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.
BSEC finds ‘flaws’ in Chinese consortium bid, may reject it
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to reject the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s proposal to make a Chinese consortium as its strategic partner by selling 25 per cent stake as the BSEC found the consortium’s proposal ‘violates’ relevant rules and regulations, said BSEC officials. The stock market regulator, which has been against the selection of the Chinese consortium of Shenzen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange, from the very beginning, on Tuesday sent a number of queries to the DSE about the consortium’s proposal and asked it to submit reply along with tender documents by March 4.
Energy balance, generation report: PDB oblivious to Power Division directive
Power Development Board (PDB) appears to be oblivious to a directive issued by Power Division to prepare a report on energy balance and generation schedule ahead of the summer. As part of their measures to meet the electricity demand during the summer, the Power Division authorities at a meeting on December 13 last year asked the PDB to prepare a report within seven workdays on the production capacity and demand during summer months.
Petrobangla to pass on high cost of LNG to consumers
State-run Petrobangla would propose to raise natural gas tariff next week, aimed at passing a portion of the imported LNG cost on to the consumers. "We're working on it with a target of submitting the proposal to the energy regulator by the first week of March," Petrobangla chairman Abul Mansur Md Faizullah told the FE Tuesday. The import of LNG (liquefied natural gas) is expected to be expensive and substantially increase the cost of natural gas supply in the country.
Power import from India to double by June: Shringla
Bangladesh's electricity import from India will double to 1,200 MW by June this year, said Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla yesterday. The policymakers have already discussed the issues related to the import, Shringla said. Bangladesh already imports 660MW of electricity from India.
Further depreciation of BDT likely if trade deficit widens
The ministry of finance (MoF) foresees the necessity of depreciating taka further if Bangladesh's external financial imbalance intensifies in the second half of this fiscal year, officials said. Taka depreciated by 5.0 per cent against greenback in 2017. The worries crop up as the ministry of finance (MoF) marks several macroeconomic risk factors for the current fiscal year (FY). Unsatisfactory revenue collection, slower budget implementation, external imbalances, growing non-performing loans, and high inflation are on the flip side of the economy, they added.
Tk 1,683cr project to transform rail connectivity with India
The government is set to transform about 67 kilometres of meter gauge rail line into dual gauge for Tk 1,683 crore to provide railway transit to India, Nepal and Bhutan and increase trade among the countries. The project, for which India would finance 81 percent of the cost, got the green light yesterday at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council.
Project to cause resource wastage: experts
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the past week approved a project to be implemented without bidding at an estimated cost of Tk 1,100 crore to transmit at least 250 million cubic feet natural gas per day from Bhola to Barisal. Experts said that the project taken without any comprehensive study might cause wastage of resources.
How much are we actually earning through software exports?
According to the government, Bangladesh has exported software worth $800 million (Tk80 crore) last year. The objective was set to export software amounting to a billion dollars by next December. However, questions have risen regarding the viability of this objective, as information on the amount of income derived through software export is mostly derived through guesswork. The method of blending institutional information and guesswork has given rise to questions for years.
BBN/SSR/AD