BBN file photo
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.
High import payment indicates increase in capital flight
A phenomenal growth in import payment in the outgoing 2018 financial year raised suspicion about an increased capital flight from the country in the period. Fast rising import became a major concern for the country’s growing imbalance in the external sector as it put huge pressure on trade balance, current account balance and overall balance of payment, experts and economists said.
BASIC 'plunderers' go happy
In the four years between 2009 and 2013, Tk 4,500 crore was swindled out of BASIC, once a healthy public bank. But what followed was more shocking than the country's biggest loan scam itself. It was a glaring example of how the protectors of a bank turned predators. Multiple investigations found that Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, chairman of the bank at the time, literally plundered the bank with the help of other board of directors.
Several tax benefits on the cards
The incumbent government plans to prepare the next budget with some structural changes in the revenue collection process, offering a number of tax benefits to both individual and corporate taxpayers, according to Finance Ministry sources. They added there will be tax cuts for the corporate sector to encourage private sector investment in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2018-19, while the tax free income ceiling for individual taxpayers will also be extended.
Bangladesh’s NPLs jump by 19.23% in Q1
The amount of classified loans in the country’s banking system jumped by 19.23 per cent or BDT 142.86 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018 despite the central bank’s close monitoring. The volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to BDT 885.89 billion during the January-March period of this calendar year from BDT 743.03 billion in the preceding quarter, according to official figures.
Bangladesh’s inward remittance rises 11.38% in May
The flow of overall inward remittance jumped by 11.38 per cent in May over that of the previous month ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival, officials said. The remittance inflow was estimated at $1.48 billion in May 2018, up by $151.52 million from that of the previous month. In April, the amount stood at $1.33 billion. It was $1.27 billion in May 2017.
BB may relax foreign loan cap for private sector
The central bank mulls over relaxing the existing interest cap on private sector foreign loans to help businesses enjoy uninterrupted external borrowing, said a top Bangladesh Bank official yesterday. At present, businesses are not allowed to take foreign loans at interest rate higher than 5 percent including the London Interbank Offered rate (LIBOR).
CPD opposes ‘ad-hoc’ cut in corporate tax
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said on Sunday the overall business climate needs to be improved simultaneously with any cut in corporate tax rates. The CPD, a leading private think-tank, said the corporate tax rates should not be cut in a hasty manner and on an ad-hoc basis, as it fetches about two-thirds of the income tax revenue annually.
Foreign investors running for exit from stock market
The net foreign investment at the Dhaka Stock Exchange in May hit negative Tk 282 crore, highest in recent years, as foreign investors were running for an exit from the market amid chaotic situation in the country’s financial sector and political uncertainty ahead of the national elections. The foreign investors sold shares worth Tk 624 crore in May, highest ever sell-offs in a single month by them, against their purchase of shares worth Tk 341.83 crore in the month.
BBN/SSR/AD