Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Economy in dire straits
Serious transport disruption between Dhaka and districts for more than one month due to the opposition's blockade has emerged as a major threat to the economy, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday. The capital's getting cut off from districts is dangerous for the economy and “this is the most serious concern", he told reporters at a briefing at the secretariat. "We will have to keep the districts functional."
Conoco-Statoil JV gets 3 deepwater blocks, finally
The government has backtracked on its earlier stance and decided to offer all the three deepwater blocks to the joint venture (JV) of US oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips and Norwegian Statoil instead of two, said sources. "We shall offer all the three blocks for which the JV submitted bids and came out responsive by the Petrobangla evaluation," state-owned Petrobangla Chairman Istiaque Ahmad told the FE Saturday.
BB to preserve info on bank directors’ fraudulent activities
Bangladesh Bank will preserve the information on forgeries and corruptions by bankers and directors of the scheduled banks on long-term basis in its web portal to verify their professional integrity in time of taking any decision concerning them. The central bank has already prepared draft guidelines in this regard, a BB official told New Age on Wednesday. He said the BB would attach the information to the corporate memory management system of the central bank’s web portal.
State banks' default loans fall
Default loans in the four state-owned banks dropped 12.77 percent in 2014 from a year ago on the back of a strong recovery drive. On December 31 last year, the default loans of Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali collectively stood at Tk 16,599 crore. On an individual level too, the default loans declined in all four banks. Besides cash recovery drives, wholesale rescheduling and write-offs also helped in bringing down the bad loans in the four banks, said an official of Sonali, the largest state bank.
CNG filling stations lose Tk 100m a day
The country's CNG filling station owners are counting loss worth Tk 100 million a day in the wake of the ongoing political turmoil. This was claimed by the leaders of the Bangladesh CNG Filling Station and Conversion Workshop Owners Association on Saturday. The businesses of the sector shrank by around 80 per cent due to the current political impasse, they claimed at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity.
BB governor receives Best Central Bank Governor Award
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman received the 'Best Central Bank Governor' Award 2015 for the Asia Pacific region from Chief Editor of the Banker, a financial magazine of the Financial Times Group, Mr. Brian Caplen at the Atlee Room of the House of Lords in London on Friday. Chaired by Lord Sheikh the award giving ceremony was also attended by Baroness Uddin and Rowshanara Ali MP amongst others. Also present were senior bankers, academics, journalists and non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) entrepreneurs, according to a massage received in Dhaka on Saturday.
Apparel export to US slips in 2014
The country’s apparel export to the United States fell by 2.29 per cent to $4.83 billion in 2014 from $4.94 billion in 2013 amid increase in competitive edge of Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka. Experts and exporters said the US buyers shifted orders from Bangladeshi factories that run business on shared buildings due to compliance issue. On the other hand, Bangladesh’s competitor countries gained more space in the US market due to depreciation of their currencies against the US dollar.
BBN/SSR/AD-08Feb15-9:07 am (BST)