Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
WB wants govt to cut projects by half
World Bank has suggested that the government should halve the number of development projects which could be qualified for credit at low interest rate for the current fiscal. Economic Relations Division officials said the WB made the suggestion at a meeting with the ERD officials on Thursday. They said the government wanted the WB to bankroll around half a dozen development projects at less than one per cent interest rate. But the WB side led by country director Johannes Zutt with ERD secretary Mohammad Mejbahuddin assessed that six to seven projects should be getting priority in the current fiscal.
Pharma industry on recovery path after 2013 slump
Country's pharmaceutical market showed signs of recovery in 2014 after a worst year in 2013 the last quarter of which witnessed political troubles of serious nature. The pharmaceutical market grew 11.37 per cent in 2014 to US$ 1.4 billion, mainly driven by anti-ulcer drugs, according to findings by a foreign research organisation. The market turnaround is still on as the first quarter of 2015 (January-March) saw more than a 2.0 percentage-point higher growth over the average 2014 rate.
WB to give $1.7b this year
The World Bank is expected to commit as much as $1.7 billion this fiscal year, which is almost the same as in the last five years. The Washington-based lender committed $1.7 billion in loans on average in the last five years. In fiscal 2014-15, it committed $1.92 billion. Earlier this month, representatives of the WB met Finance Minister AMA Muhith and conveyed the lender's tentative commitment sum, said a finance ministry official.
Bangladesh’s stocks end flat amid choppy trading
Bangladesh’s stocks ended flat in green last week that ended on Thursday, after remaining down in the previous week, as investors continued their cautious trading behaviour. The week witnessed five trading sessions as usual. Of them, first two sessions closed lower while last three saw marginal gain. Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 31.29 points or 0.65 per cent to end the week at 4,840.16 points.
Draft mobile banking rules come under fire
Bankers and analysts yesterday criticised the central bank's draft guidelines on mobile financial services that proposed forming a platform consisting of multiple players with no single party having more than 15 percent stake. Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, said the existing mobile financial service (MFS) providers have invested a lot in building their systems, which are yet to yield profits.
More onion woes in store as India raises export price to $700 per tonne
India’s government on Saturday hiked the minimum export price of onions to $700 a tonne from $425 to curb shipments and boost domestic supply which will hit the Bangladesh market hard, said traders. The decision to increase the minimum export price is taken as prices of onions at both wholesale and retail levels have been rising on lower output due to unseasonal rains earlier, reports Press Trust of India. The onion retail prices have touched up to Rs 80 a kg in India.
Garment exports to China up 26pc
Garment exports to China rose 26 percent year-on-year to $304.24 million in fiscal 2014-15 as demand for low-priced basic clothes is still high among middle-income customers. About $141.8 million came from knitwear exports and $163.14 million from woven items, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. Bangladesh's total garment exports to China in fiscal 2013-14 were $241.37 million.
Bangladesh Bank buys $20m more from a bank
The central bank of Bangladesh purchased US$20 million more from a leading commercial banks on Thursday to help keep the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable, officials said. “We’re purchasing the US currency from the bank directly at market rate to protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the local currency against the US dollar stable,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
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