Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The Bangladesh Business News (BBN) has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Standoff over allocations delays RADP finalisation: The prevailing row between the planning and finance ministries over fund allocation has delayed finalisation of the revised annual development programme (RADP), thus affecting implementation of development projects, officials said Saturday. Planning Commission (PC) officials said they could not finalise the RADP for the current financial year (FY) 2013-14 due to non-availability of required funds from the finance ministry.
Japan to provide $1.18 billion to Bangladesh: Japan will provide US$ 1.18 billion overseas development assistance (ODA) for Bangladesh for development of power and gas sector as well as infrastructure of the city corporations and capacity building of the government officials. Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said this during a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Gonobhaban residence in the capital Dhaka on Saturday evening.
Biman to sell two DC-10 aircraft: The Biman Bangladesh Airlines authorities have finally decided to sell two DC-10 aircraft rather than scrapping them locally considering it as the better alternative, officials said. The Biman board of directors in a recent meeting took the decision and an international tender has already been floated seeking suitable bidders.
NBR unlikely to impose penalty in most cases: It is very unlikely that the National Board of Revenue will serve notices and impose penalty on most of the individual taxpayers who failed to submit their income tax returns for the current fiscal year, NBR officials said. According to the latest statistics of the NBR, as many as seven lakh individual taxpayers did not submit their tax returns in the FY 2013-14. Field offices of the NBR feel discouraged in serving notices to errant individual taxpayers as most of them (taxpayers) do not respond to the notices and taxmen even cannot trace many of them, NBR officials said.
ADP pace slows, still demand for more funds: The implementation rate of the government's annual development programme fell 6 percentage points in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period a year ago. Despite the fall in the ADP implementation rate, ministries and divisions are now pressing for more allocation. The National Economic Council at a meeting on April 3 will decide whether additional allocation will be made to them, an official of the planning ministry said. The ADP spending was Tk 25,218 crore during July-February, which is 38 percent of the total allocation of Tk 65,872 crore for the current fiscal year, according to the Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division.
mPOS service to be launched soon: mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) service, expected to be launched within the next few months in Bangladesh, will significantly reduce the electronic payment cost and open another door of accelerating inclusive banking in Bangladesh, a top official of Visa Inc said. "Some banks are now in the process of buying the mPOS devices; within the first half of this year, you will see it in Bangladesh," Uttam Nayak, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa Inc, told the FE in an interview at a city hotel recently. "mPOS will really open the door of inclusive banking," he said.
Bangladesh: Thursday’s major market indicators: The call money rate eased slightly on Thursday while appreciating trend of the local currency against the US currency continues in the inter-bank market, treasury officials said. The call rate ranged between 5.25 per cent and 8.00 per cent on the day against 5.35 per cent and 8.25 per cent of the previous working day. But most of the deals were made at rates between 7.00 per cent and 8.00 per cent on the day, they added.
Muhith eyes $75b exports in five years: Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday asked businesses to improve their export capacity so that the country's annual exports reach the $75-billion mark within the government's five-year tenure. “We will be able to achieve the export target of $30.5 billion for the current fiscal year despite some problems in the country,” Muhith said. Exports earned $27.02 billion in fiscal 2012-2013, and $19.82 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, according to Export Promotion Bureau. “I firmly believe we can increase export earnings to $75 billion a year within the next five years,” Muhith said, adding that garment products will remain "an important factor" in achieving the new target. "We have come to power for five years and will complete the term."
BBN/SSR/AD-23Mar14-9:41 pm (BST)