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.
Govt wants more time to meet conditions on RMG sector: The government has sought more time to meet some of the conditions set by the US and the EU to improve the workplace safety and labour standards in the country's readymade garment (RMG) sector. The government has sought time until June, July and October next for recruitment of additional 200 inspectors, formulation of rules for labour law implementation and making sure the EPZ law conforms to the international standards respectively.
Export tax cuts concern IMF: The International Monetary Fund has sought a concrete action plan from the government to counter the impact of export tax cuts, expected to bring in revenue losses of around Tk 2,000 crore over the next 15 months. Last month, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) slashed the export tax on readymade garments to 0.3 percent from 0.8 percent and on all other products to 0.6 percent from 0.8 percent, in a bid to make up for the losses incurred last year due to political turmoil.
State-owned banks in Bangladesh: From cancer to pimple: “IT TOOK us two years, but the greed kept us going,” Yusuf Munshi told police after they arrested him and his accomplice. Mr Munshi had tunnelled under a branch of Sonali Bank, Bangladesh’s biggest state-owned bank, in the town of Kishoreganj, and made off with five sacks of cash containing 164m taka ($2m). On social media, people advised the robbers that there is a less time-consuming way to get your hands on a pile of cash: befriend the bank manager, the Economist reported.
Banks turn to govt securities over lower credit demand: Country's commercial banks have started investing their excess funds in the government securities following lower demand for fresh credit especially from private sector, bankers said. As a result, the banks' investment in the treasury bonds and treasury bills rose to Tk 929.09 billion, which was 94.34 per cent of the total excess liquidity, as of February 20 last from Tk 790.09 billion on January 9 this year, according to the central bank statistics.
Bangladesh can eradicate extreme poverty by 2021: Bangladesh has the capacity to eradicate extreme poverty by 2021, well before other countries in the subcontinent, analysts said yesterday. To achieve this, Bangladesh needs to bring one million extreme poor families out of poverty each year until 2020, they said. The observation came at an inter-ministerial meeting co-organised by the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division (RDCD) of the government and Economic Empowerment of the Poorest (EEP) at Cirdap auditorium in Dhaka. EEP, a partnership programme between the Department for International Development (DFID) and the government, was adopted to eradicate extreme poverty to achieve the millennium development goals.
Nine kg more gold seized, smuggling rises in Bangladesh: Customs officials in separate incidents arrested two persons along with 84 gold bars, weighing 9.079 kg, at Shah Amanat International Airport in the port city Chittagong on Wednesday. The arrested were identified as Mohammad Ismail and Mohammad Sohel, both residents of Rauzan upazila in the district, the customs officials confirmed. Sudden surge in gold smuggling in Bangladesh has raised strong suspicion that the precious metal is distained for the neighbouring Indian market, customs officials and insiders said.
NBR to hike taxes on soft drinks by 10pc: The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has moved to hike taxes on soft drinks by 10 per cent to check abuse of the existing tax benefit by some energy drink producers. The Value Added Tax (VAT) wing of the NBR has decided to increase supplementary duty (SD) to 25 per cent from existing 15 per cent on all types of soft drinks. The board is set to issue a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) by next week to give effect to the tax hike at production-stage of soft drinks.
RMG factory shut for a lack of work order: A garment factory in Savar yesterday closed its operation permanently in the face of insufficient work order for the last few months, owners said. Mohammad Ashek Elahi Sumon, a director of Bonds Fashions at Kalma area in the industrial belt, said the factory had been facing an acute fund shortage. Sumon also said the workers were given half of the salary for the month of March on April 13, as it could not afford a full pay. The workers started demonstration at 6pm when the factory management said it would pay their termination benefits on May 10.
BBN/SSR/AD-17Apr14-9:49 am (BST)