Regulator launches action against DBBL over related-party building purchase

The securities regulator has initiated enforcement action against Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. (DBBL) over what it described as a conflict of interest linked to a plan to purchase a multi-storied building. On August 26, the bank's board of directors decided to...

Supply shortfall results in sudden onion price hike

The country produced 4.4 million tonnes of onion in the 2024-25 growing season, exceeding the estimated demand of 3.5 million tonnes. However, there is now a shortage of onions, and the price has increased.The prices of locally produced onions have...

When teachers hold students hostage!

Annual examinations in most government primary and secondary schools across the country have been thrown into disarray and uncertainty as several groups of teachers launched an indefinite strike on Monday to press home their various demands, including upgrading their posts...

Polls, MPO allowance hike, new Islamic Bank capital to cost Tk 270b

Current crunch time comes as a reminder to ministries and divisions concerned to make realistic fund demand from this year's revised budget to help the government avoid higher bank borrowings and interest payments.The direction comes from finance division while holding...

Uncertainty looms over subsidiaries of NBFIs facing liquidation

The central bank's decision to liquidate nine non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) has raised questions about the fate of their subsidiaries and associate companies operating in the secondary market, as well as their clients who are also investors.Eight of the NBFIs...

Addressing the rising NPL crisis

The banking sector in Bangladesh is currently grappling with a critical challenge that poses a significant threat to its stability and future growth: the alarming rise in Non-Performing Loans (NPLs). The factors contributing to this crisis are complex and multifaceted,...

Regulatory lapses haunt nine NBFIs as liquidation looms

The nine non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) now heading for liquidation under a Bangladesh Bank initiative were in good financial health even a decade ago.Their condition has gradually eroded over the years due to irregularities, loan scams and mismanagement under the...

Independent central bank: ideal vs illusion

This article is inspired by recent discourses and insightful commentaries across the print media on the “Need for an Independent Central Bank (ICB).” Few would contest their arguments that political dominance over the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has undermined monetary discipline,...

Single-dose vaccine against dengue

Brazil is learnt to have launched a single-dose anti-dengue vaccine last Wednesday (November 30) after obtaining its registration approval by the county's drug regulator, Anvisa. Developed by Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo, the vaccine called, Butantan-DV, is claimed to be...

Recast policy redefines compensation to landowners in Dhaka

A major policy change in land acquisition envisages abolishing compensation to the city landowners and instead encouraging them to get engaged in the development activities with revised property rights staying within respective areas. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkhya (RAJUK) has made the...

EXIM Bank warns Payra power plant over delayed repayment

China's EXIM Bank has warned the Bangladesh-China Power Company Ltd (BCPCL) that its failure to repay a US$129 million loan instalment due in early December could trigger a formal default event, potentially affecting other projects in Bangladesh financed by the...

Post-IPO expansion failure drags Lub-rref deeper into losses

Lub-rref (Bangladesh) has sunk deeper into the red within five years of listing, as its post-IPO expansion plan went haywire.The lubricant producer reported a loss of Tk 662 million for the year ended June this year, up from a loss...

Danger of population growth beyond limits

At a time when election, referendum and lease of seaports hog newspaper headlines, some highly important issues receive scant attention. One such issue is population growth in a country that is already gasping for breath under the weight of an...

Chasing wild goose of siphoned money

Industrial stagnation and shrinking private investment have resulted in 1.4 million people's loss of jobs, who are now out on the streets, said former FBCCI president A.K. Azad, also, Managing Director of the Ha-Meem Group, while speaking at a discussion...

ICB hides losses by valuing securities at cost with regulatory approval

The state-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) avoids showing actual losses by valuing its investments in securities at cost rather than at current market value.The Bangladesh Bank has issued a 'no objection' to reporting investments at cost price in the...

Trump era cools Bangladesh's US study boom

The United States has always been one of the top choices for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher studies. According to the 2024 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, published in November 2024, the number of Bangladeshi students in the...

Takeaway from COP30

The thirtieth United Nations Climate Change Conference, (COP30) held in Belem, Brazil from November 10 to 21, concluded with a compromise agreement, meaning it fell short of expectations of the majority of participants. In a conference of a few major...

As Dhaka's population surges, services go haywire

Dhaka as a city is imploding. Overpopulation has overwhelmed its civic amenities, while problem such as chronic traffic congestion, utility crises, environmental pollution, and other urban stresses continue to grow unchecked. Not long ago, it earned the distinction of being...

Global trade moderation and Bangladesh

The calendar year 2025 is now set to enter its final month tomorrow. In other words, just a month from now, the world will see the start of another year. The annual stock-taking of global economic performance is already underway,...

Bangladesh mobile operators face rising regulatory strain

Mobile operators worldwide are spending unprecedented amounts on cybersecurity, yet remain exposed to accelerating digital threats due to fragmented and overly prescriptive regulation, according to a new GSMA study that quantifies the growing financial and operational burden on the industry.The...

China delays funding seaport's two new jetties

China delays approving a concessional loan proposal for US$335 million for construction of two jetties at Mongla seaport to augment its container-handling capacity, officials say.Already, seven months have elapsed since the Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent the proposal to Beijing...

DWASA set to implement Tk 220m pilot project

The Local Government Division (LGD) is moving to introduce a smart metering system in the water supply network, following similar modernisation efforts undertaken in the gas and power sectors.The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) is supposed to implement...

Panic reaction to earthquake is no way of facing the calamity

Panic has gripped Dhakaites as an earthquake shook their residences violently on Friday, November 21. Another tremor, thought to be the aftershock of the Friday's one, jolted the capital and other areas the next day. This was followed by three...

Six tycoons shortlisted for siphoned-off asset recovery rapidly

The Bangladesh Bank has shortlisted six tycoons and decided to speed up probe and disposal of cases against them over the laundered money siphoned off to several countries.Investigators name the suspect conglomerates like NASSA, Beximco, Saifuzzaman, Sikder Group, S. Alam...

State insurer wants food directorate to resume coverage

Sadharan Bima Corporation (SBC) has requested the food directorate to resume purchasing insurance coverage from the state-run insurer, in line with legal requirements that mandate government entities to buy coverage from the corporation.Officials said the appeal follows a long period...

Addressing biting poverty and moribund economy

When about 2.0 million people of a country fall below the poverty line in a year, it certainly points to that country's economic malaise. But if this follows the previous year's more than three million people's plunge into poverty with...

Next frontier of Bangladesh's export diversification

There are always points in the economic development of countries where the roadmap for the future becomes distinctly visible once the driving engine, which for so long propelled success to dizzying heights, is no longer commensurate with ambitions born out...

Rollout hits snag amid approval backlog

The rollout of electric buses under the Bangladesh Clean Air Project (BCAP) is set to be delayed indefinitely, as the required project approvals could not be obtained during the interim government's tenure.Officials said that although the World Bank (WB) approved...

Bhutan's first transit shipment through Ctg port finally released

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 26: Bhutan's maiden transit shipment through Chittagong Port has finally been released today (Wednesday), two months after it arrived by sea but got stuck in paperwork. In a landmark development for sub-regional trade, Bangladesh has completed customs formalities...

Antimicrobial resistance threat looms large

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), a growing global public health threat, is severely affecting the management of infectious diseases. Microorganisms are increasingly developing the ability to resist the killing effects of antimicrobials (AMs), rendering these drugs less effective or even completely useless...