File photo: debt.org

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.

Historically bad loan situation makes govt creative
The government is homing in on forming a public asset management company (PAMC), a brainchild of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, as part of its efforts to redress the financial sector that is fast approaching a losing battle against default loans. The finance ministry has already prepared a draft act titled “Bangladesh Asset Management Company Act” to purchase default loans from banks and sell them off to individuals or corporate entities.

Dhaka decries Delhi’s discriminatory policy

Dhaka has protested New Delhi’s discriminatory policy against Bangladeshi individuals and entities who plan to invest in India. Officials said India has kept Bangladeshi citizens and companies in “restricted” category for a long time by stating that they can invest only under the “government route” category.

Errant banks to face the music for import payment delay
The central bank of Bangladesh will take stringent action against the authorised dealer banks who sidestep making import payment obligations. The warning of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, came in a notice issued on Wednesday. The BB asked all AD banks to comply with the existing foreign exchange rules and regulations on import payment liabilities properly.

Businesses brace for impact of China coronavirus outbreak
Businesses and experts fear that Bangladesh’s trade with its largest trading partner China would be affected if the deadly coronavirus outbreak lingers in China. Businesses have said that they are yet to experience any trade disruption with China because of the holiday on the occasion of Chinese New Year celebration that coincides with the virus outbreak in the East Asian country.

Bangladesh’s stocks slip into red again

Bangladesh’s Stocks slipped back into the red on Wednesday, after a single-day break, as cautious investors went on selling on sector-wise large-cap issues. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 28.97 points or 0.64 percent to settle at 4,481.

Meena Bazar in talks to take over Agora
Meena Bazar, one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains, is in talks to acquire its peer Agora in a bid to scale up its business volume to strengthen its foothold. The discussions, which is halfway through, is expected to be complete by the middle of this year. People familiar with the matter were not interested in sharing the figures being negotiated.

Industrial NPLs surge by Tk54,416cr in a year
Non-performing loans (NPLs) in the industrial sector soared by 24.75% year-on-year to Tk54,416 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal year due mainly to willful defaulters and higher bank interest rates. During the one year period, NPLs in industrial loans increased by Tk10,795 crore, according to the latest data of Bangladesh Bank(BB).

Govt cuts stamp duty on bond trust deed
Finance ministry has cut the stamp duty on registration of trust deed of issuance of bond, debenture and sukuk (Islamic bond) to 0.1 per cent from 2 per cent to boost the country’s bond market. The ministry has also set the highest amount of the duty at Tk 10 lakh on total value of a deed.

BBN/SSR/AD