Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Uncertainties loom over economy, says MCCI
Country's premier trade-promotion-organisation MCCI aired fears Saturday about serious decline in export earnings, remittances, foreign aid and investment, and fiscal revenues unless the prolonged political unrest is addressed in right earnest. Based on its calculations on these fundamentals of the national economy amid a nonstop blockade and periodic hartals, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry forecast that the government might revise downward its economic growth estimations. The government has set growth target at 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal year (2014-15).
BB to create $500m green fund for textile
The central bank will set aside $500 million of low-cost funds for textile factories to help them adopt eco-friendly technologies and practices, Governor Atiur Rahman said yesterday. The money will come in addition to the existing export development fund (EDF) of $1.5 billion and will be named Green EDF, he told a discussion at the office of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh in Dhaka. PRI organised the discussion on "access to finance: environmental sustainability in the textile sector" in association with the International Finance Corporation. Rahman came up with the decision instantly after a number of bankers and economists stressed the need for such a fund for the textile sector.
Growers demand more duty on tea import to end ‘uneven competition’
The country’s tea growers have demanded duty increase on import of tea by more than 25 percentage points to protect the local producers from ‘uneven competition’ with the imported one. The Bangladesh Tea Association earlier this month placed its demand to the finance and commerce ministries and the National Board of Revenue seeking an increase of total duty on tea import to 110 per cent from the existing 84 per cent. The duty level should be kept consistent with that of neighbouring tea producing countries like India and Sri Lanka to discourage import, it said. In India, the rate of duty on import of tea is 110 per cent while that is 130 per cent in Sri Lanka.
HSBC Bangladesh not aware of illicit fund transfer
The HSBC Bangladesh does not have any information on illicit fund transfer to one of its Swiss branches, as reported in national and international media recently. Senior officials of the HSBC Bangladesh disclosed this at a meeting with senior officials of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) held at the central bank headquarters in the capital Dhaka on Thursday with BB Executive Director M Mahfuzur Rahman in the chair. “The HSBC officials informed us that they do not have any information in this connection,” Mr Rahman told BBN in Dhaka, adding that the central bank will investigate the issue.
Turmoil eats into car sales and loans
Car loan disbursements took a major hit last month as vandalism warded off prospective buyers from making their custom. Around 4,000 vehicles were vandalised and another 1,000 burnt since the BNP-led alliance embarked on its non-stop countrywide demonstrations on January 6, according to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The interest from customers for car loans is very low, said Mosleh Saad Mahmud, head of products and collections at Brac Bank, whose car loan disbursement slumped 50 percent in January from the previous month.
BB governor for e-currency to fit in digital Bangladesh
The central bank mulls over introducing electronic money-better known as e-currency-on a pilot basis in the process of digitization of Bangladesh. Saying adieu to paper currency and metal coin is a brainchild of the Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), as the world is on a transition into IT-based knowledge economy."This is my dream. We're thinking about introducing e-currency in Bangladesh in the near future on a pilot basis," said Dr Atiur Rahman said in an exclusive interview with the FE recently.
BBN/SSR/AD-15Feb15-10:54 am (BST)