Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Stock Manipulation: Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat, chairman of RACE Asset Management, has manipulated the stock prices of many companies for financial gain and caused losses of crores of taka to general shareholders, found a primary investigation of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). An investigation has already started and a case will be filed under the money laundering act soon, said Kusum Dewan, deputy inspector general (organised crime) of the CID. (The Daily Star)
2.
ADP Implementation 1.0%: In the first month (July) of fiscal year 2024-25, the government's ministries and departments spent Tk2,922 crore from Annual Development Programme (ADP) allocation. The spent amount is only 1.05% of the total allocation for the fiscal year, according to the latest report of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Department (IMED). (The Business Standard)
3.
Orion Solar Project Loan Blocked: Everything was set to approve a loan worth Tk 15.52 billion for Orion solar-power project bypassing certain conditions, including the single-borrower exposure limit. But following the change of government through student-people uprising the Financial Institution Division of the Ministry of Finance refused to give the approval at the last moment, thereby saved the country's banking from witnessing yet another loan scam. The lending institution, the state-owned Rupali Bank, and the sector regulator, the Bangladesh Bank, together tried to bend the relevant rules and sought to apply a special provision of the Bank Company Act to make available a substantial volume of loan to the Orion Renewables. (The Financial Express)
4.
Workers unrest: Production Shuts at Industrial Units: Amid workers' demonstrations for better pay, regularisation, and two-day weekend, production at some 10 garment and 20 pharmaceutical factories stopped on the outskirts of the capital on Saturday and yesterday. The demonstrations took place in Savar, Ashulia, Dhamrai and Gazipur. (The Daily Star)
5.
Soft Loan for RMG Owners: Bangladesh Bank has decided to provide a soft loan to readymade garment (RMG) factory owners to help them pay workers' salaries for August, due to the ongoing unstable situation. This decision was made during a meeting between the central bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur and leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Sunday. A notification was issued in this regard after the meeting. (The Business Post)
6.
Stock Scams Probing: The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has formed a probe committee to investigate past irregularities, manipulation, and corruption in the capital market including issues related to Beximco Sukuk and Sreepur Township bonds linked to Salman F Rahman. The committee will also examine the selection of ABG Limited, a concern of Bashundhara Group, as a strategic investor in the Chittagong Stock Exchange, its acquisition and pricing of stock exchange shares, as well as Best Holdings Ltd's Tk450 crore raise through the book building method and its IPO issues. (The Business Standard)
--Saju Sarker
BBN/SSR/AD