Thursday’s morning business round up of Bangladesh

Last updated: March 16, 2017

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.

ADP spending rises 31pc
The government's development spending rose almost 31 percent year-on-year to Tk 45,532 crore in the first eight months of the fiscal year, somewhat bucking the trend of previous few years. Some Tk 123,346 crore has been allocated for the annual development programme this fiscal year, meaning the ministries and divisions used up almost 37 percent of the sum in the July-February period. At this point last fiscal year, 34 percent of the total allocation was used up, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division.

BASIC internal report finds involvement of former chairman
An internal report has detected involvement of immediate past chairman, directors and management in major loan scams and irregularities taking place in BASIC Bank during 2010-2014 period. The bank has prepared its own report on the basis of a number of reports, including inspection report of Bangladesh Bank, report of commercial audit department, two audit reports of the audit firms engaged by the bank itself, and internal evaluation report. The internal report was submitted to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Finance at its 19th meeting held on Wednesday.

Govt house loan ceiling to be Tk1cr
Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (BHBFC) has proposed the government to double its house loan ceiling, which is currently Tk50 lakh, as construction costs surged in recent years. If raised, the ceiling will be Tk1 crore. BHBFC placed the proposal at a meeting at Finance Division Tuesday with Bank Division Secretary Md Eunusur Rahman in the chair. The meeting decided to reduce interest rate of the house loan to make it competitive in the market.

Action against beneficiaries recommended
The parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry on Wednesday asked authorities concerned to identify and take action against the local beneficiaries of the laundering of $ 55 million through an offshore unit of Arab Bangladesh Bank. The Bangladesh Bank has so far recovered $22.1 million of the $55 million laundered money and they are working to recover the rest, committee chairman Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said after a meeting of the committee in the parliament complex on Wednesday. A finance ministry report submitted to the committee showed that an offshore unit of AB bank had lent $55 million to four firms in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh’s stocks end flat amid choppy trading
Bangladesh’s stocks ended almost flat on Wednesday, after passing a volatile trading session, as late hours sale pressure wiped out most of the early gains. Brokers said most of the investors reshuffled their portfolios amid ongoing dividend declaration session of banks, non-bank financial institutions and multinational companies, sending the market in flat zone. Maintaining the previous day’s upward trend, DSEX the prime index of the major bourse crossed the 5,700-mark within first 15 minutes of trading, gaining 22 points.

Dhaka to push for adding yen to ACU currency basket
Bangladesh is likely to propose addition of Japanese yen (JPY) as the third currency to the basket of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) aiming to facilitate payment among its member countries for eligible transactions, officials said. Presently, US Dollar and EURO (EUR) are being used for payment among the member countries. Some transactions between Bangladesh and Iran remain incomplete due to a US sanction on Iran.

Improve business climate to attract more FDI
Foreign investors will not be interested in investing in Bangladesh if the business culture, which influences management, decisions and all economic activities, does not improve, speakers said yesterday at a seminar. “Otherwise, the foreign investors will go to other countries and they have many alternative options,” said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.

Bangladesh can benefit from HK trade council
Bangladeshi businesses have potentials to go global by expanding into Chinese mainland and using Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), said an expert based in Hong Kong. The trade council can work as a platform for proper use of Hong Kong’s geographic and economic advantages. Bangladeshi corporations including Small and Medium Enterprises can take the advantage through exhibition and can source opportunities from the year-round HKTDC fairs, HKTDC Director (Exhibitions Market Development) Johnny Wan said on Wednesday.

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