File photo: The Economist
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The BBN (Bangladesh Business News) has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh lowest in bank soundness in S Asia
Bangladesh’s ranking in soundness of banks is the lowest among the South Asian countries — a fact which experts blame on irregularities and lack of good governance in financial sector. According to the “Global Competitiveness Report 2019”, Bangladesh scored 38.3 out of 100 and ranked 130th out 141 countries in soundness of banks.
Bangladesh among least favourable nations for farmers
Bangladesh has one of the least favourable regulatory environments for farmers although the country is still dependent on the agriculture sector for ensuring food security, poverty reduction and job creation, according to a new World Bank report. Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2019—which was released recently—ranked Bangladesh 75th out of 101 countries as it scored 44.47 points on a scale of 0-100.
Brokers seek Tk 100b lifeline
Stock brokers are seeking a Tk 100 billion fund from the government to inject new life into the moribund capital market. The intermediaries said they are set to submit their proposal to the finance minister today (Thursday) seeking the fund as loans.
Stocks gain slightly but market woes persist
Dhaka stocks gained marginally on Wednesday after a plunge in the previous two sessions as a section of institutional investors went for buying shares to halt the slump at the market while many others preferred to remain on the sidelines amid volatility. The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, gained 0.38 per cent, or 17.94 points, to end at 4,726.62 points on Wednesday after losing 72 points in the previous two sessions.
Net use cost escalation feared
The cost of internet services at the consumer end might go up by 40 per cent unless the government reduces VAT on its value-chain services, industry insiders said. They said the overall cost has gone up by 36 per cent as the rebate provisions have been dropped and 15 per cent VAT on value chains have been re-introduced in the new VAT law.
Cotton import from USA to soar American traders predict
Bangladesh’s cotton consumption will continue to grow in the near future because of higher shipment of garment items stemming from the US-China trade war and for higher demand for natural fibre by Western consumers, said a top official of Cotton USA, an association of American cotton growers and traders. “We see continuous growth of cotton consumption in Bangladesh,” Bruce A Atherley, executive director of Cotton Council International (CCI), a platform of Cotton USA, told The Daily Star in an interview yesterday.
Government drafts responses to complaints
The government has finalised draft responses to the complaints raised by a number of countries against the Bangladesh government about violation of ILO conventions at the International Labour Conference on June 20 this year. Senior government officials said that labour ministry, law ministry and other stakeholders jointly finalised the draft responses to the complaints to avert formation of a commission of inquiry against the country.
Bangladesh moves up 8 spots in Ease of Doing Business index
Bangladesh ranked 168 out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index 2020. According to a report by the World Bank Group (WBG), Bangladesh’s ranking in the organization’s ease of doing business index has gone up by 8 notches to 168 , which was 176 in the previous year.
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