File photo: Moneycontrol
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.
Most ‘fast-track’ power projects miss schedule
The government's decision to allow installation of 10 oil-fired power plants under 'fast-track' programme has failed to achieve the desired objectives. The Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) in August last year approved setting up of five diesel-fired power plants and five furnace-oil fired power plants in the private sector.
Private credit growth nosedives in April
Private sector credit growth saw a dramatic fall in April as banks put the brakes on their lending activities to adjust their loan-deposit ratio ceiling as per the central bank's instruction. Last month, credit growth stood at 13.6 percent, down 4.33 percentage points from the previous month, according to data from the central bank.
Indicators mismatch GDP growth claim
The estimated GDP growth of 7.65 per cent in the outgoing 2018 financial year comes to be mired in controversy as the government growth rate claim does not match economic indicators in Bangladesh. Economists and experts questioned the estimation and quality of growth saying that such higher growth was not possible with the present rate of investment and job creation.
Probe: Doreen Power share price manipulated
The price of Doreen Power Generations and Systems Limited shares was manipulated through serial and insider trading, according to a Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) investigation. Doreen shares shot to Tk141.40 from Tk70.60 between October 16 and November 7, 2016, prompting the regulator to launch an investigation to see whether there had been any manipulation.
Telcos may be allowed in MFS
Mobile operators may be allowed to hold a maximum of 49 percent shares in companies that run mobile financial services, in what can be viewed as a U-turn from the Bangladesh Bank's previous stance. Along with the banks and non-bank financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, multinational companies, investment firms and fintech companies with experience of working in banking and finance will be allowed to form an MFS provider company, according to the BB's latest draft regulation.
Reduction in number of VAT rates likely
The government is likely to reduce the existing nine different rates of Value Added Tax (VAT) to six in the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018-19. It may also revise the existing rate of Advance Trade VAT (ATV) upward by one percentage point to 5.0 per cent. All imports are subjected to ATV barring a few, including the essential ones.
1,200 RMG units at risk of facing ‘problem’ over workers’ payment before Eid
Some 1,200 readymade garment factories across the country are at risk of facing ‘problem’ over payment of wages and festival allowances to their workers before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. At a meeting of the Crisis Management Core Committee held at the labour ministry in the capital on Tuesday, BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman said that the trade body listed 1,200 factories as ‘problematic’ based on the lists prepared by several government agencies and the evaluation of the BGMEA.
Bangladesh Bank sells $24m more to three banks
The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$24 million more to three commercial banks to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market. “We’ve sold the foreign currency to the banks on Tuesday at market rate to settle import payment bills,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the BBN in Dhaka.
BBN/SSR/AD