Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Wealth Inequality Way Worse Than Income Disparity: Bangladesh ranks among the countries with the highest income disparities globally, but there is another problem way worse than that: wealth inequality, which means a minuscule portion of the population owns a disproportionate amount of wealth compared to the majority. The Gini coefficient, a way of measuring inequality in a population, increased from 0.48 in 2016 to 0.50 in 2022 for income inequality, according to the white paper. Meanwhile, wealth inequality rose from 0.82 to 0.84 over the same period, said the "White Paper on the State of the Bangladesh Economy". (The Daily Star)
2.
Govt May Cut GDP Growth Projection to 5.25% This Fiscal Year: The interim government of Bangladesh will likely revise the country's projection of gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5.25 percent from 6.75 percent for the current fiscal year of 2024-25. This issue was discussed at a fiscal coordination council meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed at Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday. It was the first time that the interim government sat for discussions on GDP growth, inflation and estimating a revised budget for the ongoing fiscal year. According to officials at the meeting, the government may also revise the inflation target for fiscal 2024-25 to 9 percent from the 6.5 percent targeted in the proposed budget for the year. (The Daily Star)
3.
Bashundhara Group's Property Comes Under Attachment Order: A Dhaka court has ordered attachment of all movable and immovable assets belonging to the Bashundhara Group Chairman and the Managing Director and their family members on charges of money laundering, officials said. Md Jakir Hossain, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge, passed the order on November 25 following a petition filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). An ACC Deputy Director, Md. Nazmul Hossain, who is overseeing the inquiry into allegations involving the big business conglomerate, filed the petition for freezing of property belonging to Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir, and other family members on the charges. The court also ordered the attachment and freezing of all movable and immovable properties belonging to Afroza Begum, wife of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Safiyat Sobhan, son of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Safwan Sobhan, son of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, Sabrina Sobhan, wife of Sayem Sobhan Anvir, Sonia Ferdowsi, wife of Sadat Sobhan, and Yasha Sobhan, wife of Safwan Sobhan. (The Financial Express)
4.
34 Firms Submit EOIs: Thirty-four global firms have submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) to supply spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Bangladesh as the interim government has started shortlisting spot LNG suppliers afresh. A senior official of state-run Petrobangla told The Financial Express Monday that eleven of the firms had been selling LNG in the spot market since September 2020, and the remaining 23 were new. The firms from the US, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Turkey, Oman, Malaysia, Nigeria, and their consortia submitted bids to sell lean LNG to Bangladesh at the close of the bid submission deadline on December 1. Of the companies that submitted bids, 13 are from Singapore, five from Switzerland, three from the US, two from Turkey, two from the UAE, and one each from Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Oman, Malaysia, and Nigeria. (The Financial Express)
5.
IMF Review Mission Due in Dhaka Today: The third review mission of International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka today (3 December) to assess the progress in meeting the conditions for releasing the fourth tranche of the $4.7 billion loan agreement. Upon their arrival in Dhaka, the team is scheduled to meet with Bangladesh Bank officials in the morning, followed by a meeting with the finance adviser at the ministry in the afternoon, finance ministry officials said this evening (2 December). The IMF review mission will leave on 17 December. (The Business Standard)
6.
Revenue Falls Tk31,000cr Short of Target in Jul-Oct: Revenue collection fell nearly Tk31,000 crore short of the target in the first four months of the current fiscal year, which experts attribute to an economic slowdown and political instability stemming from the July-August uprising. Despite this, they remain optimistic about economic stabilisation in the coming months. This optimism is driven by momentum in exports and remittances, growing business confidence, and the expectation of fund disbursements from development partners, all of which could boost revenue. According to data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the collection stood at Tk101,282 crore against the target of Tk132,114 crore for the July-October period. The collection was Tk1,055 crore, or 1%, lower than the same period in the last fiscal year. (The Business Standard)
----Saju Sarker
BBN/SSR/AD