The riddle of the missing figures

The country's leading economists have all along raised questions about the authenticity of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures provisionally announced by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), even claiming that growth rate figures have now assumed the shape of political numbers....

Takeaway from climate conference in Dubai

This year’s conference of parties (COP) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) lost much of the headline- grabbing attention of media to the blood-curdling and mind numbing war unleashed by Israel on Gaza. Even then COP28 had...

Meagre health budget stymies fight against high blood pressure

Nilufa Yasmin, a pseudonym, began taking medication for high blood pressure prescribed by her upazila health complex doctor six months ago. However, in August this year, she could no longer find her free medication at the community clinic in her...

What is the real death toll from road accidents?

Figures are a big issue when they are about death of people. The figures should be exact, if one is to be respectful of the dead. But the varying monthly or annual figures on the fatalities from road accidents as...

Hope for a sound banking sector fading away fast

The banking sector in Bangladesh has encountered numerous challenges over an extended period. Its weaknesses have been consistently exposed through high loan default rates and subpar performance across various indicators. Bangladesh’s banking sector has consistently demonstrated vulnerability, primarily because of...

High prices: the cause of sorrow and suffering

The rising prices of essential goods have become a prominent concern in Bangladesh, attracting considerable attention from policymakers and the public. The primary problem faced by Bangladesh’s economy in recent times is the discernible upward trajectory of prices for essential...

Love for animals upholds sanctity of life

The news that three members of an animal rescue team, while rescuing a parrot entangled with kite strings to electric wires, sustained electrocution injuries and one of them succumbed to his grievous burn in a hospital cannot help tugging at...

JN.1, the new coronavirus strain

AnotheR offshoot of the highly transmissible Omicron, JN.1, classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of interest (VOI), is reportedly spreading fast in different parts of the world. It may be recalled here that the corona virus...

Four specialized tax brigades being fielded

Four new specialized tax wings are set to hit the turf for direct tax collection from foreign companies and snipping out missing sources to boost revenue and bridge finance gaps. Officials have said the wings would be dedicated to international...

Restoring the macroeconomic stability

The economy of Bangladesh is currently navigating through a host of challenges originating both from the domestic and the global fronts. Economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic was disrupted due to the Russia-Ukraine war. High global commodity prices, supply chain...

On depletion of forex reserve

The country's foreign exchange reserve has become a matter of grave concern for the last two years due to its rapid depletion. The rise in the cost of imports, coupled with a lower inflow of foreign earnings as well as...

The least-explored world of freelancing

A new dimension has been added to the economy of Bangladesh with the rise of the readymade garment (RMG) industry. At the time of the country's independence in 1971, our only export items were jute and jute products. Now our...

British fintech firm eyes BD to revolutionise lending with AI

A British financial technology company is investing in Bangladesh to collaborate with banks and non-banking financial institutions and revolutionise traditional lending systems in emerging markets using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).Agam International -- a UK-registered firm -- has...

Govt rejects meat import proposal

The government has rejected a proposal to import roughly 200,000 tonnes of cattle meat, prioritising the protection of the domestic livestock sector, according to sources.The Department of Livestock Services (DLS) opposed the Ministry of Commerce's proposal to allow beef and...

When human life is made cheaper: Global and domestic perspective

The dichotomy of human progress as represented by the peaking of scientific and technological development to the most sophisticated range of artificial intelligence (AI) on the one hand and a homicide over trivial matters or mass killing ---actually genocide---now being...

Beyond challenges

As we are ready to set our foot in 2024, poised to embark on a new chapter, we can confidently say that 2023 was a pivotal year for us. Despite wresting with twofold challenges, domestic and international, we have successfully...

Bangladesh far behind frontier market peers in 2023, how will it do in 2024?

Although most Asian frontier stock markets delivered a robust performance this year, Bangladesh market has put up a poor show, with a negative return of 5.3 per cent for the period of December 30, 2022 to December 14, 2023. The...

BR neglects commuter trains despite growing demand

The Bangladesh Railway (BR) is failing to keep pace with the rising demand for commuter rail services, fuelled by a rapid urbanisation boom.This failure, mostly arising from negligence, has resulted in a decline in both the number of train services...

Tk 189bn in disputed taxes tie up large corps

Large corporations in Bangladesh are embroiled in 1,051 court cases involving disputed direct taxes totalling Tk 189.10 billion, according to the income tax department.These cases fall into three categories: writ petitions, reference cases and leave to appeal applications. According to...

FBCCI checklist for bringing sanity in business

This is for the first time that the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has sent a clear message of waging a war against members of its own community, who are out to create artificial crisis of essentials...

Does religion impede economic growth?

In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith promoted the platitude that religious beliefs and economic activities are rational choices. As in any profit-making activity, people respond to religious costs and benefits in a predictable and observable manner. John Wesley, a...

Asset managers squeezed by selling pressure of open-ended funds

Asset managers dealing with open-ended mutual funds (MFs) have been enduring liquidity pressure while having to pay off unitholders against the sell-off of units for investments are stuck in the capital market due to floor price. In recent years, open-ended...

Drugmakers foresee medicine dearth for LC dilemmas

Production of medicines starts taking a knock as ongoing dollar crisis disrupts raw-material import and stokes concerns over supply of some lifesaving drugs used for treating acidity, diabetes, and cancers.Both industry-insiders and retailers in pharmacies have expressed concern about possible...

Manipulation by a firm in the market for eggs!

The market for eggs has recently come under close scrutiny because of the high price of eggs as well as the volatility of egg prices. This scribe knows the owners of an egg company, call it X. The scribe tried...

The decline of democracy in the West

Democracy is in deep crisis in the West. That is a bit of a surprise for the good reason that it has been the West which, till now, has been seen by many as a model for democratic governance across...

New Kalurghat rail bridge not before 2030 as contract signing deferred

Almost a century-old rail bridge at Kalurghat near Chattogram city is unlikely to be replaced with a new one before 2030 as the project's financier postponed the contract-signing time.This deferment in signing the Tk 140-billion project contract means a delay...

Overvalued taka undercuts trade competitiveness

Bangladesh's currency remains overvalued for long and thus dents the trade competitiveness with overseas trading partners who are enjoying economic pickup and inflation downturn, economists say.Data show that the taka remained overpriced by more than 5.6 per cent or Tk...

An emotional journey to the house of Allah

Experiencing the sight of the Kaaba is an emotion unmatched. From the first time I set my heart on Kaaba back in 2013, there was no coming back. Fortunately, I was blessed to perform Umrah 4 times within ten years,...

Unfavourable business climate stymies IPO flow

Fund raising from the primary market through initial public offerings (IPOs) has fallen sharply to Tk 2.68 billion this year, the lowest in six years, as entrepreneurs adopted 'go-slow' policy ahead of the national election.Market experts also attribute this to...

More trees the answer for city's air pollution

Role of trees in protecting environment, helping animals to survive by releasing oxygen into the air and providing shade to keep earth surface cooler is well-known. These are too familiar truths to repeat. But humans often forget some familiar truths...