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.
BASIC Bank Scam Probe: HC raps ACC
The High Court yesterday expressed utmost dissatisfaction and disappointment with the Anti-Corruption Commission for the long delay in completing investigations in the cases over BASIC Bank loan scams. “It seems from your [ACC officials] indifference and long delay in completing probes that you have connivance with the accused. If they [the accused] remain in jail for a long period of time, they get a strong ground for getting bail.
BB takes measures to curb rising interest rates
The central bank of Bangladesh has taken a number of initiatives to rein in the rising trend of interest rates on lending that is creating unwanted pressure on borrowers and businesses. Under the latest measures, banks will not be able to change the interest rate on loans if the credit agreement mentions fixed interest rate.
Progress belies expectations
Due to the bureaucratic tangles, over two dozen China-funded projects are not progressing at a satisfactory pace. So far, the disbursement has been made against only two projects. The projects include the construction of a tunnel under the Karanafuli River worth US$705.80 million and the development of ICT network (Phase -2) worth $156.56 million.
Inflation calculation belies price hikes in Bangladesh
The official calculation of inflation remained close to the target set in the national budget for the outgoing financial year 2018 while consumers continued to feel the pinch of price hike of essentials. Experts observed that the food inflation started to come down in recent time as the prices of rice decreased little bit because of bumper output of boro but the consumers passed their days with drastic up and down of commodity prices over the year.
Bangladesh Bank sells $25m more to two banks
The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$25 million more to two commercial banks to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market. Officials said the central bank has sold the foreign currency to the banks on Tuesday at market rate to settle import payment bills.
High registration costs keep flat buyers at bay
Parvez Ahmed, a senior official at a state-owned bank, bought a 1,200 square feet flat for Tk 1 crore in the capital's Mohammadpur area. He took staff loan of Tk 80 lakh and managed the remaining Tk 20 lakh himself to purchase the flat.
Recapitalization of state owned banks to continue
The government once again plans to allocate funds for the recapitalization of state-owned banks (SoBs) in the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year (FY 2018-19), according to sources at the Ministry of Finance. Ministry insiders say the government is likely to allocate Tk2,000 crore of public money to ease the SoBs’ capital deficit, despite this move facing heavy criticism from noted economists in the past.
Russian co to be appointed consultant with Tk 1,357cr
The cabinet committee on national purchases in Bangladesh at a meeting on Wednesday appointed Russian company Rostechnadzor as a safety consultant of the under construction Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant at a cost of Tk 1,357 crore. Presided over by finance minister AMA Muhith at the secretariat, the cabinet meeting approved a proposal from the science and technology ministry to appoint the Russian company without any tender on the recommendation of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority.
BBN/SSR/AD