Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Lower interest rate spread raises hope of higher investment
Interest rate spread fell 0.48 percentage point in the first 11 months of last fiscal year and dipped below 5 percent -- a trend which the government says will help attract investment. Spread -- the difference between banks' lending and deposit rates -- was 4.83 percent in May this year, down from 5.31 percent in June last year. Finance Minister AMA Muhith in his budget speech last month said spread is shrinking gradually due to banking sector reforms.
731 recruited for BASIC Bank in breach of rules
Government auditors have unearthed irregularities in appointing some 731 officials to the state-owned Basic Bank causing the bank a loss of about Tk 15.9 million (1.59 crore) every month. Official sources said the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh in its latest audit on the bank revealed that about Tk 15.9 million went to the waste every month for such recruitments made by bending rules. The audit started on September 15, 2013. The recruitment-related papers and personal documents were reviewed before preparing the audit report by the commercial audit directorate of the CAG.
Bangladesh’s stocks extend rally for 3rd straight week
Bangladesh’s stocks extended their winning streak for the three straight weeks that ended on Tuesday as earning news enchanted investors. Week-on-week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 56.22 points or 1.22 percent to finish the week at 4,656.14. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rose 25.63 points or 1.43 percent to settle at 1,820.88. The DSE Shariah Index gained 13.48 points or 1.19 percent to end at 1,147.21.
Economic zone investors to get 10-year tax holiday
The government has offered a lucrative incentive package for investors and developers of the country’s economic zones. The investors will get a 10-year tax holiday while 12-year tax holiday was approved for the developers. National Board of Revenue has published two separate statutory regulatory orders on July 12 offering tax benefits to developers and investors. The investors will get complete tax exemption on their income from the economic zones for first three years and will enjoy the gradually reduced rates for next seven years.
65pc of selected shops yet to install ECR, POS in six years
The National Board of Revenue has made very little success in persuading the shopkeepers from 11 categories to install electronic cash registers or point of sales at their shops in half a decade of the introduction of the system. More than 65 per cent of the shops selected for using the ECR or POS have not yet installed the technology, according to the NBR data.
Banks asked to ensure ATM, POS operations in Eid
The central bank of Bangladesh has asked the commercial banks to ensure operations of their ATM (Automated Teller Machine) and POS (Point of Sale) network round-the-clock during the Eid vacation. “We’ve given the instruction to ensure digital financial transactions, particularly in the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka. The country’s scheduled banks will remain closed from July 17 to July 19 on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival of the Muslims.
200 garment factories yet to pay workers' dues
About 200 sub-contracting garment factories which are not members of BGMEA are yet to fully pay salaries and festival bonuses to workers, with the Eid just around the corner. Some factories either paid salaries in half or only bonus, but did not pay in full (both salaries and bonus) yet, said Sirajul Islam Rony, workers' representative to the minimum wage board for garment workers. Some factories had not paid at all, even though they had pledged to make payments by yesterday, Rony said.
Bangladesh’s forex crosses $25bn-mark again
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve crossed the US$25 billion-mark again on Tuesday following higher flow of inward remittances ahead of the Eid festival and steady growth of export earnings. The reserve rose to $25.03 billion on the day from $24.76 billion of the previous working day. It was $25.02 billion on June 25 last, according to the central bank latest statistics.
BBN/SSR/AD