Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
PCBs are doing better than state-run banks: Moody’s
Bangladesh government needs around Tk 135 billion for recapitalisation of the state-run banks because of their weak financial health, the Moody’s has said. The government in the first phase injected Tk 41 billion into the four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) in the fiscal year (FY) 2013-14. In the second phase, three state-run specialised banks and a financial institution were given a total of Tk 3.09 billion to meet their capital needs.
Bangladesh: still the first choice for apparel sourcing after China
Bangladesh is still the first choice for apparel sourcing after China, but other countries are fast catching up, McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, said in its latest report. The report styled ‘Sourcing in a volatile world — the East Africa opportunity’ singled out Ethiopia, billing it as the one to watch out for — for the first time. The positive outlook on Sub-Saharan Africa is being spurred by anticipated long-term growth in the region’s employable population, which will reach levels similar to those of China by 2035.
Import payment growth dips in Jul-Mar amid dull business
The country’s import payment growth slackened to 5.17 per cent in the first nine months of the current financial year 2014-15 in contrast to a 14.12-per cent growth in the same period of the FY14 amid dull business caused by frequent political turbulences during the period.
According to the Bangladesh Bank data released on Thursday, the settlement of letters of credit, or generally known as actual import, in the July-March period of the FY15 stood at $28.78 billion against $27.37 billion during the same period of the FY14. The import had stood at $ 23.98 billion in the nine months of the FY13.
BB governor wants more for poor
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman is interested to do more for the people, particularly the poor trough strengthening the ongoing financial inclusion progarmmes in Bangladesh. “We want to do more for the people, particularly the poor, in future through boosting our ongoing financial inclusion programmes across the country,” Dr. Rahman said on the eve of beginning of his seventh years as the BB Governor, according to a statement, issued by the central bank of Bangladesh on Sunday. On his first working day, May 3 2009, the Governor expressed his commitment towards promoting pro-poor economic growth with a view to creating fresh employment opportunities through expansion of the industrial base across the country. Dr. Rahman was appointed the 10th Governor of BB on May 1, 2009 for a four-year term, which was extended last year for another term.
Banks make good cash recovery against bad loans
Local banks last year made Tk 10,363 crore of cash recovery from the classified loans, which provided them a spot of respite from their runaway default loans. Of the amount, the private commercial banks made the highest recovery of Tk 6,381 crore, followed by state-owned commercial banks at Tk 2,126 crore, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics. The specialised banks recovered Tk 1,705 crore and the foreign commercial banks Tk 151 crore. Default loans rose in the first three quarters of last year to Tk 57,291 crore, which prompted the concerned parties to take up wholesale loan rescheduling, loan write-offs and cash recovery in the last quarter.
Extension of MoU for LNG import from Qatar sought
The government has sought extension of memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar by two more years to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) until it builds a receiving terminal, said officials. “We have proposed to Qatar for extending the time of the MoU by two more years to import LNG from the Gulf state,” a senior official of the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources told the FE.
Banks to require BB nod to issue prepaid card
Bangladesh Bank is going to make it mandatory for scheduled banks to take prior approval from the BB while issuing prepaid card in a bid to bring financial discipline in the banking sector, officials concerned have told New Age. The banks are now issuing credit and debit cards against the clients’ accounts with them (banks), but the customers do not require a bank account to avail a prepaid card. The clients just have to deposit money with the banks to get such a card.
A client is allowed to get a prepaid card of a certain amount of money if he or she deposits the same amount of money with a bank, explains a BB official.
Banks lose market cap crown for first time
Banking sector has lost its crown to telecommunication sector in market capitalisation for the first time on Dhaka Stock Exchange, as share values of most banks keep falling in last four years. The telecommunication sector surpassed banking sector in June when the market cap of Grameenphone, the lone listed telecommunication company, exceeded Tk44,000 crore after its share prices crossed Tk300 a share during the period on the DSE, according to the DSE. Market capitalisation is calculated by multiplying a company’s floating shares by the current market price of one share.