Comeback of Covid-19 is a cause for concern

The death of two people on Friday since the latest death from Covid-19 on March 28 last---exactly 66 days ago---is indeed a cause for concern. It is not only because of the two deaths from the disease from which the...

Cabinet approves new income tax law

The Cabinet on Thursday last approved the Income Tax Law-2023 with major changes to some provisions of the existing income tax law, sources said.The new law is set to be placed in parliament on Wednesday. If approved, no tax deducted...

FY23's bleak business climate has driven out IPOs too

An electric equipment manufacturer backtracked on its plan to go public in FY23 months after making a deal with IDLC Investments as issue manager. The reason was a decline in its earnings, the most crucial factor to consider while fixing...

Road Transport Act: Compensating the accident victims

The number of road traffic accidents and the resulting injuries and fatalities have been steadily on the rise in Bangladesh. It appears that all interventions put so forth including policies, programmes, regulatory enforcement, and educational campaigns to build awareness have...

Ctg biz leaders laud budget

CHATTOGRAM, June 02: Business leaders in Chattogram have largely expressed their support for the proposed national budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, considering it a pro-development measure that will contribute to transforming Bangladesh into a smart country. The Chittagong Chamber...

Solution to plastic pollution

'World Environment Day' is observed every year on June 5th. The theme of this year's Environment Day is 'solution to plastic pollution'. Plastic is a very important and widely used material in today's world. Plastic is one of the essential...

Merit of work from home but not suitable for all

Office work from home was once anathema to not only employers but also to most employees. But under pressure to meet deadlines, even people in responsible positions had to carry files home and burnt the midnight oil. But that is...

Budget not time-befitting, to further fuel inflation

The proposed budget is not time-befitting in the context of the ongoing global and domestic economic crises, economists said, warning that it would fuel inflation further while forex reserves will feel increased pressure due to wider deficit.They were also sceptical...

Outrageous indifference to workplace safety measures

The death of a boy from the fall of a 5-6-feet long rod right on his head from the under-construction Dhaka elevated expressway at a spot in Mohakhali could be passed as an accident but for the developments following the...

Fuel prices to fire up despite global fall

Fuel prices in Bangladesh are set to fire up further despite global fall as the government is to levy in the new budget fixed-rated taxes on petroleum imports. Sources have said the government may impose specific duty at fixed rates...

Matarbari coal-fired power plant to partially go into operation next yr

CHATTOGRAM, May 31: The two units of the ultra supercritical coal-fired thermal power plant at Matarbari in Moheshkhali are expected to go into operation by next year. Financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the units of the plant have...

Developing podcast listening habit

Finding time for personal growth and enrichment might be difficult in the fast-paced world of today. However, one method has become incredibly popular: listening to podcasts. Podcasts are an engaging way to spend one's free time, combining learning, entertainment, and...

Erdogan: strongman in a divided country

The recent presidential election in Turkey has been a disappointment for Turkey's secularists. Kemal Kilicdaroglu came close to wresting the presidency from Recep Tayyip Erdogan but in the end it was Erdogan who forged ahead of him. There was, at...

Govt gives bigger budget tomorrow with wider deficit

Bangladesh’s economic pointsman may have to walk a tightrope managing a paradox of austerity and growth ambition as the government is set to announce a bigger budget tomorrow (Thursday) with wider deficit for next fiscal. A preview of the national...

Tax waivers counted in subsidy account

A sum of Tk 1.78 trillion has been projected as direct tax expenditure in the 2023-24 national budget in the form of various tax exemptions now counted in subsidy account in fiscal measures.The amount of tax expenditure would be considered...

Kohinoor Chemicals rides on brand value to take the lead among peers

Kohinoor Chemicals stands out among six chemical manufacturers by securing a growth in profit in the nine months to March while the rest either saw profit decline or endured a loss. The success story of Kohinoor is a very predictable...

Refiners seek specific duty on sugar import

Local refiners have demanded that the government withdraw all duties on sugar import and instead introduce specific duty per tonne as the price of the commodity is soaring in the local market.The Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association (BSRA) on May 29...

New marine drive to slash Ctg-Cox's Bazar travel time to two hours

CHATTOGRAM, May 29: The construction of the 172-kilometre marine-drive road, connecting Mirsarai in Chattogram to Cox's Bazar, will significantly shorten the distance between these two cities by 50 kilometres and reduce travel time by 1.5 hours. By connecting the existing...

Tax cut proposal on furnace oil may get lukewarm response

The government may turn down a proposal to waive tax on import of high-speed furnace oil (HFO) for electricity generation in the upcoming national budget scheduled to be placed in parliament on Thursday next.Official sources said the National Board of...

SME board gets a boost from block market

The SME index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange increased 17 per cent, or 178 points, to 1,220 in the seven days since the beginning of bulk share transactions on the platform to Monday.Though buyers and sellers have not shown much...

Taming inflation: hard choices to be made

The persistent inflation crisis remains a major pressure point as far as managing the Bangladesh economy in the current context. This is evident through surge in prices observed since June 2020, following the onset of the pandemic. Despite minor fluctuations,...

Dengue, a rising public health concern

Reports have it that in 24 hours till Sunday (May 28) morning, 67 dengue patients were hospitalised across the country. What is of concern here is that, of those dengue patients, the overwhelming number of the cases (58) were from...

VAT waiver likely on collection of waste cotton, jhut

The government may offer tax benefits to the local textile spinning mills on collection of waste cotton and jhut (clips) for production of recycled fibre in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2023-24.Currently, there is a 15 per cent VAT...

BBA lists 80 big infrastructure pieces

Bangladesh has initially identified around 80 large pieces of communication infrastructure for accommodation in an under-formulation master plan to be implemented by 2050 for ensuring seamless and alternative connectivity across the country.Bridges, tunnels, elevated expressways, etc. are included in the...

Fiscal balance of Bangladesh: six key areas of policy interests

The fiscal framework of Bangladesh has shown signs of considerable stress all through the ongoing fiscal year (FY23). This has been manifested in, inter alia, subdued growth in revenue mobilisation, slow implementation of the annual development programme (ADP), and increased...

Database of third gender alone will not do

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have prepared a database of the third gender which comprises mainly those called hijras and other variants within its fold such as eunuchs, intersex and transgender people living in the capital city. A total of...

Reducing government borrowing

The government's borrowing from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) went as high as Tk743.93 billion until last month (April). Economists have been expressing their concerns over such borrowing from the BB since the beginning of this calendar year. As the central...

From Hiroshima, with love?

French New Wave film exponent Alain Renais’s classic film ‘Hiroshima, My Love’ was about love and peace. Ironically, the recently concluded G- 7 summit held at Hiroshima was anything but. On the contrary, it exulted in confrontational rhetoric and sabre...

Why cheap loans for investments are not cheap enough

Both investors and market intermediaries do not see margin loans as an investment opportunity even after the securities regulator relaxed rules for injecting borrowed money into stocks. That is not because of the market being bearish for long. Rather, the...

Saudi company likely to operate Patenga Container Terminal

CHATTOGRAM, May 27: The Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), a Saudi Arabian company, is likely to get the work as the operator of the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) as the government has finalised its decision...