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.
Bonds not to be issued against banks’ capital shortfall
Finance Division has rejected the proposal of issuing bonds worth Tk4,100 crore for three state-run banks including BASIC Bank to meet their capital shortfalls. Other two banks, Janata and Rupali, sought subordinated bond of Tk1,000 crore and Tk500 crore respectively for sever-year period. However, Finance Division didn’t say anything about issuing of bond of Tk22 lakh for Grameen Bank. The decisions came at a meeting on capital shortfalls of seven state-run banks. Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the meeting. Officials who attending the meeting said the government liabilities would increase if they met the banks’ capital shortfalls from bonds.
Defaulted farm loans rise by 17.73pc in Feb
Defaulted loans in the country’s agriculture sector increased by 17.73 per cent in February year-on-year as the scheduled banks did not take adequate measures to recover the classified loans in recent months. The defaulted farm loans stood at Tk 5,233.70 crore as of February 28, 2017 from that of Tk 4,445.35 crore a year ago, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank data. The defaulted loans accounted for 14.28 per cent of the total loans (Tk 36,655.95 crore) disbursed in the sector as of February 28, 2017.
Bangladesh’s agro-credit disbursements up by 22.44% in eight months
Agriculture loan disbursement grew by 22.44 per cent in the first eight months of this fiscal year (FY) due to a higher demand for the credit during the ongoing boro season, officials said. The disbursement rose to BDT 139.29 billion in the July-February period of the FY 2016-17 from BDT 113.76 billion in same period of FY2015-16, according to the latest statistics of the central bank, released on Tuesday. Of the amount, eight state-owned banks (SoBs) disbursed BDT 65.04 billion while the remaining BDT 74.25 billion by the private commercial banks (PCBs) and foreign commercial banks (FCBs).
Openness can help economy move faster
Transparency in the matters of budgetary measures, large project agreements, public procurement and spending, and defence budget is an imperative for good governance and effective public financial management (PFM). Policy Research Institute (PRI) came up with this suggestion Tuesday at a joint meet with economic reporters, as it noted that information holdback in such matters of high national importance does affect country's international ranking.
Bangladesh’s DSEX crosses 5,700-mark amid optimism
Bangladesh’s stocks finished marginally higher on Tuesday, with key index of the premier bourse crossing the 5,700-mark, as investors continued their buying spree amid optimism. Brokers said the robust market momentum continued as enthusiastic participants continued their buying spree on large-cap stocks riding on hopes and excitements, pushing the prime index of DSE to its new high. DSEX gained 29.14 points while the Selective Category Index of port city bourse advanced 49.64 points at the closing.
DSE turnover surges on bank shares
The benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday gained moderately driven by banking shares while turnover made a significant jump. The DSEX went up by 29 points to 5,725. The total turnover of the country's main exchange surged 27 percent to Tk 1,263 crore from the previous day. Of the top 20 shares in terms of transaction value, 14 were from the banking sector, which accounted for one-fourth of all the securities traded on the day.
BTRC warns Robi of merger nod cancellation over dues
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has warned mobile operator Robi that the commission’s approval for the company’s merger with Airtel could be cancelled over non-payment of Tk 109 crore in merger-related dues. The commission on March 15 issued a show-cause notice to Robi asking the operator to deposit the dues or reply in 30 days why the commission would not take against it one of three steps including cancellation of the merger approval. The two other steps include issuance of an enforcement order by the commission on Robi to pay the dues and taking necessary legal steps against the company.
Beza asks for investors' security at economic zones
Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority or Beza yesterday urged the government to provide security for investors and their assets, and ensure a smooth supply of energy and power to the industrial units that will be set up in the economic zones. “All the economic zones should be kept free of interference from any quarter,” said Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Beza. He spoke at a function to award a contract to Powerpac-East West-Gasmin Consortium, a joint venture between Shoulder Group, Bashundhara Group and Garmin Ltd.
BBN/SSR/AD