Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith. 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.
Muhith, admitting no of banks high, says 4 more in offing
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday said the government was in the process of giving approval to four new private banks, hours after admitting that the number of banks and non-bank financial institutions in the country was high. He disclosed the developments regarding the new banks in parliament while responding to a query made by Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal lawmaker (Panchagarh-1) Nazmul Haq Prodhan during a question-answer session.
Steps underway to boost cotton yield
The government targets to raise cotton yield, as the local spinners and yarn producers have to spend billions of dollars to import the white fibre to produce garment items. The Cotton Development Board (CDB) has already started providing funds to cotton farmers—Tk 15,000 per head from a fund of Tk 5 crore—to encourage more people to produce the fibre.
Economists moot new poverty benchmark
Senior economist Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud suggested on Wednesday the government change the poverty estimation method considering the current global and domestic socio-economic scenarios. "Our national poverty-line income should be changing over time as standard of living improves. It's a moving goal," he said.
July-September period: Farm loans register negative growth, decline 17.52%
The disbursement of loans to farmers has registered negative growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, as public banks are being hampered by a mounting number of bad loans, banking sector sources said. According to data from Bangladesh Bank, farm loan disbursement declined by 17.52% to Tk3,494.64 crore in the first quarter (Q1) of FY19 (July-September), having been Tk4,235.74 crore in the same period last year.
BCIC, Japan-China JV ink $1.02b deal to set up country’s biggest fertiliser plant
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation and a China-Japan joint venture on Wednesday signed an agreement to establish a new granular urea fertiliser factory at Polash, Ghorasal in Narsingdi with a production capacity of 9.24 lakh tonnes per year. A consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) of Japan and China National Chemical Engineering No-7 Construction Company Ltd (CC7) won the bid for an EPC contract for establishing the fertiliser factory at a cost of $1.02 billion, which was approved by the cabinet committee on public purchase recently, said a press release.
Microcredit empowers women
Around 90 percent clients of 732 microcredit organisations operating currently in Bangladesh are women, said Sirajul Hoque, a director of the Microcredit Regulatory Authority. Still women have limited access to finance, he said.
Economists worried over BD’s wide insurance gap
Economists have expressed their concern over the huge insurance gap in the country. The concern comes as a global report says Bangladesh is one of the most underinsured countries in the world.
Novoair increases flight frequency on 4 routes
Novoair, one of the country’s private airlines has decided to increase flight frequency on four routes considering the increasing trend of air travelers. The airlines will operate one more flight daily on Dhaka to Kolkata, Cox’s Bazar and Sylhet routes from October 28, said a press release on Wednesday, reports BSS.
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