US buyers may turn to countries with lower tariff exposure, fears BFTI

US buyers may attempt to shift the tax burden onto Bangladeshi exporters or divert their orders to countries with lower tariff exposure, potentially undermining Bangladesh's position as the world's second-largest apparel exporter.The Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) feared it in...

Hefty interest payments to cost Tk 1.22 trillion

Significant rises in domestic and overseas borrowings make the government earmark some Tk 1.22 trillion for hefty interest payments in the upcoming budget, and officials see no letup in liability increases in the near future.Experts see high debt stock, interest-rate...

Project on cards to set up chord line

CHATTOGRAM, May 16: The government has decided to build a chord line of the Dhaka-Chattogram railway with an eye to reducing travel time and distance between the capital and the port city.Bangladesh Railway (BR) officials said the new line would...

Understanding liberty, liberation, independence and emancipation

Amar mukti alloy alloy ei akashey,/ amar mukti dhulai dhulai ghase ghase. Poignant and elevating, the song cannot but resonate with all receptive souls. Now what kind of 'mukti'---liberty, freedom or emancipation---Rabindranth is referring to here? Or, is there any...

Regulator wants it spent on investor protection, brokers prefer to keep it

Stockbrokers are at loggerheads with the securities regulator over the utilisation of interest income earned from investors' idle funds kept in a bank account namely Consolidated Customer Account (CCA). The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) wants the money to...

Mind behind monstrous acts of homicide

If the ultimate crime is homicide, Bangladesh has perhaps been witnessing a higher incidence of it lately. The recent surge in murder has a fair share in political vendetta. But this has also acted as a powerful provocation for settling...

Pending part's work to resume soon

The hurdle to resuming the construction of the Dhaka Elevated Expressway's (DEE) unfinished part is expected to be over after nearly a year with the completion of the formalities of transferring all the shares of First Dhaka Elevated Expressway (FDEE)...

Probe begins into nine banks' dubious forex dealings

A special regulatory probe into nine commercial banks with higher exposure to the foreign-exchange market begins to prevent potential volatility as Bangladesh transitions into a band-centric floating exchange-rate regime, officials said.Nine teams of Bangladesh Bank (BB) have been fielded to...

Titas proposes Tk 81b project to reduce gas wastage

Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution PLC wants to implement an ambitious Tk 81.61 billion project to reduce gas wastage by installing around 2,781 kilometres of new distribution lines and upgrading 5,000 kilometres of existing ones in the Dhaka, Gazipur, and...

Taking port capacity to next level

The Port of Chittagong stands on the brink of a transformative change, driven by the involvement of leading global players in port operations and logistics. Dubai-based DP World, renowned for managing some of the world's most efficient ports and logistics...

Protectionism, apparel export overreliance key barriers

Protectionist policies and overdependence on apparel exports are among the major internal challenges preventing Bangladesh from joining multilateral trade blocs, said Albert Park, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the 58th...

A beautiful form of art

Resin crafts capture these vanishing moments and give them permanence, which can also be seen as a form of preservation. A daisy trapped in a pendant, a wedding garland turned into earrings, a tiny shell from a last beach walk,...

Sukuk: a game-changer in socio-economic development

To tap the liquidity of Sharia-compliant banking area for financing the government’s deficit budget and for supporting the country’s overall development, a decision was made to introduce Islamic bond, or ‘Sukuk’, in the fiscal year 2019-20.On the one hand, a...

Poverty in Bangladesh stages a comeback

After remaining a role model for poverty reduction for over three decades, Bangladesh of late is beginning to show signs of sliding down on the scale of metrics used domestically and internationally. According to the latest survey by Bangladesh Institute...

NWPGCL to set up two solar plants with 140MW capacity

North West Power Generation Company Ltd (NWPGCL) plans to set up two solar power plants with a combined electricity- generation capacity of 140 megawatts as part of the government's effort to enhance the share of clean power in energy mix,...

United Power gets back gas but price fight isn't over yet

Gas supply to a plant of the United Power Generation & Distribution Company (UPGDC) has been resumed two weeks after suspension as the government, under pressure to meet rising energy demand, agreed to address a dispute over gas pricing. The...

Wasteful inauguration culture

Chief Adviser (CA) Dr Muhammad Yunus is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the much-anticipated Kalurghat Rail-cum-Road Bridge on the River Karnaphuli on May 14 next. The 700-metre double-track and double-lane bridge will replace the existing 93-year-old single-lane rail-cum-road...

The intent of Trump Tariffs

The United States (US) president Donald Trump did just what he had said he would do if elected - he imposed incredibly high tariffs on most countries the US trades with including Bangladesh. Never since the Great Depression of the...

Policy predictability, reforms ‘must’ for investment

Bangladesh urgently needs policy consistency and comprehensive reforms to boost investment and also direct tax collection by curbing systemic leakages, says Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Mohammad Zaved Akhtar.Mr Zaved, also Chairman and Managing Director of...

Foreign cos to pay shareholders more cash than earned. Here's why

Protests against Israel in early April unexpectedly turned hostile towards multinational companies. Bata Shoe endured significant losses in the violent episode as men stormed into its shops in several cities across Bangladesh, ransacked and looted them. The looters used the...

Biological method of bringing aedes under control

The news pours honey into people's ears, particularly the inhabitants of the capital city and other urban centres grappling with a vicious zoonotic disease called dengue. Aedes aegypti serves as the vector of dengue virus in spreading the disease, at...

Politics at a crossroads

People of this part of the world have, since colonial times, been dreaming of seeing their country as a modern, corruption-free, developed nation. But what is a modern, developed nation? The model before them was the nation states of Europe....

STP 2025 proposes skywalks in Dhaka's commercial areas

As pedestrian spaces in the congested capital continue to shrink due to the negligence of all concerned, the Dhaka city's transport plan for the next 20 years has proposed developing skywalks in commercial areas to improve walkability. The Strategic Transport...

The way most startups fail at fundraising

Securing venture capital is often the difference between startup success and failure, yet many founders find investor relationships mysterious and intimidating. The fundraising landscape rewards strategic approaches that combine relationship-building, social proof, and disciplined communication. Whether raising your first round...

India-Pakistan conflict: implications for South Asia

The simmering rivalry between India and Pakistan-two nuclear-armed nations tied by decades of distrust, border clashes, and political bitterness-continues to afflict South Asia's quest for regional peace and harmony. The latest flashpoint, set off by a deadly attack in Indian-administered...

Old Dhaka sitting on time bomb

Over a decade has passed since the devastating inferno at Nimtoli in Old Dhaka, which killed 126 people and injured about 200 others. The fire was triggered by flammable chemicals stored on the ground floor of a residential building. The...

Climate shocks and banking sector

Climate change has become a grave concern worldwide as there is no way to prevent or avoid it. The consequences of climate change are the rise in temperature, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea levels, flooding, melting polar...

Specific budget head for LGs can mobilise domestic, int’l funds

Hearth and home is swamped with saline seawater and the last resort for emergent protection is the camp. The shelter is in a shambles, too, which local officials blame on lack of dedicated funds. Frontiersmen have tales to tell--but who...

5x higher tablet prices raise eyebrows

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) plans to purchase 150 tablet computers at Tk 59,300 each for a new project. This is more than five times the price paid per device bought during the Population and Housing Census two years...

Dilemmas foreshadow budget making for funding holdback

Finance officials seem in dilemmas crafting the upcoming fiscal budget with uncertainty overshadowing budget-support credits worth some billion dollars from foreign development financiers, as IMF lending stays in holdback.Officials say initially they had planned to enhance net foreign borrowings for...