Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
UCB Losses Tk 75cr: United Commercial Bank (UCB) PLC is on the verge of incurring losses of around Tk 75 crore as one-third of its total share market investment has been on a lone stock that has undergone price manipulation. In 2021, the bank spent Tk 105 crore to buy shares of Genex Infosys while its total share market investment was Tk 472 crore. The value of the investment has now dropped to Tk 27 crore. This means the bank is counting Tk 78 crore in unrealised losses for the investment. (The Daily Star)
2.
Budget Execution 79% in FY '24: The budget execution rate for the last fiscal year (FY) ending in June 2024 was only 79 per cent largely due to a decline in development expenditure, according to the Finance Division. The actual spending reached Tk 6.02 trillion or 79 per cent of the original budget of Tk 7.61 trillion for FY 2023-24. Development expenditures, earmarked at Tk 2.6 trillion, saw an execution rate of 72.5 per cent. On the other hand, non-development expenditures-comprising mainly operational costs such as salaries and allowances-were relatively higher, representing an execution rate of 85.3 per cent. (The Financial Express)
3.
Sea Pearl Share Scam! Sea Pearl Beach Resorts and Spa's share price skyrocketed more than threefold in just two months in 2022. Behind this unusual price rise was a network of insiders, including the five-star resort's managing director, who engaged in coordinated trades that netted them a staggering Tk300 crore, according to a Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) probe. The investigation revealed that while Tk24.44 crore in profits were realised, the bulk of the gains — over Tk282 crore — remained on paper, with the manipulators opting not to sell their shares during the review period. An unrealised gain is a theoretical profit that exists on paper, resulting from an investment that has not yet been sold for cash. (The Business Standard)
4.
Three-Year FRTBs to Be Issued Soon: The government is set to issue Three-Year Floating Rate Treasury Bonds (FRTBs) worth Tk 9.0 billion in the next three months to partly finance the budget deficit. Under the arrangement, the FRTBs of Tk 3.0 billion each will be issued on the first Tuesday of each month. The FRTB is a bond whose coupon is determined by adding spread with benchmark 91 days Bangladesh Compounded Rate (BCR). (The Financial Express)
5.
S Alam’s Tax File Shows No Foreign Income: S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam's 2022-2023 tax file is a puzzle. In that tax year, he declared personal assets worth Tk 2,532 crore, but did not show any personal bank loans from Bangladesh or his foreign income. He, however, declared Tk 2,546 crore in loans from his "relatives". A closer look at his tax file reveals that many of these extremely generous "relatives" are in fact companies owned by him and his family. (The Daily Star)
6.
Govt to Protect RMG Industry: The interim government is reportedly preparing to take a hardline approach to protect the readymade garment industry as many workers of several factories in the Ashulia area again demonstrated on Saturday, even though authorities have already decided to meet all of their demands. The government sat with labour ministry officials, workers’ leaders and readymade garment (RMG) owners’ leaders at the labour ministry on Tuesday last. After discussion, the government and RMG leaders jointly declared that the workers will join the workplace as all 18-point demand of the workers has met. (The Business Post)
----Saju Sarker
BBN/SSR/AD