Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The BBN (Bangladesh Business News) has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Country again turns into rice importer
The government has again become dependent on imported rice for maintaining food stock against the backdrop of loss of paddy to flash floods and lacklustre collection of boro in the ongoing procurement season. Officials said the food ministry could procure only 1.9 lakh tonnes of rice as of August 7 against the target of 12.55 lakh tonnes in the current boro procurement season that expires this month.
Credit, Debit Cards: Swindling on the rise
A credit card holder of an international bank in Bangladesh got a phone call from her bank last week. She was asked if she had made two transactions that day of about $450 from Spain and New Jersey. She was dumbfounded. Not only that she was in Dhaka, the places the bank mentioned were nearly 6,000km apart. She had become one of the latest victims of identity theft in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh gold prices hike by BDT 1516 per bhori
Country’s jewellers have increased gold prices by maximum 3.22 per cent further after two weeks to adjust the prices of precious metal with the global market. The new price for per gram 22-carat gold has been fixed at BDT 4170, a slightly rise from BDT 4040 previously, the Bangladesh Jewellers Samity (BAJUS) said in a statement on Saturday.
Govt allows 5 private power plants to import fuel oil
The government has allowed five furnace oil-based private power plants with a total capacity of 473 megawatt to import fuel oil without tax. In 2011, the government opened import of fuel oil under private initiative for electricity generation when the fuel prices were very high in the international market. The private sector has been enjoying supplementary duty and VAT-free fuel import facilities for electricity generation since then.
Bangladesh’s stocks extend winning spell for third straight week
Bangladesh’s stocks extended their winning spell for the three consecutive weeks that ended on Thursday as investors continued their buying appetite on large-cap stocks amid optimism. Dealers said the market kept the gaining momentum as investors’ enthusiasm sustained on bank issues following their healthy quarterly earnings declaration.
Consumer credit jumps 31pc
The banking sector posted a significant jump in consumer lending last year riding on growing purchasing power of the middle class. Consumer credit rose 31.29 percent year-on-year to Tk 29,500 crore in 2016 from Tk 22,460 crore a year ago, according to Bangladesh Bank data. The segment accounted for 4.37 percent of the total outstanding loan in the economy.
NBR finds hardly any impact of duty cut on rice price
The National Board of Revenue finds almost no impact of duty cut on rice import on the prices of the staple in the domestic market, officials said. They said that the prices of the item decreased only by Tk 2 a kilogram on average in last one and a half months though the revenue board lowered the import duty by 18 per cent.
Top 10 goods make up 60% of total imports
More than 60 million tons of goods from 4,500 categories, worth Tk2,32,000 crore, were imported through Chittagong port in the Fiscal Year 2016-17. Goods from 10 categories totalling 35,400,000 tons constituted 60% of total imports, standing at Tk46,000.70 crore. The government earned revenues of Tk7000.34 crore from the top 10 items. The top 10 imported items included various raw materials for cement, wheat, high speed diesel (HSD), crushed stone, scrapped vessels, furnace oil, scrap iron and petroleum oil.
BBN/SSR/AD