Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Bankers want faster, less-costly solution to NPL problems
Bankers present at a seminar in the city Wednesday sought a faster, immediate and less-costly solution to the problem of rising non-performing loans (NPL) in the country’s banking sector. They said default-culture has gone deep and is rising. Bankers also identified the huge amounts of non-performing loans and the high yield rates of savings instruments as some of the major reasons behind the high interest rates they are charging on their clients.
BTRC to allow PSTN, Wimax cos to vie with mobile cos for 3G licence
The telecom regulator has decided to allow private land phone and Wimax service operators to participate in auction along with the mobile operators for the remaining 3G spectrums as the regulator would issue two more 3G mobile phone service licences. The regulator, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, last week approved the auction guideline amendment allowing the Public Switched Telephone Network (private land phone) and the Broadband Wireless Access (Wimax) operators to take part in the auction after the mobile phone operators in several occasions denied participating in it. A BTRC meeting headed by its chairman Sunil Kanti Bose approved the amendment to the guidelines for 1800MHz and 2100MHz auction.
Bangladesh creates new fund for export-oriented workers for emergency situations
The government yesterday formed a separate welfare fund for export-oriented workers to face any emergency situation and provide them with insurance coverage. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed made the announcement after a meeting with owners of different industrial sectors at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment in Dhaka. Every exporter will contribute 0.03 percent of his or her total yearly export earning to the fund which in the first year should cross Tk 72 crore, the minister said. “Every year the fund will increase in line with the rise in our export earning,” the minister said, adding that this fund can provide workers with insurance coverage in the case of any industrial disaster such as the Rana Plaza building collapse.
Bangladesh’s stocks end higher for 2nd day
Bangladesh’s stocks ended higher for the second straight sessions on Wednesday with improving turnover as investors continued on buying spree. The market opened with an optimistic note, which sustained till closing of the session. At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 75.51 points or 1.88 percent to close at 4,089.88 points. The two other indices also ended higher.
GDP count on quarterly basis, bank interest rates to be published daily
Data on country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be produced and disseminated quarterly instead of the annual basis while interest rates on both deposits and lending will be published daily instead of monthly by maintaining global standards. With this end in view, Bangladesh has started preparation for upgrading its position as a Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) country from the existing General Data Dissemination System (GDDS). Government authorities believe this upgrading would improve the quality of data in line with the international standards.
Muhith pauses before granting Shimanta Bank
Finance minister AMA Muhith is apprehensive about setting up the ‘Shimanta Bank’ for the Border Guards Bangladesh after the bitter experience with such specialised bank so far. While prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in December assured BGB members of allowing the proposed bank, finance ministry officials said the operational modalities will undergo major changes before another specialised bank is allowed. ‘The minister (Muhith) remains unsupportive towards Shimanta Bank right at this moment, given the bitter experience with Prabashi Kallayan Bank,’ a senior finance ministry official told New Age on Wednesday.
Inflation ticks up in April
Inflation rose slightly, to 6.32 percent in April from 6.27 percent in the previous month, riding on the back of higher food prices, including costly hilsa fish, during the Bangla New Year celebrations. “Earlier, inflation rose due to bad politics, but inflation went up in April because of Pahela Baishakh,” said Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, while releasing the inflation data yesterday. Kamal said, earlier the celebrations were mostly confined to metropolitan cities, but this year, people from all corners celebrated the New Year. The minister said inflation went up because of a steep rise in hilsa fish prices amid an inadequate supply, compared to demand. “It was demand-pull inflation.” Hilsa prices trebled in the run up to the first day of the Bangla year.
Bangladesh’s FX, money markets close stable Wednesday, stocks up
Bangladesh’s both foreign exchange and money markets remained almost stable in the closing on Wednesday while the stocks market ended higher for second consecutive day. The call rate ranged between 6.0 percent and 8.0 percent, unchanged from the previous working day, market operators said.
On the other hand, the banks quoted the dollar single rate at BDT 77.80 which was also unchanged from the previous level.
SMEF wants 5-year tax holiday for plastic industry
The SME Foundation has made a series of proposals to be incorporated in the upcoming budget for accelerating the growth of SME industry.
The proposals include imposition of higher duty on imported products and cutting tax and VAT for domestic products. The state-owned organisation placed 27-point budget proposals to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Tuesday to encourage domestic SMEs, particularly plastic and electric goods, light engineering, agro-processing and printing industries. The budget proposals were prepared after a series of meetings with industry people and different stakeholders. The foundation recommended giving a 10-year tax holiday for labour intensive plastic industry for helping the sector increase production and facilitate exports.
April exports fall slightly
Export earnings dropped by 0.53 percent year-on-year to $2.39 billion in April mainly due to seasonal effects. The country shipped products worth $2.41 billion in the same month a year ago, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Compared to March sales of $2.59 billion, exports also fell by 7.52 percent in April. Citing the trend over the past five years, an EPB official said exports generally fall in April.