The enigma of poverty reduction

Even in the halcyon days for poverty reduction, beginning from the turn of the century up to Covid-19 outbreak, it was not free from a smidgen of controversy. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), official spokesperson on the subject, found...

Democracy and the culture of resignation

Democracy is all about decency and ethics in politics. It is about respect for the norms on which pluralism conducts itself. It is about men and women who come into politics conscious of their responsibilities towards those on whose behalf...

Fund crunch to delay start of dev work

Fund crunch is likely to cause delay in the start of development work of the country's prime Dhaka-Chattogram corridor up to Cox's Bazar.The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) under the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges has taken on different...

BD opens seaports to India on permanent arrangement

Bangladesh has permanently opened its two major seaports — Chattogram and Mongla — for India to use for transit and transshipment of goods in exchange for set charges.Officials said the customs authority under the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued...

Proposed EU GSP regulation threatens BD economy: EuroCommerce

The safeguard measures proposed in the European Union’s (EU) new GSP regulation would severely affect Bangladesh’s overall economy, according to EuroCommerce – the principal European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector.It notes that if the proposed rules remain untouched,...

Audit panel by early May to help realise unclaimed dividends from 50 cos

The Capital Market Stabilisation Fund (CMSF) will conduct audits of 50 non-compliant listed securities to realise undistributed or unclaimed dividends amounting to Tk 63 billion.In doing so, an audit panel will be formed with four firms by early May through...

Dramatic rise of Gemini Sea Food on DSE falls short of justification

Gemini Sea Food's stock price almost doubled in a month after it signed a deal with German-based global frozen food trader Lenk. The business deal to supply processed shrimps from Bangladesh is expected to boost income.The perceived future business growth...

Feeling sleepy all day?

Do you constantly yawn during the day, struggle to stay focused, and long for a nap? If so, you're not alone. Many people experience fatigue and drowsiness, but the good news is that there are steps you can take to...

Policy changes shoo away IPO hunters since 2020

More than half of operable BO (beneficiary owner's) accounts had zero share balance and had been used for no share transaction in the secondary market until May 2020. The figure has dwindled gradually over the last three years, thanks to...

Taming the digital genie

Misinformation or false information may be both intended and unintended. Either way, it can mislead people causing harm to an individual, a group, or a community. But disinformation is still worse, for it is misinformation that is deliberately produced and...

Ctg port to remain operational during Eid holidays

CHATTOGRAM, Apr 20: Despite the closure of all government institutions and banks, Chittagong Port, the prime seaport of the country, will continue its operations under special management during the Eid holiday. Omar Faruk, the secretary of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA),...

Gold-laced jilapi, Ramadan's siam and ordinary mortals

A 5-star hotel in Dhaka offered gold-laced jilapi for a few days. Hotels and restaurants in this country have been preparing Bombay jilapi, reshmi jilapi in addition to the common variety of this crisp sweetmeat of two and a half...

Flat 15pc VAT likely to replace multiple rates from FY ‘24

Government's revenue authority has moved to close the scope of levying VAT at multiple rates and keep 15 per cent as a flat rate to be included in product prices, sources said. Once ratified in the budget for the forthcoming...

Market cap-to-GDP ratio increased. What does it translate into?

The Dhaka bourse saw market cap-to-GDP ratio rise by 6.2 percentage points between May 2022 and February this year, mainly because of the listing of new securities.The ratio stood at 19.21 per cent on February 28, 2023, up from 13.01...

Africa, a wounded continent

Two generals, one heading the army and the other leading his own paramilitary force, both allies once, are currently busy destroying the country they share. In these past many days, Sudan has been under brutal assault by its army and...

Synthesising Zakat into Qardan Hasana

Most people face the temptation to borrow money to meet their basic needs. They dream of living in a comfortable house, driving a nice car, or pursuing a higher education. As such, debt financing has become a common practice. Islam...

Refiners seek to raise sugar price again

Refiners have again sought to jack up price of already-pricey sugar by Tk 26 per kilogram, at a time when the sweetener is in high demand during the holy Ramadan festivals.They cited upturn in the price of sugar on the...

Reckitt rebounds from post-pandemic slowdown, gaining 67pc profit growth

Reckitt Benckiser (Bangladesh) PLC posted 67 per cent year-on-year growth in profit to Tk 152 million for January-March, thanks to a significant reduction in net operating expenses.The UK-based multinational company's sales revenue grew 7.22 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.37...

Is anti-hoarding law a panacea for price control?

The Government of Bangladesh has approved a new anti-hoarding law in a Cabinet meeting on Monday last ( April 10, 2023) to prevent harmful activities in all stages of food production, supply and sales by imposing severe punishments. The law...

Bitter-sweet tales of Eid shopping

"Back in those days, we used to keep an eye on the magazines. Those publications bought out special issues featuring new designs and trends in Eid clothing. We were quite curious to know when the Eid special edition would be...

New tax aides being raised

A new brigade of tax aides styled Tax Return Preparer (TRP) is being raised for enhancing return submissions and preventing evasions that forfeit many state services to the defaulters. Officials said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided to...

Banks turning away from capital market, with investments far below limit set

As many as 32 scheduled banks have the scope of investing around Tk 37 billion more in total into the capital market, keeping their exposure to listed securities within the permissible limit on solo basis. At present, the lenders have...

A fiesta of mirth and triumph

Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha are the two major religious festivals observed by Muslims across the globe. 'Eid' is an Arabic word implying 'joy' or 'festivity', while the meaning of the word 'Fitr' is 'to break' or 'to conquer'(abstinence) for a return...

Vaccines against cancer

New advances are being madein cancer treatment. Side by side with the existing therapies including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy (that targets proteins that control growth, division, and spread of cancer cells), andsurgery, new approaches to cancer treatment have been...

Large number of women behind sewing machines but few behind the desks

Readymade garments (RMG) sector is one of the largest employers of Bangladesh, employing around 3.5 million workers in some 5000 factories. Majority of the MRG workers, 60-70 per cent, are females. It is widely recognised that the RMG sector is...

BTRC plans to conduct audits of all its licensees

The telecom regulator has planned to conduct audits of all its licensees including NTTNs, IGWs and ISPs to ensure transparency and increase revenue for the government. Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) took the decision at its recent meeting, aiming...

Export-import thru Ctg port rises on economic pickup

Export-import trade through Chattogram seaport shows an upturn on a month-on-month basis by official count, in what is seen a sign of economic pickup.The main seaport of Bangladesh, which handles over 90 per cent of the country's export-import operations, recorded...

Bata's historical high dividend fails to boost stock

Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) plunged by almost Tk 22 each share on Sunday despite the latest disclosure that showed its return to profit in 2022 after two straight years. The multinational footwear maker posted a profit of Tk 410 million...

Assets become worthless as regulator freezes Alliance Capital's bank accounts

Investors have been unable to liquidate their assets managed by Alliance Capital Asset Management for more than four months. Trading in open-end mutual funds (MF) -- MTB Unit Fund and Alliance Shandhani Life Unit Fund -- has remained suspended after...

No end of fire tragedies!

AS Dhaka and several other districts have been experiencing history's severest heat waves, one busy shopping centre after another, as if in collusion with each other, has also started to burst into flames. The latest in the series has been...