Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
No more new pvt EPZ now
The government has decided not to permit any new export-processing zone (EPZ) in the private sector for now. Rather it will allow establishing economic zones (EZs) to promote investment in the country, officials said. A meeting of the board of governors of Bangladesh Private EPZs last month, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, took the decision on economic zoning in various parts of the country having potential for such ventures.
BB to ask banks to pursue guarantors to recover defaulted loans
Bangladesh Bank is going to ask scheduled banks to issue letters to the guarantors of the loan defaulters reminding them (guarantors) that they would also be treated as defaulters. A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the central bank will issue a circular to all banks in the shortest possible time to take measures in this regard, saying that the guarantors of the defaulters would take initiatives to repay the loans which will also save them (guarantors) from an insulting situation.
Bangladesh Bank to outsource GM for BFIU
The central bank of Bangladesh is going to hire a general manager (GM) on contractual basis for strengthening functions of its Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), officials said. The decision was taken at a meeting of the central bank board of directors, held in its headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday with Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman in the chair.
Mobile cash transfer hits $1.4b a month
The country's mobile banking sector continues to grow exponentially, scaling a new height in February, according to a study by the USAID. The total value of monthly transactions made through mobile phones stood at $1.42 billion or Tk 11,104 crore in February, according to the study, 'Mobile Financial Services in Bangladesh'. Of the amount, cash-in transactions accounted for $595 million, cash-out $523 million and person-to-person $265 million.
Bangladesh’s stocks end lower for 2nd day
Bangladesh’s stocks edged down for the second sessions in a row as investors followed cautious stance. Today’s session was the reduced one by an hour due to holy month of Ramadan. Trading at the DSE and CSE began at 10:30am as usual and continue till 1:30pm instead of 2:30pm. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 8.38 points or 0.18 percent to finish at 4,511.46 points.
Bangladesh to pay $132m initially to join China-led bank
Bangladesh will have to initially pay $132.1 million to become a member of the proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or AIIB. Proposed by the Chinese government in 2013, the new bank will look to finance Asia's enormous infrastructure needs, which are well beyond the capacity of today's institutional arrangements to finance. The AIIB will have 57 members, the representatives of whom will convene in China later this month to sign the agreement that would make the multilateral development bank official. MA Mannan, state minister for finance and planning, will sign the deal on June 29 on behalf of Bangladesh.
How stock investors react to budget
Pre-budget rally might be the buzzword for the stock markets this year. The markets historically set positive trend after the budget over the last two years, but this year is the exception. The average positive return for the DSEX two weeks after a budget had been 0.1% in 2014 and 1.9% in 2013, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data shows. But before the budget in the two years, the DSEX gave a negative return of 0.2% and 6.8% respectively. Interestingly, this trend has reversed in this year as the new budget has brought a negative return for DSEX, 1.4%, after two weeks despite sops announced for the stock market in the budget.
Muhith approves changes in the age-old financial institution act
Finance minister AMA Muhith approved a raft of changes to be brought to the age-old financial institutions act, aimed at tightening the aggressive lending by the leasing companies and strict monitoring by the regulators. Muhith okayed the changes last week and instructed his ministry to send the proposed amendment to the cabinet division for approval, a senior finance official said. ‘The proposed amendment would make a huge qualitative difference in regulating the financial institutions, commonly known as leasing company by Bangladesh Bank,’ the official told New Age on Sunday, adding, the changes if approved would give BB more authority to regulate the sector.
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