Business

MNA Business Desk: A comprehensive framework to develop the country’s bond market has been drafted by a designated working committee. Titled as ‘Comprehensive framework on the development of bond market in Bangladesh’ the draft report has also been made available to public on Monday. The government assigned nine-member working committee, headed by Md. Khurshid Alam, general manager of debt management department of Bangladesh Bank earlier submitted the report to the governor of Bangladesh Bank. The 45-page report reviewed the current status of bond market, pointed out the barriers to develop a vibrant bond market and spelled out a number of ...

MNA Business Desk: Commonwealth finance ministers have recognized the potential of technology to improve debt transparency while urging closer collaboration to resolve tax challenges arising from growing digital commerce, says a press release. Revenues from tax collection are important for maintaining debt at sustainable levels, yet can often be impaired by the digitization of trade in services, as this often results in countries being unable to determine when, how and where taxes on digital transactions should be collected. Ministers have, therefore, agreed that the Commonwealth should bring its powerful collective voice to ongoing discussions at the Organization for Economic Co-operation ...

MNA Business Desk: A three-day international tourism fair ‘Chittagong Travel Mart 2019’ begins in the port city of Chattogram from Thursday, October 24. The 11th edition of the fair is being organized at the Peninsula Chittagong Hotel by the Bangladesh Monitor, a premier travel fortnightly of the country. Online travel agency Buy Tickets is the title sponsor of the event, says a press release. Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation AJM Nasir Uddin will inaugurate the fair as the chief guest, while Mahbubul Alam, president, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) will be present as the special guest at the ...

MNA Business Desk: Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has expressed his hope that Bangladesh would get its highest loan assistance from the World Bank this time. “The World Bank is very much eager to lend additional loan assistance to Bangladesh and I hope we’ll get the highest loan assistance from the World Bank this time,” he said. The Finance Minister was talking to reporters on Friday after holding separate meetings with IFC regional vice president Snezana Stoiljkovic, Deputy Governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Nobumitsu Hayashi, with the USAID delegation on tax reforms and on road safety issues ...

MNA Business Desk: Netflix Inc added slightly more paying subscribers than Wall Street expected in the third quarter, a relief to investors who had worried the company might fall short just as Disney and Apple prepare to ramp up the streaming video wars. The results for July through September represented a rebound from the previous quarter when Netflix lost US streaming customers for the first time in eight years and missed targets for overseas subscribers. Shares of Netflix rose 9.2 per cent in after-hours trading on Wednesday to $312.69. That performance, combined with concerns about new competitors, had weighed on ...

MNA Business Desk: Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) said on Wednesday its Chief Financial Officer Humphrey Singer, whose departure was announced last month, will step down from the role on Dec 31. Singer’s departure was announced after the company’s clothing, home and beauty managing director Jill McDonald was sacked in July, after which Chief Executive Officer Steve Rowe took direct control of the division.

MNA Business Desk: State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali has said Muslim-friendly environment across the Bangladesh can be a great source to meet the growing demand of Muslim travellers. “Muslim-friendly tourism is the potential segment for Bangladesh to attract tourists from the Muslim countries as well as non-Muslim countries,” he said while addressing an international seminar at a city hotel on Tuesday, reports BSS. Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB) and Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), an organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) organised the seminar titled “Muslim-friendly Tourism’. ...

MNA Business Desk: The Cabinet has approved a draft policy for radioactive waste management, obligating the users of radioactive elements or polluters to take the main role for safe disposal of the hazardous wastes. The draft of the National Policy on Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Management-2019 was approved during the Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office on Monday. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam briefed reporters at the Secretariat after the meeting. The cabinet secretary said the draft policy has been framed as per the guidelines of the International Atomic Energy ...

MNA Business Desk: Country’s largest online shopping platform Daraz Bangladesh (daraz.com.bd), for the second time, organised a seller summit in Chattogram. The main purpose of the event was to inform all the merchants about the latest technological advances that were incorporated after Daraz joined Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company last year, said a media release. Chattogram city Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin was present as the chief guest of the ceremony held on Saturday at Hall 24 Convention Center. Syed Mostahidal Hoq, Managing Director, Khondoker Tasfin Alam, Chief Operating Officer and Fuad Arefin, Chief Commercial Officer of Daraz Bangladesh Limited were ...

MNA Business Desk: Speakers at a roundtable have urged the government to take swift measures to reform the banking sector and set up a dedicated commission to this end. Noted economist Prof Dr Mainul Islam presented the keynote paper at the programme arranged by Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik at the Jatiya Press Club on Saturday. “Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said he won’t give a single taka loan to defaulters. He applied a trick to simplify the process of writing-off bad debt. Various banks are now able to increase write-offs using this relaxed method,” he said. Writing-off more bad debts will ...

MNA Business Desk: The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) will release the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 (GCR 2019) and present the findings of the Bangladesh Business Environment Study 2019 (which has contributed to this report) on Wednesday. The Global Competitiveness Report is the flagship publication of the World Economic Forum (WEF), where CPD is the partner organisation which conducts the Bangladesh chapter of the study. The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 will provide relative rankings of 141 countries based on the perception of 12,879 leading entrepreneurs and business executives taking part in the surveys conducted in the aforesaid countries. The GCR ...

MNA Business Desk: eGeneration Ltd., one of the leading technology and tech investment companies in Bangladesh on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Highbar Technocrat Ltd., a spin-off of HCC Group in India at the ITC Maurya Hotel in New Delhi. Highbar Technocrat Ltd is one of top spin-offs, according to Gartner. The MoU was signed after the inaugural ceremony of India-Bangladesh Business Forum (IBBF) during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India. Under this MOU, eGeneration and Highbar will enable knowledge and technology transfer between the countries while investing in research and development of skills required ...

MNA Business Desk: Global liquefied natural gas suppliers are lobbying with Bangladesh to ink deals to secure a persistently ‘higher’ price of the fuel for a long time. The LNG suppliers, who have already signed initial deals and memorandums of understanding with state-run Petrobangla, are at the forefront. Indonesia’s Petramina, Malaysia’s Petronas, Brunei’s Brunei LNG, and Switzerland’s AOT Energy AG are among the global LNG suppliers that have already inked MoUs or letters of intent with Petrobangla and awaiting final sales and purchase agreements. Some of the firms have already written letters to the ministry of power, energy and mineral ...

MNA Business Desk: Stocks finished marginally lower on Wednesday as investors were mostly cautious amid ongoing sluggish market trend. Market analysts said investors remained worried about the recent volatility of the market and maintained cautious stance, taking the market in the negative territory once again. The market opened on positive note and the key index of the major bourse rose about 12 points within first 10 minutes of trading. But late hour sale pressure led the prime index to close lower. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 4936, losing 13.02 points or 0.26 per ...

MNA Business Desk: India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to 2.0 per cent of gross domestic product in the June quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2020 from 2.3 per cent in the same period a year ago due to higher invisible receipts, the central bank said. On a quarterly basis, however, the CAD widened sharply from 0.7 per cent of GDP seen in the March quarter. CAD, a key indicator of economic health, measures the difference between the values of a country’s imported and exported goods and services. “Though the statistics look good, it doesn’t reflect any fundamental ...

MNA Business Desk: The World Bank (WB) will provide $100 million to increase access to improved water supply and sanitation system in selected 30 municipalities in Bangladesh as well as to help build their capacities for delivering water and sanitation services. “In this regard, a loan agreement will be signed between the government and the World Bank on October 6 at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area,” said an ERD official. ERD Secretary Monowar Ahmed and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon are expected to sign the agreement on behalf of ...

MNA Business Desk: Uber has offered full-time ride during puja vacation aimed at facilitating the grand celebration smoothly. With Uber’s premium service and Uber HIRE, anybody can book a ride as long as he/she needs. Besides, ‘Uber Intercity’ offers a hassle-free ride which allow passengers to hire vehicles for travelling to Narayanganj, Savar and Gazipur. Uber provides its service over 700 cities worldwide. In Bangladesh, it is being operated in Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet with a wide range of services — Uber Moto, X, XL, Premier, Hire and Uber Intercity. Uber Bangladesh is also providing its riders and driver partners ...

MNA Business Desk: Japan is likely to reduce the interest rate on its lending to Bangladesh by 0.30 percentage points to 0.65 per cent from next month (October), officials said on Monday. In October 2017, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) increased its loan interest rate to 0.95 per cent from 0.01 per cent. “Following the government’s request and several discussions, the JICA has agreed to trim down its lending rate on Bangladesh’s loans. The new rate will be effective from October,” said an official of the Ministry of Finance (MoF). He also said it is good news that Bangladesh’s ...

MNA Business Desk: Community Bank Bangladesh Limited has signed an agreement with Credit Information Bureau (CIB) of Bangladesh Bank for registration in CIB Online System. Ms Mansura Parvin, general manager of CIB, Bangladesh Bank and Mr Masihul Huq Chowdhury, managing director & CEO of Community Bank recently signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides, says a press release received on Wednesday. Through this agreement Community Bank will get access to online credit information of the borrowers in Bangladesh which will help the bank to assess credit risk information towards selection of good borrower. Mr Ahmed Jamal, deputy governor ...

MNA Business Desk: The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will start open market sales of onions in a subsidized price from Tuesday in the capital for enabling the consumers to heave a sigh of relief in the wake of overnight surge of the commodity price. “We will start sale of the onion at a subsidized rate from Tuesday initially at five spots in the city,” said M Humayun Kabir, deputy senior executive officer of the TCB, reports BSS. The official disclosed the name of three city spots—Press Club and Secretariat gate, Mothijheel Bok Chattar and Khamar Bari– but the other ...

MNA Business Desk: Dubai-based Emirates has announced new executive leadership appointments for its operational, commercial, and international affairs functions. Adel Al Redha is appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) while Adnan Kazim is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Sheikh Majid Al Mualla is Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs, says a press release received on Wednesday. As Chief Operating Officer, Adel Al Redha is at the helm of all operational departments: Flight Operations, Service Delivery, Airport Services, Emirates Engineering, Crew manpower, aircraft procurement and the Emirates Flight Training Academy; as well as worldwide network operations including crisis response. Al Redha, who ...

MNA Business Desk: Telenor Group and Axiata Group Bhd have mutually agreed to end discussions to merge their Asia operations to gain a bigger foothold in the region’s mobile phone market with potentially 300 million customers across nine countries. Announcing the development in a statement on Friday, Telenor said the proposed deal collapsed after four months of talks ‘due to some complexities’ without shedding any further light on the matter, reports bdnews24.com. In the proposed non-cash merger, Telenor’s stake was expected to be 56.5 per cent and Axiata’s 43.5 per cent. Both companies operate in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and ...

MNA Business Desk: Japan’s JERA has agreed to acquire stakes in a power project in Bangladesh now under development by Reliance Power. Under the agreement, signed with the India’s Reliance Power, it will acquire 49 per cent of the gas-fired thermal power generation project with combined capacity of 750MW, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The gas-based combined cycle power project will be set up in Narayanganj’s Meghnaghat, 40km southeast of Dhaka. The project will be set up within 36 months of signing the agreements, according to the statement. The Bangladesh Power Development Board will buy electricity from ...

MNA Business Desk: Stocks extended the losing streak for the third straight session on Sunday as risk-averse investors continued their selling binge on sector-wise stocks. DSEX, prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 25.09 points or 0.49 per cent to settle more than one-month low to 5,070. Market analysts said most of the institutional investors are suffering from liquidity shortage while recent market fall created a fright of further fall so general investors are also losing confidence to invest. Two other indices also ended lower. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 8.62 points to finish at ...

MNA Business Desk: The government of Bangladesh on Thursday signed a $185 million financing agreement with the World Bank to add about 310MW renewable energy generation capacity, which will contribute to reliable, affordable electricity and cleaner air in the country. The Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Monowar Ahmed and World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Dandan Chen signed the loan agreement for the “Scaling up Renewable Energy Project” on behalf of their respective sides at the NEC-2 Conference Room in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. The $185 million credit also includes a $26.38 million loan and a $2.87 ...

MNA Business Desk: The World Bank will provide $185 million to Bangladesh to add up to 310 Megawatts (MW) in renewable energy generation capacity and mobilise private sector participation to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country. Bangladesh will sign a loan agreement with the global lender on Thursday in Dhaka for the “Bangladesh Scaling-up Renewable Energy Project”, reports BSS. An Economic Relations Division (ERD) official said ERD Secretary Monowar Ahmed and World Bank Acting Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Dandan Chen will sign the agreement on behalf of their respective sides on Thursday at the NEC-2 ...

MNA Business Desk: The number of people in employment in Germany grew year-on-year by 1.0 per cent in the second quarter of 2019 to a total of 45.2 million people, the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Tuesday. However, the growth rate was slightly lower than in the previous two quarters when the number of people in employment in Germany still grew between 1.1 and 1.3 per cent. “Although the economic situation is deteriorating, the number of people in employment continues to rise,” Holger Schaefer, senior economist for employment at the German Economic Institute (IW) said on Tuesday. The ...