Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The BBN (Bangladesh Business News) has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.

BD seeks $6.4b Chinese fund for new projects
Bangladesh now wants Chinese funds for nine new projects worth US$ 6.4 billion. The Economic Relations Division has recently sent a letter to the Chinese government seeking investment fund for these projects, said finance ministry officials. The government sought $1.6 billion for the construction of the first phase of the Pyra sea port and $1.2 billion for the construction of the country’s longest bridge to link Barisal with the island district of Bhola, according to the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the FE.

Trade deficit widens further

The country’s trade deficit rose by 7.28 percent – or $1.09 billion – year-on-year during July to May of the 2019-20 fiscal year as export earnings took a hit from Covid-19, according to the latest data of the Bangladesh Bank. The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked both the Bangladeshi manufacturing sector and supply chains of export destinations. After the end of general holidays in the country, the central bank updated the February, March, April, and May balance of payment data in the last 30 days.

BB presses banks to implement stimulus for small enterprises by Aug

The Bangladesh Bank is pressing the banks to complete the disbursement of Tk 20,000 crore in stimulus loans meant for the cottage, micro, small and medium entrepreneurs by August this year. Reluctance of the majority of the banks to issue credit to the CMSMEs was the reason for the BB’s move, a senior official of the central bank told New Age on Sunday.

Bourse braces for its biggest IPO yet

Robi is set to come up with the country’s biggest-ever initial public offering yet within a couple of months, in what can be viewed as finally some good news for the depressed bourse. The second-largest mobile phone carrier intends to raise Tk 523.79 crore from the market. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has almost completed the scrutiny of the floatation proposal and is planning to approve the listing proposal within the next couple of months.

EPB moots $37b export target
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has proposed setting a $37.44-billion export target for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, predicting 13-per cent growth, officials said. The EPB has also projected an additional $7.6 billion in earnings from the export of services. More than 82 per cent of the proposed export earnings are expected to come from the ready-made garment (RMG) sector.

Misuse of tax benefits by fish, poultry businesses continues unabated

Misuse of tax benefits given to fish and poultry sectors has continued unabated due to lack of proper mechanism of the National Board of Revenue to crosscheck the income shown by the taxpayers from the sectors. Tax officials said that they used to express their inability to check the misuse of the benefits given to the sectors without conditions or setting crosschecking mechanism against taxpayers’ claim of income from the sectors.

DSE turnover crosses Tk 25b-mark on huge block trade of GSK shares

Daily trade turnover on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) crossed Tk 25 billion-mark on Sunday after nine and a half years, thanks to block transaction worth Tk 22.25 billion of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Bangladesh shares. Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Tk 25.43 billion on the country’s premier bourse which was Tk 683 million in the previous session.

GP files petition challenging SMP restrictions

Grameenphone filed a writ petition before a High Court bench yesterday challenging a June 21 directive of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) alongside two restrictions imposed under significant market power (SMP) guidelines. This is the third time the leading mobile network operator has legally challenged different points of the SMP guidelines. Court orders in the first two went in its favour.

BBN/SSR/AD