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.
$600m to be invested for 258MW solar power
Four joint venture companies are going to invest more than $600 million in different parts of the country to generate 258 megawatts of electricity from solar energy. The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved a proposal to set up the four power plants. The government will purchase electricity at Tk 10.40 to Tk 11.20 per kilowatt-hour unit. Funds for the power plants will be raised from international banks and financial institutions, according to power division officials.
Remittance drops by 17pc in eight months
Overall remittance inflow dropped by 17 per cent or US$1.66 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal over the corresponding period of last fiscal, partly for immigration turmoil abroad. The remittance receipts came down to $8.11 billion during the July-February period of the financial year (FY) 2016-17 from $9.77 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank's latest statistics, released Wednesday.
Transport strike hits tourism business in Cox’s Bazar, St Martin’s
Tourism business felt the pinch due to the two-day transport strike ended on Wednesday as hundreds of them remained stranded in Cox’s Bazar and St Martin’s island. St Martin island remained cut off from the mainland while tourists at Cox’s Bazar and in Sylhet areas suffered the same as there were no vehicles available to reach the capital. As tourist season has set in, hundreds of tourists are leaving Dhaka every day for making holidays with their friends and relatives.
Reliance wants Petrobangla to keep $1.4b in annual deposit
Reliance Power Ltd of India has attached a number of conditions for supplying liquefied natural gas to state-owned Petrobangla from its proposed LNG terminal in the Bay of Bengal. Officials said the Indian energy giant wanted to set up the terminal on the Kutubdia Island instead of previously chosen Maheshkhali Island in the Bay in its proposed gas purchase agreement. Reliance Power Ltd found Kutubdia Island more feasible than the Maheshkhali Island for setting up the floating terminal and importing 500 million cubic feet gas per day, said officials.
BANGLADESH’S STOCKS EXTEND LOSING SPELL FOR 3RD DAY
Bangladesh’s stocks extended their losing streak for the third day in a row on Wednesday as cautious investors continued their selling binge on sector specific stocks. Brokers said the market slipped into the red for the three days as some investors remained on profit booking tendency on quick gaining stocks. The market started with a positive note like previous three days, but could not sustained momentum as the session progressed amid profit booking sale pressure, ultimately ended 15.48 points lower.
SME loan disbursement for 2016 rises 22.49pc
The overall small and medium enterprise (SME) credit disbursement grew by 22.49 per cent in 2016 following strengthened monitoring and supervision by Bangladesh Bank (BB), officials said. All banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) disbursed Tk 1,419.35 billion loan to 634,574 SME entrepreneurs across the country in 2016, which was 125 per cent higher than the previously-fixed target of Tk 1,135.03 billion. A total of Tk 1,158.70 billion SME loan was disbursed in 2015.
Court seeks info on loan write-off
The High Court has sought a list of companies, organisations and individuals whose bank loans have been written off till December 31 last year. The court ordered the governor of Bangladesh Bank to submit the list within 30 days. The HC also asked whether those companies, organisations and individuals were given any new loans or not, Deputy Attorney General SM Moniruzzaman told The Daily Star. He said the HC bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir passed the order on Tuesday on a suo moto (on its own) move, following a report published in a newspaper on February 26.
B’desh sppured to adopt smart manufacturing
Experts and businesses from home and abroad on Wednesday said that Bangladesh could achieve the target of being a manufacturing destination in the region through adopting smart manufacturing, a new concept of efficient, sustainable and profitable industrial process driven by knowledge and technology. Dependence on traditional labour intensive industry alone will not be able to fulfil the aspiration of becoming a developed country by 2041, they said at a seminar on making Bangladesh a next generation manufacturing hub.
BBN/SSR/AD