BR to build commercial building in Chattogram

The Bangladesh Railway (BR) will build a multipurpose commercial building near Chattogram Rail Station under public-private partnership (PPP) initiative as part of moves to salvage it from recurring losses.The commercial building on 0.42 acres of land will have a shopping...

Killer roads, vehicles

Road accident is a major killer in Bangladesh. The tragedies from motor vehicle collisions in the country are in a word horrifying. The waterways are also not free from tragedies caused by ferry disasters. Strangely, the railways are witnessing accidents...

Covid-19 impact on vaccination, food consumption, maternal & child health

Bangladesh has made immense progress in food security and nutrition, maternal and child mortality rates along with other socio-economic indicators over the past decades. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has not only ravaged the economic metrics in Bangladesh but has also...

Internet speed to be slower, price costlier

Internet speed is likely to be slower while the price of internet will be costlier in the country due to the use of higher volume of internet for the removal and transfer of cache servers across the country. According to...

Bangladesh proposes FTA with Eurasian Union

A vast market appears in sight as Bangladesh has formally proposed to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to strike free-trade agreement (FTA), officials say, as the country prepares for a socioeconomic status change.The proposal was made last week on the...

Depreciation of Taka continues

The Bangladesh Taka (BDT) keeps depreciating significantly against the US dollar as higher demand for the greenback for settling import-payment obligations outweighs forex inflow, sources say. The local currency lost its value by 20 poisha on the interbank foreign-exchange market...

Tax collection 14.22pc up in H1

Tax-revenue collection grew 14.22 per cent, year on year, in the first six months of the current fiscal year but the amount stood Tk 170.81 billion short of the half-yearly target.The National Board of Revenue (NBR) achieved 88.08 per cent...

Medical malpractices at their worst

Health services ---public or private ---in this country in general are not up to the highest standard. The top government and private hospitals are also located in the capital city. For treatment of complicated diseases and severe cases, patients are...

Of SUVs and foreign trips

Questions are very often raised about the quality and the pace of execution of public sector development projects. Even the highest authority of the government has on occasions expressed dissatisfaction over the cost and time overruns of projects. But the...

Businesses for setting hard terms in phases

The draft new income-tax law is likely to ban cash transaction in some major areas like payment of salary and house rent after its implementation.But businesses suggest slapping the ban in phases.The law also keeps the much-talked-about source tax provisions...

Banks stake Tk 29.68b on stocks thru new window

Thirty-three scheduled banks have invested Tk 29.68 billion in stocks and sukuks through a special window meant for stimulating Bangladesh's securities-hungry capital market, officials say.The banks channeled the investments into the stock market from a special fund they each formed...

Real purpose of economic forecasting

Another year of Gregorian calendar has started along with a lot of hopes, expectations, uncertainties and risks. Like the previous years, a number of forecasts and projections have also been made on the prospects of economy, both globally and nationally....

Stocks make solid start to 2022

Stocks witnessed a sharp rise in the first week of 2022 with soaring turnover as buoyant investors continued pouring fresh bets on major sector issues, shrugging off Omicron worries.Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE),...

Recovering from pandemic-induced loss to education

The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic propelled by its Omicron variant looks imminent. The damage to the global economy done by the first two waves is being calculated by governments, businesses and multilateral agencies. Since economic activities are quantifiable,...

Govt starts talks for WB budget support

Bangladesh has begun talks with the World Bank for budget support towards fighting climate impacts and forwarding various green-growth initiatives in a development-paradigm change, sources say. Last week, finance ministry officials had the opening round of negotiations with officials at...

Govt to give licences for pvt satellites

The government has decided to award licences for operating private satellites after launching a state-owned satellite in 2018. The Bangladesh Teleco-mmunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) approved the guidelines in this regard this week, allowing private sector in the market. "According to...

Govt declares St Martin's marine protected area

CHATTOGRAM, Jan 07: The government has declared the St Martin's island as a marine protected area to save its rich biodiversity and ecosystem.Eco-warriors have long been demanding such a state measure to protect the ecology of the country's only coral...

Making New Year celebration

The New Year celebration has its specialty to different peoples and communities depending on their climes and cultures. This is more so because the year is also different: some have their lunar and some other have their solar calendars. Thus...

Metro rail commercial trial run likely in Sept

The commercial trial run of the city's first metro rail is expected to start in September this year.Required train sets and tracks also are expected to be ready by then, sources said, but getting necessary manpower to run its operation...

BB support for export trade extended

Bangladesh's export trade will enjoy various policy supports for six more months under a renewal aimed at helping boost country's overall business activities, officials say. The central bank has extended the tenure of its supports as the country takes more...

Sales in bottles at same time may lead to volatility

The government move to implement marketing of both palm and soybean oil in bottles by March next can lead to volatility in the market, edible oil refiners feared.To avoid the possible and unexpected volatility, Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati...

Dealing with Omicron threat

That the new coronavirus variant Omicron is super contagious has already been confirmed. It is wreaking havoc, in terms of infection, in Europe and the USA. New Covid cases per day in the USA have more than tripled over the...

Let victory in NZ be the turning point for cricket

The Bangladesh Test cricket team could not give the nation a better New Year presentation. A comprehensive win over the reigning Test champions and that too on their own turf! What else is needed to glorify the first ever win...

Corporate tax cuts turn 'eyewash'

With an upturn in source taxes without effective refund or adjustment mechanism, corporate taxpayers find annual budgetary cut in corporate taxes apparently juggling the figures sans helping them.Corporate taxpayers have to pay around 97 per cent of their taxes in...

Stratagems of today's business leaders

Great leaders have different ways of directing a team, a division, or a company. Some are subdued and analytical, others are charismatic and go with their gut. What makes a great leader is when one goes beyond his core job...

Forex reserve falls to $44.33b

Swelling import expenses, coupled with routine payment to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), have put the country's foreign-exchange (forex) reserves under pressure again, officials said.The reserve fell below US$44.50 billion on Wednesday after making a routine payment to the ACU...

Int'l trade fair's bearing on economy

Recently, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 26th edition of the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), the largest yearly commercial and trade event of Bangladesh, which is going to be held at the mega Chinese-build new venue Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition...

4IR technologies and Bangladesh's preparedness

The 4th Industrial Revolution is evolving fast and reshaping economies, businesses, industries, and the global manufacturing landscape of the world. Countries like the USA, China, Japan, South Korea, and other developed ones are employing AI, robotics, and other advanced technologies...

Digital dodging dupes tech-shy taxmen

Bangladesh is losing potential corporate tax from the digital economy as the existing taxation system -- mostly analogue -- is ill-equipped to track all types of technology-enabled transactions.Despite having potential for revenue augmentation, economists say, the country has one of...

Monetary policy stance and Covid-19 pandemic: global perspective

The global economy has started to recover propelled by strong fiscal and extraordinary accommodative monetary policy and rapid inoculation against Covid-19. The policies so far taken globally have impacts on growth, employment and inflation. Bangladesh is not an exception and...