Revert to Advance Trade VAT

A reform panel recommends reinstating the once-discarded Advance Trade VAT (ATV) that taxes products at both ends -- production and import -- and refuses refund. Sources say if this system is re-imposed through the upcoming budget, in an avowed bid...

Covid hits Delhi Capitals

MUMBAI, Apr 18 (IANS): The 2020 Indian Premier League runners-up Delhi Capitals had to cancel their scheduled travel to Pune ahead of their match against Punjab Kings on Wednesday due to a Covid-19 scare in their camp, says a Cricbuzz...

High time to discard 'Chinese debt trap' hypocrisy

News about economic and political unrest in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal have been burning local media for weeks. Many worry if Bangladesh will follow suit. As a matter of experience, conspiracy theory usually comes along with public panic. Unsurprisingly,...

Protecting the poor from food inflation

After decades of relatively low inflation, food and non-food commodity prices are rising all across the world. Massive fiscal stimulus packages in advanced and developing countries, supply-chain disruptions, accumulated savings, and relatively eased monetary policies amidst the pandemic and, lately,...

Govt looks to $58b export next fiscal

The government looks up to a nearly 15-percent higher export at US$ 58 billion in the next fiscal year (FY), officials say, as exporters appear optimistic about a robust post-pandemic trade rebound.It has projected merchandise export at U$ 50.0 billion...

A man with a dream and dynamism

Today is the 80th birthday of a great soul of this soil. He is none else than Mohammed Farashuddin, a former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, a famous economist and the founder-Vice-chancellor of East West University. He was born on 18...

Dealing with currency counterfeiters

Different law-enforcement agencies have launched a drive against manufacturers of counterfeit currency notes on secret information that more than 50 of the gangs are active in circulating their illegal money. Already a few of the linchpins have been arrested during...

Highway capacity far short of enhanced port facility

The capacity of connecting highways fall far short in matching with the enhanced import-export handling capacity of Bangladesh's largest seaport, exporters allege, as they routinely fail shipment schedules.Cargo-handling and-releasing capacity of the Chittagong Seaport has been increased with different initiatives...

Sukuk auction on Apr 19 to raise Tk 50b

The government is set to raise Tk 50 billion more by issuing Islamic bonds on April 19 to bankroll a rural infrastructure development project, officials say.The central bank will hold an auction to issue Istisna Sukuk bonds to eligible banks,...

Licences of five merchant banks to be cancelled soon: BSEC

Majority number of merchant banks failed to bring IPOs (initial public offering) in last one decade.During the period, a total of 115 companies went public raising capital through IPOs and 32 IPOs of those were solely managed by only three...

Real purpose of Zakat

The importance of Zakat in Islam is well known to all. This is the mandatory charity for solvent Muslims who have minimum amount of wealth after his or her own consumption. The core idea behind the Zakat is to share...

Neighbouring nations, blocs with trade potential get priority

Next-door neighbours and blocs having trade potential, good connectivity, bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership will get priority in Bangladesh's journey towards free-trade agreements (FTAs), the government decides.A draft of the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) policy also puts on priority list...

GP sets sights high on helping BD progress

The country's largest mobile network operator, Grameenphone, has faith in Bangladesh's potential and looks forward to contributing to its long-term development, says the company's top executive. He notes that the mobile-phone firm has been a partner to Bangladesh's growth for...

Stocks extend losses as selloff continues

Stocks extended the losing streak in the outgoing week, as nervous investors continued selloffs in major sector issues amid persistent market volatility.The week featured four trading days as trading remained suspended on Thursday on the occasion of Bangla New Year....

Nostalgia for childhood simple delights Pahela Baishakh offered

With each Pahela Baishakh knocking at the door, it becomes irresistible to undertake a journey down the memory lane. For one who was born in a village and had spent the early years there, the sights and sounds, the simple...

Is financial literacy needed in sustainable entrepreneurship?

'Entrepreneurship' and 'Financial Literacy' are interconnected, but is financial literacy required for an entrepreneur? Is it possible to manage a business effectively and efficiently without having a basic knowledge of finance? The logical response would be that one may manage...

Exporting qualified manpower

A UNB report released on Tuesday, April 12 last says that homeward remittance flow from the US and other Western destinations has, of late, been showing a robust trend. This is reassuring seeing that the remittance from the traditional Middle...

Subsidy issues and the budget for FY23

The subsidy management has emerged as a challenging area from the perspective of the broader fiscal management as Bangladesh embarks on the post-Covid 19 recovery phase. Subsidy, as is known, is provided in many forms: cash loan support and fiscal...

BD to move against US court verdicts

Bangladesh decides to appeal against a top US court verdicts on two Philippine business entities accused of the cyber-heist of its reserves from the Fed six years ago."We've decided to go for appeal against the New York court verdict on...

Skills freshers need in their first jobs

Anyone related to the job market of Bangladesh, be it job-seekers, employers, or merely followers, would notice a massive disparity in what the companies are looking for and what the candidate pool offers. That is why job-seekers complain that there...

Rehman Sobhan's 'Dawn to Darkness'

Rehman Sobhan's memoir centring on the short-lived second phase of his life is now in the market (UPL, March 2022). It is the second volume in the Untranquil Recollections series. The very title speaks of some events signalling the dawn...

Making City Corporation effective

Generally, urban governance involves various actors and organistions. The relationship between them determines what happens in the city. In managing urban transformation, the government (at all levels) has to play a strategic role in building partnerships with and among key...

Addressing the rises in the prices of essentials

As the low-income and vulnerable population groups in Bangladesh were struggling to recover from the adverse impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the unabated rise in the prices of essentials has put them into further misery. Over the last two years,...

It is 'now or never' for capping global warming

International Panel on Climate change (IPCC), a body of climate scientists appointed by the UN to provide scientific facts and figures on climate change to government policymakers for taking necessary actions, has been producing six yearly assessment reports (AR) since...

Budget FY23: In search of a credible fiscal framework

The national budget for FY2022-23 (FY23) is going to be placed before the National Parliament in the backdrop of a number of unprecedented challenges that reflect Bangladesh's macroeconomic management in the prevailing context. The country is still in the phase...

Belt-tightening begins to control forex extravagance

Depositing minimum 25-percent cash margin on letter of credit (LC) for all imports, bar some essentials, is now mandatory under a monetary measure meant for easing import-payment pressure on the economy.Officials and economists said the central bank imposed the higher...

The haughty Biman staff

Since its birth in January 1972, Bangladesh's flag carrier, the Biman Bangladesh Airlines, in short, Biman, has been grabbing the headlines more often than not for the wrong reason. It was mostly for lack of performance-poor customer service, failure to...

Upholding autonomy of the Central Bank

The central bank of the country Bangladesh Bank (BB) is entrusted with the responsibility of regulating and controlling the domestic banking sector. As has been the usual practice for decades, the government had never issued any written directives to BB...

CSE to ink deal with Indian MCX tomorrow

The move to introduce a commodity exchange advances further, as the authorities concerned are set to formulate the rules and regulations along with identifying products for the exchange.As part of the move, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) will sign a...

Periodicity of early flash floods in haor areas

Flash floods are a yearly phenomenon in the haor regions. But the rushing waters inundate the six haor districts usually in late April. This year the calamitous visitation has occurred early April. Is this now becoming a pattern? There is...