Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Revenue Collection Falls: The government's revenue collection significantly declined during the first two months, July and August, of the current fiscal year (FY25), primarily due to the country's unstable situation, according to sources from the National Board of Revenue (NBR). Sources said that, according to the finance ministry's Integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS++), the NBR collected about Tk41,000 crore in the first two months of this fiscal year, missing the target by around Tk10,000 crore. This collection is about 7% less than what was collected during the same period last year, based on finance ministry data. (The Business Standard)
2.
Beximco Seeks Loan Tenure Extension: Beximco has sought support from the government to extend the repayment period of its liabilities to Janata Bank over the next 10 years, including a two-year moratorium. On September 19, the sprawling conglomerate, led by Salman F Rahman, a close collaborator of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, wrote to the finance adviser, central bank governor, the managing director of Janata Bank and other authorities concerned on this. (The Daily Star)
3.
Apparel Workers Again on Strike: Garment workers in Ashulia and Gazipur industrial belts are out on strike again as they blocked highways on Sunday over a number of demands, including wage hike, sources said. The latest spell of commotion came with a week's let-up after their protests continued for more than two weeks in August, leading to the closure of most apparel factories. Thirty-three ready-made garment (RMG) manufacturing units in the garment hubs also suspended operations the same day, added the sources. (The Financial Express)
4.
Five Banks Secure BB Guarantee for Liquidity: Five crisis-hit banks have obtained a Bangladesh Bank (BB) guarantee to avail liquidity support from the inter-bank money market, according to central bank officials. First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank and Union Bank signed agreements with the central bank yesterday while National Bank signed on Thursday. Following the installation of an interim government in August, all five commercial lenders saw their boards of directors reconstituted. (The Daily Star)
5.
BFIU for Urgent Agreements: Financial intelligence urges signing key agreements for recovering stashes of Bangladesh's stolen assets from various countries and the finance adviser affirms interim government bid for such deals. These formal arrangements are essential for creating robust legal frameworks to support this process, says the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit. Official sources indicate that the BFIU has submitted a list of ten major destinations known for capital flight from Bangladesh to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The countries on the list include the USA, the UK, Canada, Dubai, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand and China. (The Financial Express)
6.
Bangladesh Receives $1.63b Remittance: Bangladesh has received $1.63 billion in remittances in 21 days of September. Of this, remittances through state-owned and specialised banks accounted for $550 million, while private banks received $1.08 billion, according to a report released by the Bangladesh Bank today (22 September). Remittance inflows fell to $1.33 billion in September last year after the central bank took punitive measures against banks for offering additional dollar prices. (The Business Standard)
----Saju Sarker