Bangladesh:Sunday’s morning business round up

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has withdrawn a provision that barred lawmakers elected in the last two years of parliament from getting tax waiver on car imports. Following repeated requests by the parliament secretariat, the revenue authority removed the provision on Monday, only four months before the present government’s tenure expires, said an NBR official, seeking anonymity.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has assured Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina that the long pending Land Boundary Agreement would be placed in the next session of Lok Sabha and hoped that it would be passed this time. Manmohan said the LBA would top the agenda of the next Lok Sabha session in December and ‘this time it will be passed.’ 

Readymade garment (RMG) factory owners and labour leaders Saturday pledged to work together against any kind of volatility in and conspiracy against the garment sector. At a joint press briefing in the city Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and labour leaders said they have reached a consensus on five points.

Bangladesh’s stocks went down with the turnover hitting on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) a seven-week low last week, as looming political uncertainty and the unrest in the apparel sector put a dumper on the market. Unrest in readymade garment (RMG) sector, fear of political turmoil, suspension of trading of a few stocks and lack of future market directions prompted the investors to book quick profit, market players said.

Five leading exporters were recognised on Saturday with a prestigious award for their leadership in promoting Bangladesh abroad and contributing to the sustainable economic growth of the country. Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury gave away HSBC Export Excellence Awards to the winners at Radisson Hotel in Dhaka. 

Robi Axiata Limited has simultaneously launched its 3.5G network in the capital Dhaka and port city Chittagong on Saturday, officials said. The 3.5G network was officially launched by Shahara Khatun, Minister, Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, in the presence of dignitaries from the government and diplomatic corps, at a ceremony organised at the auditorium of the Robi Corporate Office in Dhaka.  

The government would soon sign a US$ 265 million deal with a Russian firm on drawing up a design of the 1,000-megawatt (MW) Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), officials said Saturday. 

Moody's Investors Service says that political tensions and weakness in Bangladesh's (Ba3 stable) governance -- in the run-up to the country's parliamentary elections, due early next year--are a credit constraint. These views are discussed in Moody's just-released credit focus titled, "Bangladesh: Weak Governance and Political Tensions Constrain Sovereign Creditworthiness."

Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo has announced to open two more stores in the capital Dhaka as part of its plan to establish a nationwide chain across Bangladesh.

 Indian Finance minister P Chidambaram has said the right value of the rupee is 59-60 to a dollar and it should not overshoot that level. According to the real effective exchange rate of the rupee, "the right level of the rupee should be at 59-60 to American dollar and the currency should not overshoot that level," he said.

 Chidambaram was talking to reporters after meeting exporters in Mumbai on Friday. 

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Saturday erased initial gains to end nearly 167 points down at a 3-week low as banks, capital goods and consumer durable shares slipped on fears of further rate hikes after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's comment that inflation in still high. After rising 87 points in early trade, the Sensex saw continued selling and closed by 166.58 points, or 0.84%, to 19,727.27 -- the lowest level since 19,270.06 on September 6, 2013. Similarly, the broad-based NSE index Nifty fell by 49.05 points, or 0.83%, to end at 5,833.20. 

BBN/SSR/AD-29Sept13-8:45 am (BST)