Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Bangladesh Business News (BBN) prepares the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Export performance of non-RMG sectors well below target: Most sectors barring the readymade garment (RMG) have been performing poorly in terms of export earnings since the beginning of the current fiscal year (2013-14). The shortfall in revenue earning of these sectors, stretching from agricultural products to ship-building, was at least US$ 537 million during the July-March period as against the combined target of US$4.5 billion, official statistics at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) shows.
Funds pour into telecom, data processing: Investment in some industries, including data processing and telecom, has been rising significantly although the trend of overall investment is still sluggish. Opening of letters of credit (LC) for capital machinery in the data processing industry rose by 145 percent year-on-year during the July-February period of the current fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bank's special review on the import situation.
New banks want to set up more branches in Bangladesh capital: The top management of nine new private commercial banks (PCBs) has urged the central bank to allow them for setting up more bank branches in the capital Dhaka to facilitate their business activities. The chairmen of new banks made the apply at the first meeting held in the Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters on Wednesday with BB Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair, bankers and officials said. They also requested the central bank chief for relaxation of the branch expansion policy allowing them 2:1 ratio instead of the existing 1:1 for opening urban and rural bank branches for at least three years.
Move to bring 0.166m new taxpayers under tax net by June: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has moved to add 0.166 million new taxpayers under its tax net by opening their income tax files within next month. The board recently instructed its field offices across the country to open tax files of the newly identified taxpayers, mainly businessmen and household owners, by June 30 next. Survey teams of NBR have started the search for new taxpayers from December, 2012 that concluded in January, 2014. They collected information of the potential taxpayers in a prescribed form.
Credit scheme starts for stock investors Sunday: The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) will release funds from the Tk 900-crore government refinancing scheme for share investors today (Sunday), as the finance ministry withdrew its condition of providing personal guarantee by the directors of merchant banks and stockbrokers to receive the funds. In August last year, the finance ministry approved the scheme and the central bank released the first instalment of Tk 300 crore in favour of the ICB, the scheme manager. The ICB has since sanctioned Tk 345 crore for the retail investors affected by the 2011 market crash, through 31 merchant banks and stockbrokers.
BB to launch Tk 1,000cr SME refinance, pre-finance schemes: Bangladesh Bank is going to introduce four new refinance and pre-finance schemes of Tk 1,000 crore for small and medium entrepreneurs in a bid to boost the country’s SME sector, said officials. A BB official told New Age on Sunday that non-resident Bangladeshis, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Union would give financial support to create the refinance and pre-finance schemes.
The central bank will collect Tk 400 crore from the NRBs to create a refinance scheme in cooperation with the United Nations Capital Development Fund, he said.
‘The BB will be able to bring the NRBs fund in the country under the initiative. The central bank has already held a meeting with the UNCDF in this regard,’ he said.
Weekly review: Bangladesh stocks loss substantially: Bangladesh stocks declined sharply in the last week with sluggish trading activities as investors showed lack of confidence in local companies by selling off massive positions throughout the week, market operators said. Week-on-week, DSEX, the benchmark index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), came down below 4,600-point mark and ended the week at 4,566.86 points, losing 135.59 points or 2.88 percent. The other two indices also suffered heavily. The DS30, comprising blue chips, lost 48.27 points or 2.81 percent to close at 1,671.93 points. The DSE Shariah Index went down by 22.04 points or 2.12 percent to close at 1,018.20 points.
BBN/SSR/AD-04May14-8:20 am (BST)