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.
Govt eyes Tk 17,000cr in budget support next fiscal year
The government has set a target to mobilise Tk 17,000 crore in budget support from development partners in fiscal 2020-21 to meet its additional financing need owing to the coronavirus pandemic. The budget support being sought is way higher than the Tk 2,100 crore set in the original fiscal plan for this year and Tk 56 crore in the previous one.
JS passes supplementary budget for FY 2019-20
Jatiyo Sangsad or JS on Monday passed the supplementary budget of Tk. 465.2 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 ending on June 30. The supplementary budget is an additional amount for a given fiscal year given out from the national exchequer in favour of divisions and ministries in addition to their already approved allocations.
Banks’ borrowing thru REPO rises 44 times
Banks’ lending from the Bangladesh Bank through REPO (repurchase agreement) has increased more than 44 times in the last three months (March-May) amid the coronavirus pandemic compared with their borrowing in the last three months of the year 2019 by using the same instrument. As per the central bank data, the banks’ borrowing through REPO increased to Tk 1,70,706 crore in March-May this year. The banks’ borrowing from the BB through REPO was Tk 3,879.20 crore in October-December last year.
Covid-19 unmasks business potential for mask makers
Bashundhara Group had set up a surgical mask unit more than half a decade ago. But the group dismantled the unit, keeping only a small machine in operation, after three years because of a poor response from buyers for masks. Now, that small machine is running round the clock and producing 20,000 face masks a day. But the number is too small to meet the demand that has skyrocketed since the detection of the first Covid-19 case in Bangladesh on March 8.
BB extends suspension for adverse loan classification
The central bank has extended the suspension period of adverse classification of any loan by three months more to facilitate business activities that have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Under the latest relaxation, all the scheduled banks have been instructed not to adversely classify any loan until September 30, according to a notification issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday. Earlier, the banks were asked not to classify loans until June 30.
Fear of remittance flow hitting historic low
With a fear of global remittance flow declining to a historic low this year, the United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has urged countries to develop more conducive policy and regulatory environments that enable competition, regulation and innovation on the remittance market, and declare these services essential. “The COVID-19 restrictions have hit the economic sectors that employ migrant workers, such as tourism, hospitality and agribusiness, hard. As a result, many migrants have become underemployed or unemployed. Remittance flows are projected to make their sharpest decline in history, falling by 20 per cent in 2020,” IFAD said on Tuesday.
Kamal sets a bullish 5.2pc GDP growth target for this fiscal year
Bangladesh would be logging in the highest growth among the South Asian nations if the revised growth target of 5.2 per cent can be achieved this fiscal year, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in parliament yesterday. The government was originally gunning for an 8.2 per cent GDP growth for fiscal 2019-20 but has now brought it down owing to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stocks fall for 2nd day after budget
Dhaka stocks fell again on Monday as the proposed national budget failed to boost the investors’ confidence hit by the worsening COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission-introduced ceiling on share price fall to check free fall on the market also kept investors muted, market operators said.
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