Thursday’s morning news highlights of Bangladesh

Last updated: March 26, 2015

Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The BBN (Bangladesh Business News) has prepared the morning news highlights compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.

At the dawn of Independence
It was like an eerie calm before the storm. Since the morning of March 25, 1971, people's nerves were on the edge as it became almost clear that talks between the Awami League, the Pakistan People's Party and the Yahya Khan junta had failed. No one had any idea what was going to happen. All eyes were on one house -- the Dhanmondi 32 residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the undisputed leader of seven crore Bangalees.

War sites stay uncared for

Most of the sites linked to the history of the 1971 liberation war, including major battlefields, places of guerilla operations and many torture cells and camps run by Pakistani military and their collaborators are yet to be officially identified 44 years after the independence. Liberation war affairs ministry sources said that they had built memorials at 13 places of frontline battle zones in 10 districts but did not know if the places where freedom fighters had carried out major operations, and torture cells and camps where the Pakistani military and their local auxiliaries used to torture and kill freedom fighters and violate women had been preserved as memorials.

Contractors fear upswing in construction costs
Businessmen specially contractors are in trouble as they feared that higher cost of bricks will increase the cost of construction.   President of Bangladesh Association of Construction Industry (BACI), a platform of the country's contractors, Md Aftabuddin Ahmed told the FE that the hike in brick prices would hit them hard in the current financial year. He said that most of the tenders had been completed and final implementation of the government's development work was going on. So, the additional cost would have to be borne by the contractors.

Non-banks barred from sacking CEOs without BB permission
The central bank of Bangladesh on Wednesday amended its rules on appointment and removal of the chief executive officers (CEOs) of non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) like commercial banks, prohibiting their sacking without its prior permission. Under the amended rules, the authorities of NBFIs cannot force the CEOs to submit their resignation or cancel their appointment contract without prior approval from the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank. The CEOs will have to inform the chairmen of the boards of directors of the respective NBFIs about the valid grounds for resignations a month before if they want to scrap appointment contracts voluntarily before the expiry of the agreement, according to a notification, issued by the central bank on Wednesday.

Private sugar refiners irked by curbs on imports
The government has brought down the ceiling for raw sugar imports by 50 percent and banned setting up of new refineries and expansion of existing ones by private refiners as a helping hand for struggling state-owned mills. The decision, which was taken on January 20 this year, has irked private refiners, who said it would be tough for them to survive. “The big refiners may get by, but small players like us cannot -- by operating at half the production capacity. There are massive fixed costs,” said Golam Rahman, managing director of Deshbandhu Group that runs a sugar refinery. Its annual capacity is 1.5 lakh tones, but it is now allowed to import only 0.75 lakh tonnes of raw sugar, he said. The restriction, Rahman says, will give rise to bank defaulters.

Yunus clarifies gift tax dispute with NBR
Nobel Laureate Professor Mohammad Yunus has cleared his position about tax dispute ensued between him and the National Board of Revenue over gifting of earned money to his family members. “This is not legally required as the donation is tax-free according to the Gift Tax of 1990. Professor Yunus has appealed to the High Court and the case is now  sub-judice,” he said in a statement yesterday. His argument came in response to the claim made by the National Board of Revenue that Yunus had given out about Tk77 crore as gift to his family members and others over three assessment years, against which Tk15.39 crore as tax was payable to the state.

Bangladesh’s stocks end positive amid volatility
Bangladesh’s stocks returned to green on Wednesday amid high volatility as investors remained followed cautious stance. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went up by 15.89 points or 0.35 percent to close at 4,509.30 points after two sessions fall. The two others indices also ended in green.  The DS30 index, comprising blue chips gained 6.63 points or 0.38 percent to close at 1,713.85 points.

Banks to remain open on Friday, Saturday
The central bank has asked the scheduled banks to keep open their branches located in Dhaka and Chittagong cities on Friday and Saturday to facilitate the filing of nominations for the upcoming city corporation elections in the areas. The Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, issued a circular in this connection on Wednesday and asked the and chief executive officers and managing directors of all 56 scheduled banks to keep open their all branches in the two cities on March 27 and 28 as the candidates of the city polls will have to submit their deposit money by March 29 through pay-order or treasury invoice to the Election Commission along with their nomination papers.

BBN/SSR/AD-26Mar15-10:38 am (BST)

 

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