored by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) on condition that they will double their earlier proposed capital. The meeting of the Bangladesh Bank Board of Directors that took the decision was adjourned till Sunday. When it resumes, proposals ... Read more
Grabbers occupy 90pc public land
Influential land grabbers occupy nearly ninety percent of the country’s khas (public) land as identified so far, said Abul Barkat, a Dhaka University professor, at a workshop in the capital yesterday. Total amount of khas land identified so far all over the country is five million acres, of which agricultural land and water bodies constitute ... Read more
Mugged businessman remains a mystery
Narsingdi ‘Shootout’ Mugged businessman remains a mystery Rab reveals his name, cell number; mobile found to be switched off; rights chief plans to probe death of six Law enforcers remain clueless about the whereabouts of the businessman who tipped off Rab about the six alleged muggers who were killed in a “shootout” with the elite ... Read more
False declaration alert at Ctg port
Customs finds alarming rise of corruption in import Customs authorities have detected an alarming number of false declarations about import consignments at Chittagong Seaport recently. Irregularities were detected in the declarations for 367 consignments in the first seven months of this fiscal year, while only 58 such consignments had been detected during the same period ... Read more
Renewable energy platform launched
The association signs up 49 members A platform for renewable energy products businesses, Bangladesh Solar and Renewable Energy Association (BSREA), was launched in Dhaka yesterday. Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the prime minister, inaugurated the association at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka. BSREA’s aim is to promote renewable energy in Bangladesh and
Questions over sister concerns
Destiny Under Scanner Questions over sister concerns NBR asks banks to turn in accounts, transaction details The controversial multilevel marketing (MLM) company Destiny hoodwinks people by adding to its group portfolio some companies that exist only on paper. For instance, among its 37 sister concerns listed on the website is Destiny Life Insurance Company. Although ... Read more
MLM: is it a scam?
Multilevel marketing or MLM has become a serious source of debate. Although MLMs are intrinsically unstable and only guaranteed by design to oversaturate the market, thousands of people are running after it. Most of the times, the only money to be made is not from the product or service but from the
Rab’s claims questioned
Narsingdi ‘Gunfight’ Rab’s claims questioned Family members of the six alleged muggers killed during a shootout with a Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) team in Narsingdi on Monday claimed yesterday that the men shot dead were not muggers. Fazila Begum, mother of victim Mosharrof, said her son was a driver by profession. He was the father ... Read more
Green abroad, polluter at home
He is a Bangladesh born Spaniard. His family members campaign to protect and conserve the environment abroad. But back in his own country, his garment factory in Gazipur pollutes the river Turag. His name is Giasuddin Murad. The Department of Environment yesterday fined him Tk 39 lakh for emptying his factory’s