Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The BBN has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Mobile banking boom in Bangladesh
The mobile banking services have become rapidly popular in Bangladesh as low income population use the easy payment system, officials said. More than 25.25 million people have opened accounts so far to avail the mobile financial services (MFS) which is growing day by day, officials at Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the BBN. “The mobile banking activities have become highly popular in Bangladesh. The growth of such transaction has increased rapidly,” a senior BB official told the BBN in Dhaka.
BD to import 100MW from Tripura by Dec
Bangladesh will start importing an additional 100 megawatt (MW) of electricity from the Palatana power plant in Indian state of Tripura by December this year aiming to meet the mounting local demand for electricity, said officials. "We are now constructing necessary electricity transmission line to import the electricity from Tripura," Managing Director of state-run Power Generation Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) Masum-Al-Beruni told the FE Tuesday. He said electricity from the Palatana power plant will reach Bangladesh through Jangalia of Comilla.
Garment makers demand fair price from EU retailers
Garment makers yesterday asked European retailers to pay prices which are proportionate with the rising costs of production at factory level. The exporters raised the issue of fair price at a meeting with the visiting European Union parliamentary delegation in Dhaka. The cost of production has been increasing by the year at the factories but the prices for per piece of garment remained the same for years or even declined in some cases, Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said after the meeting.
BB to assess loss to political violence
Bangladesh Bank will assess the loss to the political violence during the ongoing countrywide blockade and recurring hartals, a central bank official told BSS on Tuesday. ‘The central bank will assess the losses on monthly basis and will compare the current situation with the cost of political violence that the country saw in 2013’, BB executive directive M Mahfuzur Rahman said. The country’s leading think-tank, Centre for Policy Dialogue, estimated that the loss during the shutdowns and blockade from July to December, 2013 was Tk 50,000 crore.
Govt may sign PSCs with 2 US firms
Oil and gas exploration in the deep sea is likely to begin next winter as the cabinet today may approve signing of the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with two US companies. The firms -- Statoil and ConocoPhillips -- jointly proposed exploring deep sea blocks 12, 16 and 21 in the off-shore block bidding round floated in 2012. Though their proposal scored very high in the post-bidding assessment, the Petrobangla took time to complete the evaluation as these were single bids and the government initially wanted to award two blocks instead of three. The government later added the third block to the list, considering the bidders' interest.
Pvt cos likely to be allowed to set up ATMs
Bangladesh Bank is likely to allow private companies to set up automated teller machines and point of sale terminals in a bid to popularise more the card-based transaction, said officials of central bank. Only scheduled banks are now allowed to set up ATMs and PoS terminals. The central bank has recently taken initiative in this regard and a private company, Information Technology Consultants Ltd, has already sought BB’s permission to set up ATMs and PoS terminals.
Bangladesh’s stocks return to green
Bangladesh’s stocks returned to the green on Tuesday after a major setback on the previous day as opportunist investors took position on lucrative issues defying ongoing political strife in the country. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 30.93 points or 0.64 percent to close at 4,800.40 points after witnessing volatility throughout the session. The two other indices also closed in positive zone.
Bankers fear fall in pvt sector credit growth
The rising trend in private sector credit growth continued until December last but bankers feared a declining trend in the next months due to the ongoing political turmoil. They have also predicted that the credit growth in the private sector might see a downward trend in January last after showing a rising trend over the last few months. The sector's credit growth rose to 13.50 per cent in December, 2014 on a year-on-year basis from 12.67 per cent in November last. It was 12.12 per cent in October last.
BBN/SSR/AD-18Feb15-9:20 am (BST)