Gold refinery to require Tk 1.0 billion in paid-up capital

Investors having authorised capital worth at least Tk 10 billion and paid-up capital worth Tk 1.0 billion will be eligible to build gold refineries in Bangladesh.They have to set up the refineries on minimum 20 bighas of their constant and...

Becoming a cashless economy

Over the years, rapid digitisation of financial services in Bangladesh has created an ambience that the country will soon become a so-called cashless society. Policymakers and some experts have also expressed optimism that the complete digitisation of all financial transactions...

Move to bring CSR activities under legal framework

The government has initiated a process of bringing the CSR activities under a legal framework aiming to operate the same in more coordinated and effective manner, officials said.For doing so, it has already taken steps to amend the country's Companies...

On the road to achieving SDGs

According to UN Sustainable Development Goals Report, COVID-19 which is now a global pandemic can potentially affect most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) severely having impacts specifically on SDG-1 (no poverty), SDG-2 (zero hunger), SDG-3 (healthy lives and well-being of people...

The long wait for a big change

Every year the Teesta River causes miseries to the people of north-western districts of Bangladesh. Our honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina adopted the 'Teesta Project' three years back in order to resolve the Teesta water problem. She requested Chinese President...

Rehana Maryam Noor receives applause at Cannes

If the standing ovation Rehana Maryam Noor received at the 74th Cannes Film Festival following its screening there in the Un Certain Regard section, there is every possibility of winning an award for the film. Even if this hot contender...

Stocks end higher in first week of new fiscal year

Stocks extended rally for the third consecutive week, the first week of the new fiscal year, as bargain hunters continued their buying appetite on major sector issues despite virus worries.The government extended the countrywide strict lockdown until July 14 to...

The stolen childhood of Palestinian kids

Sujoud is 12, and she tells the camera, matter-of-factly, about a man who approached her and her friends in a threatening manner as they walked to school in the adjacent village of A-Tuwani, in the West Bank South Hebron Hills....

Helping emerging digital economy to flourish

Since the inception of the era of information and communication technology (ICT), talks on how Bangladesh could make the most of this emerging field to develop its economy as well as create jobs has been going the rounds among the...

DCs asked to arrange online cattle markets

The government has instructed the deputy commissioners (DCs) to arrange online cattle markets, taking into consideration the spread of Covid-19 aiming to facilitate cattle sales ahead of upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) on Thursday asked the DCs to take...

Private credit growth falls markedly in May

Private-sector credit growth dropped significantly in May mainly due to the ongoing second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, according to bankers.Credit flow fell to 7.55 per cent in May 2021 on a year-on-year basis, from 8.29 per cent...

Charity: Spiritual and worldly views

The spirit behind standing by people during their sufferings and providing donation to them is mostly driven by religious teachings. Every religion has directed its followers to donate or give away the surplus belongings. Accordingly, many people give a part...

Dirty money holders' gold rush

The results of the unique opportunity given to whiten black money during the immediate past financial year (FY) are out. The opportunity was unique because of the nominal tax rate and the scrutiny-free disclosure. As expected, there was a rush...

Is Bangladesh heading for an India-like nightmare?

Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad ---Euripides In all men and women there is a fatal attraction, like moth to flame, for things forbidden. The lure is irresistible for some but those who can win over...

A worsening 'two-track' recovery & urgent action

When G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Venice this week, they can take inspiration from the city's unbreakable spirit.As the world's first international financial center, Venice has faced the vagaries of economic fortunes over centuries, while being...

No registration application so far!

Not a single firm has so far applied to register under One Person Company(OPC) at the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), after one and a half months of the opening of the registration process for entrepreneurs.RJSC opened...

Work progresses only 30pc in five years

The Elenga-Hatikamrul-Rangpur Highway Widening project saw 30 per cent progress in its work in last five years.Because of the slow progress, the project office has already revised the development project proposal (DPP) increasing the cost by 45 per cent and...

Lighterage jetty opens at Ctg port today

CHATTOGRAM, July 07: The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) will formally start today the operation of one out of the total four lighterage jetties made in 2013.The CPA leased the jetties to private companies KSRM, BSRM, AKS and Ruby Food. Of...

SBAC to enhance investment in retail and SME sectors

South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce (SBAC) Bank Limited has planned to boost its financing in retail and small and medium enterprises (SME) for minimising risk within the next two years, the bank's top executive has said.Under the plans, the investment...

Victim blaming must end

Looking back at the Bollywood movies of the eighties and nineties, one of the most common things that can be noticed in most of the superhit commercial movies is the normalisation or romanticisation of eve-teasing. Dhallywood movies too followed the...

Military spending in the post-pandemic era

Governments across the world adopted stimulus packages in 2020 to address the Covid-19 pandemic, with those in advanced economies outstripping those in the rest of the world. The resulting high budget deficits must be brought in line with available resources...

Addressing climate crises to tame pandemic

Throughout history, zoonotic diseases (diseases transmitted from animals to humans) have made their marks in human history. For example, the bubonic plague, which was transmitted from rodents, is considered one of the most devastating diseases in human history, claiming hundreds...

Boosting the private sector

Bangladesh should embark on a new round of reforms for strengthening and modernising the private sector in order to propel the country towards export-led diversified growth and fuller employment. This has been the key recommendation of the country-specific private sector...

Commodity calendars for six more items soon

The government is preparing calendars for six more essential items aiming to check their unusual price hike in the domestic market, officials said.The widely-consumed products are: Edible oil, sugar, lentils, ginger, garlic and gram. Earlier, the government had prepared a...

Money whitening hits record

A total of 11,859 people whitened their black money worth Tk 206 billion under a blanket opportunity in the just concluded fiscal year (FY).It is the highest amount of undisclosed money legalised since the independence, officials said. The National Board...

SoCBs lavish incentive bonus

The central bank has advised the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance to take actions against the loss-incurring state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) that have been disbursing incentive bonus to their employees every year. The central bank in...

Making trade information portals more relevant

Developing a trade information portal (TIP) - a website that provides easy access to information about a country's regulations and procedures to traders - has become a common feature of trade facilitation action plans. However, despite much effort and, in...

Dhaka University during the British era

The first three decades of Dhaka University during the British era were quite eventful. These are encapsulated here in the following paragraphs based on recollections of various luminaries associated with the university. INITIAL YEARS: The Dhaka University faced many governmental...

Covid-19 fallout on CMSMEs -- an assessment of the policy responses

Cottage, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CMSMEs) have emerged as an engine of growth in Bangladesh like other any developing countries. The sector's contribution in terms of employment generation, economic value addition and business activities is enormous. But the Covid-19...

Remittance hits record high of $24.78 billion in FY '21

The inflow of remittances grew by 36.10 per cent to a record high of US$24.78 billion in the just-concluded fiscal year (FY) despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, officials said.Remittance increased by $6.58 billion to $24.78 billion in FY 2020-21 from...