Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Govt to seek more time for reforms tied to IMF loan
The government may seek another three months from the International Monetary Fund to meet the conditions for the last two instalments of the ECF loan programme. The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) loan programme, which ushered in some major reforms in the economic field, is scheduled to end on July 31. The report on the two last instalments, amounting about $280 million, was due to be placed before the IMF Board today, as per the multilateral lender's board schedule. But the proposal has now been dropped from the schedule after two important conditions remain pending.
Public issue rules await more new provisions
The securities regulator is incorporating some provisions into the public issue rules under a proposed amendment in a bid to ensure more accountability and transparency of issuer companies and relevant stakeholders, officials have said. One of the new provisions will require companies to get their financial statements mandatorily audited by any of the auditors from the panel formed by the securities regulator before going public.
Bangladesh’s stocks end higher for 7th day
Bangladesh’s stocks extended their gaining streak for the seven straight sessions on Tuesday, the opening day after six-day Eid holidays as investors remained continued on buying spree. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), crossed the 4,700-mark and ended at 4,731.32, gaining 75.17 points or 1.6 percent. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rose 37.46 points or 2.05 percent to close at 1,858.34. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) advanced 16.92 points or 1.47 percent to settle at 1,164.14.
BTC favours duty cut on CKD sedan car import for assembling
Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) has recommended the National Board of Revenue for reducing duty on import of completely knocked-down (CKD) Sedan cars to assemble those in the country. In a recent letter to the revenue board, the tariff commission said that the government should consider the proposal of Pragati Industries Ltd for reducing the import duty of CKD or fully disassembled 1200 cc Sedan cars to 37.25 per cent from the existing 99.35 per cent.
Credit growth remains sluggish on poor investment
Private sector credit growth fell short by about two percentage points from the central bank-set target of 15.5 percent in the second half of last fiscal year. Year-on-year credit growth in the private sector stood at 13.6 percent in June, the last month of the fiscal year, slightly up from 13.57 percent in May and 13.27 percent in April, according to provisional data from Bangladesh Bank. The central bank linked the slowdown to a three-month spell of political instability, including non-stop strikes and blockades that began on January 5.
Tax-GDP ratio to be 16.1pc in 7th Plans terminal year
The government is set to enhance its revenue mobilisation target to 16.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the final year of the proposed Seventh Five-Year Plan (SFYP), officials said Tuesday. The proposed target is 5.3 percentage points higher than that of the projected rate of 10.8 per cent in the just-concluded financial year (FY) 2014-15.
25,000 Teletalk SIMs detected in illegal VoIP calls
A number of 25,000 Teletalk SIMs have been detected in the use of illegal VoIP (voice over internet protocol) calls that bring in a loss of around 75 paisa per minute for the government and 10 paisa for mobile operators. The top three cellphone operators in the country, Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink made the detection in June through MSISDN (Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number). Seeking anonymity, a BTRC official said in last June, Grameenphone watched 11,000 Teletalk SIMS, Robi 9,000 and Banglalink 5,000 being used for illegal VoIP calls.
Gold price falls to five-year low
The gold price has fallen to its lowest level in more than five years as talk of a US interest rate rise has led investors to sell the precious metal. Gold closed 2.5 per cent lower at $1,104.60 an ounce in London, having earlier fallen below $1,100 an ounce for the first time since March 2010, reports BBC.
BBN/SSR/AD