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.
Govt agrees to WB reform agenda for $750m loan
The government has agreed to take loan of $750 million from the World Bank on condition that it would carry out legal and administrative reforms to create jobs against the backdrop of shrinking employment growth. The government has agreed to carry out reforms on bonded warehouse facility, customs laws in addition to establishing one-stop services, formulation of law on secured transactions as per WB recommendations, officials said.
Cost climbs as VAT digitisation process lies in limbo
The digitisation process of the value-added tax (VAT) system under the VAT online project (VOP) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is in limbo due to the revenue board's foot-dragging in amending the relevant rules to support the automated system. The delay, however, has resulted in both time and cost overruns of the project.
New cashless payment system in the offing
Bangladesh is moving one step closer to being a cashless society after the central bank gave the go-ahead to a company to facilitate payments between parties through online fund transfers. Called the iPay, the fintech startup's system will function like Paypal, which operates a worldwide online payments system, and Paytm in India.
The dollar crisis in Bangladesh
Since June 2017, the market in Bangladesh has been facing challenges with foreign currency payments as the price of the US dollar is going up. In order to bring some respite, Bangladesh Bank has been selling dollars in limited quantity to commercial banks.
Regulator asks DSE to submit revised proposal
Bangladesh's stock-market regulator finally expressed its inability to approve Chinese consortium's bidding offers for being strategic partner of the country's premier bourse. The securities regulator, however, asked the bidder to submit a 'revised' proposal on fulfilment of five conditions.
First meeting of wage board for apparel workers held
The owners and workers' representatives to the wage board for apparel workers were asked to place their proposals on the minimum salary at its first meeting yesterday. Senior District Judge Syed Aminul Islam, chairman of the board, made the call, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), who attended the meeting as the owners' representative. On January 14 this year, the government formed the board that is responsible to recommend a new minimum salary scale for the country's 36 lakh garment workers within six months.
AB Bank launches int’l debit card, new deposit scheme
AB Bank on Monday launched the country’s first dual currency debit card services along with a new deposit scheme. The launch of the products — Visa International Debit Card and Deposit Double Instalment Scheme — was announced by the bank’s managing director, Moshiur Rahman Chowdhury, at a press conference held at the Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.
Bangladesh’s homegrown line up of agro-machineries adds to progress
The agro machineries produced in Bangladesh can be divided into several categories such as—ploughing machines, seeding plantation machines, irrigation machines, fertilizer and insecticides applying machineries, harvesting machineries, threshers, and post harvesting machinery. DAE’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer Ashok Kumar Biswas said that currently the internal market size of farm machineries was more than Tk10,000 crore. Of them, the country’s local entrepreneurs provide 20-25 percent of the products.
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