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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.

China won’t bankroll new projects for now
China has turned down a proposal to fund the Barishal-Patuakhali-Kuakata four-lane project on the grounds that it will no more consider any new venture under the government-to-government cooperation. It has also requested Bangladesh to concentrate more on the timely execution of existing 27 projects for which it pledged more than $25 billion.

ADP execution slightly rises in July-Aug
Implementation of the annual development programme inched up to 4.48 per cent in two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year 2019-2020 against 3.49 per cent in the same period of the FY 2018-2019. The government’s ADP implementation agencies including ministries and divisions could spend Tk 9,626 crore in July-August of FY20, up Tk 3,308 crore on the same period of FY19, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the planning ministry.

Onion prices to come down within 24 hours: govt
The government yesterday said its measures alongside adequate market supplies would bring down onion prices locally within 24 hours. “We have recommended lowering the margin (amount needed to be kept with banks) for opening LCs (letters of credit) for onion import from Myanmar,” said Bangladesh Tariff Commission Member Sha Md Abu Raihan Alberuni.

BB backtracks from move to cut banks’ ADR
The central bank of Bangladesh has backtracked from its previous decision of slashing the banks’ advance-deposit ratio (ADR) aiming to help them invest more for achieving expected economic growth by the end of this fiscal year (FY), 2019-20. Under the revised decision, the ADR remains unchanged at 85 per cent for all the conventional banks and at 90 per cent for the Shariah-based Islamic banks, according to a notification, issued by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Tuesday.

Bangladesh’s stocks end lower amid low confidence
Bangladesh’s stocks ended lower on Tuesday, a day after the finance minister holding a marathon meeting with the capital market stakeholders to revive the investors’ confidence. DSEX, prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 30.74 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 4928, after adding 27 points in the past three straight sessions.

Forecast-based financing reduces loss
Early financing and actions based on anticipation of disasters can reduce human sufferings and losses, speakers at a dialogue on forecast-based financing (FbF) said yesterday. The FbF is an innovative mechanism whereby early actions at community and government level are pre-planned based on credible forecasts, and are funded and implemented before a climate shock, according to World Food Programme (WFP).

Social auditors protect brands, not RMG workers: report
Global social audit firms in the readymade garment sector have been protecting the profit and reputation of brands but failed to protect workers’ safety and improving their working condition, according to a global report. Clean Clothes Campaign, a global workers’ rights group, on Tuesday published the report titled ‘Fig Leaf for Fashion: How social auditing protects brands and fails workers’ and it held social auditing industry responsible for number of fatal accidents in Bangladesh’s apparel sector.

SME Foundation limps with fund crunch
Shoe manufacturing hub at Bhairab in Kishoreganj is the largest of the country’s 177 shoe-clusters, identified by the Small and Medium Enterprise Foundation (SMEF) that imparts trainings to startups for skills development, and helps them get low cost fund. According to the sector insiders, for lack of low-cost financing, the immensely potential shoe making business at Bhairab is failing to flourish as per the expectation.

BBN/SSR/AD