Overmanned FBCCI seeks to slash number of directors

The country's apex trade body, FBCCI, is heavily burdened with its large-sized leadership and the present board finds it a 'problem' while making coordination and taking decisions.The present board of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI)...

Alert on Iran trade loans for Bangladesh

Bangladesh's central bank has stressed exercising caution about receiving loan from Iranian companies to avert possible external restrictions, especially US sanctions or fines stemming from their bilateral diplomatic spats. Official sources say Bangladesh Bank thinks that such fines and sanctions...

Govt traces less than half of rawhides

A government agency so far has been able to trace less than half of the total rawhides of animals of sacrificed during the Eid-ul-Azha this year.Assigned by the Ministry of Industries (MoI), the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC)...

Moment of truth arrives for Afghans

The Taliban forces have entered Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. So, it is a matter of time how and when the Taliban is going to take charge of the country. And with this latest development, the Kabul-ward flow of people fleeing the...

The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan

By any stretch of the imagination, it is an intriguing set of conditions that have cropped up in Afghanistan. The Taliban are back, the development a rare instance in modern history when a group or force ejected lock, stock and...

MFIs falling into NPL trap

The amount of classified loans in the micro-finance institutions (MFIs) jumped by 25 per cent in fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.The non-performing loans (NPLs) grew by Tk 5.9 billion to Tk 29.5 billion...

Customs bonded area emerging on bay

A customs bonded area is emerging close by Bangladesh's prime port that is designed to augment container-and cargo- storage capacity and boost the country's international trade. As planned, the backyard of the under-construction Patenga Container Terminal (PTC) and its adjacent...

Tax receipts from DSE jump 54pc in July

The government's revenue earnings from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) rose 54 per cent year-on-year in the first month of the current fiscal year as trading volume was on the rise.Market analysts said on the back of rising trading volume,...

Can solar energy be generated in old gas power plants?

As signatories to the Paris Agreement, Central Asia's fossil fuel rich countries have all committed to reduce emissions. Solar power is a natural alternative but the challenges are numerous. Solar power's first criticism as being expensive is no longer there....

Herd immunity is likely to prove illusive

In a surprise move the government has eased the lockdown, allowing near normal life to go on from August 11. Offices --- both government and private---, financial institutes, shops, malls and markets, food outlets, hotels and restaurants have been allowed...

Suspending IP rights on vaccine production

Last week, people in their thousands queued up at various makeshift mass-vaccination centres in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country to get jabs against deadly SARS- CoV-2. But many of them returned home frustrated as the supply of vaccines was...

Jobs and skills for people with disability in Bangladesh

Living life with a disability is more than difficult in Bangladesh and many other Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) compared to the relatively affluent countries where social safety net and economic support system may somewhat lessen the disability-associated burden. The...

Economic shocks faced by Bangabandhu's regime

The period was turbulent. Newly independent Bangladesh started its journey with a poor agricultural economy where much of the small physical infrastructures was destroyed in the nine months of the war in 1971. Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur...

Project office advices not heeded by BIWTA

Repeated incidents of hitting the piers of Padma Bridge by ferries have been reported due to negligence of directions given by the bridge project office.In the very beginning, sources said, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) Project office opposed setting up...

Revenue receipts up 21pc

The tax revenue collection recorded an impressive 21 per cent growth in the fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 over that of the previous FY. Greater mobilisation of corporate and withholding tax made the feat possible on the part of the National...

Construction work in full swing as lockdown eased

CHATTOGRAM, Aug 13: The construction work of the second tube of the Bangabandhu Tunnel under the Karnaphuli River is going on in full swing in the post-lockdown period. Once established, the dream project will connect the south and north portions...

Traders seek permission to export hilsa to India

A good number of traders have sought permission to export hilsa fish to neighbouring India ahead of Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.Usually, there remains a higher demand for delicious hilsa fish in India especially in...

Bangladesh weighs export and security implications

Dhaka will weigh through a feasibility study possible impacts on Bangladesh's export to the neighbour before moving forward on New Delhi's proposal to construct a bridge over Thega River mainly for transhipment to their landlocked state of Mizoram.Besides, officials said,...

Dhaka stocks stay afloat to hit record highs

Dhaka stocks continued to break their previous records with all three indices and market-cap surged to new highs in the outgoing week amid increased participation of investors.The week featured four trading days as the market remained closed on Sunday in...

Accidents, accountability and necessity

A building collapse at the Spectrum Garment Factory in Savar, Dhaka on April 11, 2005 killed 63 people, a fire at KTS Garment Factory in Chattogram on February 23, 2006 killed 61 people, and two days later a building collapsed...

An enormous opportunity waiting to take off

The global pandemic has changed many a lives across the world including Bangladesh, mostly for the worse. Any crisis of national and international magnitude brings along with it risks and also opportunities. My departure from being a regular paid employee...

Post-Covid hair loss

The Covid-19 is an ongoing global pandemic caused by the "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2). The Covid-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes.Since the emergence...

How mikes and hand mikes infringe privacy in residential areas

Hardly are there silent zones in Dhaka City. But yet not all are hotspots of cacophony too. Usually the commercial areas and intersections of roads near high government offices are full of undesirable noises. Political programmes once added to the...

The media in a changing world

Of late, the media reports appear to be increasingly getting sensational. The recent slant of some lead news reports in the mainstream media is apt to give one such impression. The point at issue is the mainstream media, not tabloid...

Tourist sites reopen on Aug 19

CHATTOGRAM, Aug 12: The government has decided to resume tourism and reopen tourist spots in greater Chattogram from August 19, raising a ray of hope among stakeholders.Hotels and motels in Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban have suffered a setback...

All banks to inform BB of transations daily at close

Bangladesh tightens financial management requiring all scheduled banks to inform a central monitoring authority of entire money-market transactions at the day's close.Officials said the latest direction from the central bank is meant for ensuring proper liquidity management in the banking...

$1.12b funding deal with China soon

Negotiations with China to finance full cost of Dhaka-Ashulia elevated expressway are likely to be capped with a US$1.12-billion agreement anytime soon, officials said. Leaving aside the vehicle-purchase portion of the project cots, they added, the Chinese side finally has...

Safeguarding depositors' interest

The central bank appears firm in safeguarding the interests of the bank depositors. It has turned down the requests from the top bankers to reconsider the latest order on deposit rates. The banking sector regulator early this week asked the...

Exploiting BNFQ's potential for further human resource dividend

At a time the world is grappling with the second, third or even fourth wave of coronavirus onslaught, streams of illegal migrant workers heading for fresh pasture continue unabated. The pandemic could not deter them from undertaking risky and uncertain...

Unlocking the growth potential of IT sector through mitigating financial barriers

The unique level of commitment from Bangladesh's government for digitisation has been working as a driving force for the country to thrive in the digital economy. The current government has accelerated the rapid digitisation and smart use of Information and...