De-dollarisation of reserve currency: Reality checks

Sporadic hiccups of de-dollarisation moves by Chinese yuan and the euro notwithstanding, the US dollar has been enjoying the envious status of the world's most predominant reserve currency for decades. To undermine the dollar's status, a consortium of three entities,...

Where ignorance is bliss

The new Road Transport Act adopted by parliament came into force on the first day of the current month though it was adopted by national parliament 13 months back. The relevant authorities have never explained to the people the reasons...

Ctg markets at fire risk due to narrow roads, gridlock

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 03: Most of the markets in the port-city -- including Khatunganj, Chaktai and Asadganj -- are at high risk of fire accidents. As the market adjacent roads are narrow and traffic congestion regularly makes them almost unusable, fire...

BRTC still ill-prepared to enforce transport law

The state-owned transport operator is not yet ready to enforce the new road transport act as nearly 36 per cent of its vehicles lack fitness and the majority of drivers don't have driving licences for heavy vehicles.Sources said Bangladesh Road...

Foreign funds in stocks continue to fall for eight months

Net foreign investment in prime bourse remained negative for the eight consecutive months in October as the overseas investors continued to pull out their fund amid depressed market outlook.Market analysts said the foreign investors were selling off their shares due...

Sustainable development agenda: Policy support remains the key

The Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021 has provided the roadmap for materialising the national goals of attaining the sustainable development agenda in the Vision 2021. The 7th Five Year Plan (7th FYP) has embedded most of the Sustainable Development Goals...

Need for clarification of onion price fiasco

The record price of onion -the latest high of Tk 150-160 a kilogram cross all previous marks -defies reasons and ethical business practice. Had it been a simple case of huge shortfall in supply compared to demand, it could have...

VAT on aviation services to stay

The National Board of Revenue has ruled out the possibility of waiver of value added tax, or VAT, on aeronautical service charges, officials said.The VAT wing of the board has issued an order in this connection. The wing has sent...

Pubali Bank vows to be the number one PCB

Pubali Bank Limited has vowed to ensure corporate governance through strengthening professionalism along with providing better services to customers embarking on the latest technologies. "We believe the confidence of customers is the cornerstone of our progress," Md Abdul Halim Chowdhury,...

Bolstering South and Southeast Asian regional cooperation

A two-day roundtable on "Regional collaboration: transforming economies", organised by World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation and South East Asian Co-operation (SEACO) Foundation, was held recently in Dhaka. It emphasized that cooperation between South and Southeast Asian Muslim nations will...

Indo-Pacific strategy: Growing opportunities for shared prosperity, sustainable growth

There is nowhere I would rather be U.S. Ambassador than Bangladesh at this point in history. As I near the one-year anniversary of my arrival in this remarkable country, I feel extraordinarily privileged to be part of the growing partnership...

Govt's bank borrowing may reach Tk 55b this month

The government is set to borrow a net Tk 55 billion from the country's banking system for the month of November to partly meet its budget deficit, officials said.The government may take up to Tk 144 billion as gross borrowing...

Fighting corruption

Under the headline "No more a basket Case", Sadanand Dhume, a columnist of the Wall Street Journal, once wrote: "… Nearly 40 years ago, only the most reckless optimist would have bet on flood-prone, war-ravaged Bangladesh over relatively stable and...

Blue water beckons tourists

COX'S BAZAR, Nov 1: As many as three cruise ships left for St. Martin's Island on Friday heralding start of the tourism season at the small island in the Bay of Bengal, the southernmost part of Bangladesh. The three ships...

Oct export earnings may miss target

The country's off-docks handled a lower number of outbound containers in October. This indicates that the export earnings might have missed the target set for the month.The Chattogram-based 18 inland container depots (ICDs) handled nearly 42,000 twenty foot equivalent units...

RJSC gasping for automation push

The Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) that solely authorises the formation of a company or a firm is yet to make any major progress in its automation push.Officials said the lack of digitisation is putting a damper...

BD to seek investment for telecom, ICT sectors

Bangladesh will invite more Vietnamese investment during the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting to be held in Hanoi next month.The Vietnamese government sent a letter to the ministry of commerce (MoC) recently with a proposal to hold a JTC meeting...

Poor declarations exacerbate the crisis

Stocks suffered losses in the outgoing week that ended on Thursday as nervous investors dumped their holdings amid 'poor' dividend declarations.Week on week, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 89.10 points or 1.87...

Smart teaching with interactive whiteboard

Along with the teaching experience in a prominent middle school in the US, I have also gathered some wonderful teaching strategies through visiting a few schools and two universities. Especially, their student-oriented classroom and its management techniques are really exceptional...

Trendy transformation of attire

One of the phenomenal changes has happened in sartorial preference of the Bangladesh people, particularly the younger generation. Youths and teenagers except only those madrasha-going students wear trousers, shirts or T-shirts like their peers in the Western world. A century...

Kurdish conundrum: Turkey's incursion into Syrian territory

The outbreak of civil war in Syria in 2012 and brutal response of the Assad regime resulted in large-scale displacement of populations. About 3.6 million people crossed the border and took refuge in Turkey. Another 1.5 million moved into Jordan...

Implementation of Delta Plan: An analysis based on ADP 2019-20

In view of the long term challenges presented by climate change and natural hazards, the government has formulated a long-term Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100) with the vision of 'achieving safe, climate resilient and prosperous Bangladesh delta'. The BDP...

Where are the decent public buses?

Notwithstanding the status of the capital city of the fastest growing economy, Dhaka presents a fleet of buses that is looked down upon as one the worst in the world. Most of the public buses are in a ramshackle condition...

A star's fall from grace?

The two-year ban on Bangladesh ace cricketer Shakib Al Hasan, one year of which to be suspended depending on his conduct during the first half of the term, has dealt a severe blow to the cricketer, his team and the...

BD tops list of Japan ODA recipients

Bangladesh came out on top of the league of recipients of loans from Japan in the Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 2018, thanks to significant progress in the JICA-funded projects here.Against the disbursement target of 134.03 billion Japanese yen for 33...

ADB aid pledge to hit $1.7b this year

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will boost its aid commitment to Bangladesh this year, prodded by its growth potential while helping the country reach its next stage, its senior executive has said. "We're enthusiastic about the prospect of Bangladesh," Diwesh...

BR wants change in Indian LoC guideline

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has requested India to change the guideline of Line of Credit (LoC) to overcome problems it is facing in implementing the Indian government-funded projects, sources said.The BR officials placed the requests to Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh...

Google seeks direct VAT reg

The Google Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (GAP) has sought direct access to VAT department, not via VAT agents, to simplify VAT payment system for non-resident companies.It has proposed that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) allow such entities having no...

India notifies BD 'malpractices' in process of exporting RMG

Indian authorities have identified few 'discrepancies' in the process of exporting readymade garments (RMG) from Bangladesh to India under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) deal, officials said. They said the High Commission of India in Dhaka in a...

Stock market: An aberration

The country's economy is growing a healthy rate. Inflation continues to be moderate and within the targeted level. Stock market, however, is an aberration and a constant source of embarrassment for the government. Unlike other economic indicators, the stock market...