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...

BTRC okays tariffs for NTTN services

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) approved tariff rates for services of the private nationwide telecommunication transmission network (NTTN) operators for the first time. The rates have different slabs, price floors and ceilings for different types of customers and areas,...

Savings tools info under watch

All investors in government savings certificates are coming under scrutiny by taxmen to check any information holdback on their actual wealth.The tax authority has already got down to doing the recheck through an integrated system between the Department of National...

BB dispels bankers' worry, sticks to gun

Scuttling all concerns of top bankers, the central bank said it wouldn't budge from its instructions on fixing the interest rates on fixed deposits commensurate with inflation so to protect depositors' interest.The latest stance came at a meeting of the...

Listed companies seek waiver

Listed companies have sought waiver from the payment of accrued interests on unclaimed or undistributed dividends or non-refunded public subscription money saying that such funds were included in reserves as non-operating income.Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) on Thursday...

Fear of missing out on productive activities

In the year 1996, a certain Dr Dan Herman from the USA coined a term -- 'Fear Of Missing Out' or FOMO. The term has ever since been used frequently to measure human experience in varied purposes, especially to conclude...

Economic growth isn't a tide that lifts all boats

Bruce Edwards: Welcome to this podcast produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this program, one of the most influential development economists of her time, Rohini Pande talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how better institutions can make life...

Ensuring universal accessibility

If accessibility is within everyone's reach, why should we stop halfway? The ability of a person is determined by her or his environment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15 per cent of the population has some type of...

Monetary policy lacks realism

Realistic assumptions and sound hypotheses are critical for devising policies and setting targets, as they form the basis for subsequent actions and interventions. But the growth targets for GDP and private sector credit incorporated in the recently declared monetary policy...

Labour market dynamics in Bangladesh and impact of Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic that started in China in December 2019 and spread over almost all other countries has caused disappointments in global economic growth as it has discouraged investment and, hence, disrupted the labour markets. Though figuring out the economic...

Selection of consultants on feasibility partly to blame

Lesser-known consultancy firms from abroad grab most jobs of conducting feasibility studies on infrastructure-projects, limiting scope for top-ranking local or global bidders. This practice, however, gives rise to problems during execution of many development projects, sources concerned said. According to...

Bankers balk at minimum deposit interest rate

A portion of fixed deposits rather than the entire amount in Bangladesh's banking sector is set to come under 'floor', or minimum interest rating, imposed by the central bank recently to protect depositors' interests.Bankers apparently balk at the government move...

Political economy of climate change policies

Few issues have sparked more attention than how to avoid environmental and human catastrophe from climate change. But even in the wake of massive public protests and an ambitious agenda since the 2015 Paris Agreement, governments are wary of the...

Retail banks should focus more on customer care in Bangladesh

In today's era of escalating competition, service quality is a fundamental asset for businesses to gain, retain, and extend market share, especially in a highly competitive industry such as retail banking. Reviewing the local and global trends, retail banking appears...

Prime rail corridor to uptake higher speed

Bangladesh's prime railway corridor on Dhaka-Chattogram route linking up to Cox's Bazar maritime frontier is being upgraded for enabling train movement at desired speeds and with increased traffic."Under a feasibility-study project, Bangladesh Railway (BR) has already identified the missing links...

Withdrawing excess money begins

A splurge of money from stimulus packages and private-investment stalemate prompted the central bank to restart mopping up excess liquidity from the market, as a measure of taming inflation. As the method began Monday through resumption of auctioning bills after...

Transporters lose Tk 300b

A long shadow is cast by the current global pandemic over Bangladesh's transport sector as operators say they have so far suffered losses to the tune of Tk 300 billion for suspension of long-haul mass transportation for lockdowns.The mass-transport operation...

Economy tops the agenda

The government has finally decided to lift the lockdown from August 11 for obvious reason-the overriding economic necessity.There was of course pressure from the industry, especially, the readymade garment (RMG) sector, as they have the buyers' deadlines to meet. There...

Relevance of Covid-19 vaccine patent waiver to Bangladesh

To prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, a small number of companies with the help of their developed country partners invested billions of dollars in research and development of vaccines, vaccine technologies including mRNA, DNA, RNA, inactivated, viral vectors, protein subunits and...

Central bank digital currency & Bangladesh

Lately, the emergence of central bank digital currency (CBDC) has received a lot of attention in the media and among the general public. In simple words, CBDC means that a central bank is issuing electronic currency instead of physical or...

A welcome change of mind

The final numbers that the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the national statistical organisation, disclosed last Thursday on GDP (gross domestic product) for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 might have surprised many. The plausible reasons for evoking surprise could be:...

No deposit rates below inflation

The central bank asked all the scheduled banks not to fix interest rate on term deposits below the annual average inflation rate to protect depositors' interests, as they count small returns, officials said.Under the new provisions, the banks have to...

Listed general insurers see higher profits in H1

Listed general insurers have bagged higher profits in the first half (H1) of 2021 thanks to lowering agents commission, reduced net claim and reduction in operational costs.A total of 38 general insurance companies are listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange...

'upay' offers lowest cash-out fees, highest client security

upay, a newly launched mobile financial service provider, has assured client security as its first priority, followed by lowest cash-out fees and up to zero charge on person-person transactions.Having obtained licence in December 2020 and launched the services in March...

Indigenous Peoples' resilience: Supporting solutions from within

When Covid-19 hit, Indigenous peoples feared for the lives of their elders and the survival of their cultures. Despite lockdowns, there seemed to be a surge in territorial invasions, contributing to the ensuing spread of the virus in their remote...