Economic activity must pick up amid the virus battle

Like in other parts of the world coronavirus is spreading its ugly destruction in Bangladesh as well. The number of people infected has crossed the ten thousand mark and the cruel death has snatched away 183 lives. The management of...

BD suspends 42 public reps

The government has suspended 42 public representatives for their complicity in relief misappropriation amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an official.Seventeen chairmen and 23 members of different union councils, one district council member and one municipal member are among those...

Fresh borrowers to pay interest for April, May

Fresh borrowers will have to pay interest on all kinds of loans as usual for April and May, according to a Bangladesh Bank, or BB, notice on Monday. All the banks have been asked to transfer interest income to a...

DSE for two-hour digital trading from May 10

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has sought regulatory approval to resume trading for two hours a day from May 10 amid the ongoing general holiday.The premier bourse DSE wants to resume trading connecting the clients through internet, email, mobile apps...

BD, India mull increasing number of freight trains

Bangladesh and India are considering increasing the number of freight trains for transportation of essential goods amid the ongoing lockdown due to the spread of coronavirus that limited road-based transport between the two countries. Sources said a videoconference in this...

Developing Asia's need for combatting Covid-19

The Covid-19 outbreak has badly hit the developing Asian countries such as Bangladesh. The ongoing virus outbreak through numerous channels will have serious impacts on developing Asian economies and some effects are already visible. These include sharp decline in domestic...

Coronavirus - how could it spread so fast and become intractable?

It is undeniable that COVID-19 in its fifth month of existence pervaded so fast and killed so many people that scientists and epidemiologists were taken by surprise. Its origin is still shrouded in mystery but what is known and even...

Bangladesh Bank, finance minister and emergency relief measures

The global economy is struggling with an infectious disease driven demolition of life and living never seen before - a unique episode in which people get debilitatingly ill, die and the economy gets shutdown. Monetary and fiscal authorities across the...

BB asks banks not to charge interest on loans for April, May

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked all the scheduled banks to keep their interest on all kinds of loans into a separate account for two months considering the Covid-19 induced inconvenience.The banks will have to transfer the interest income for the...

Next budget could eye 6.0pc GDP growth rate

The government is likely to set a 6.0 per cent GDP (gross domestic product) growth target for the fiscal year, 2020-21, finance ministry officials say.The rate is 2.2 per cent lower than the original growth target of 8.2 per cent...

NBR to chase Tk 3.3tn tax target in next FY

The government has set a Tk 3.30-trillion revenue collection target for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for the fiscal year (FY) 2021.The target is 1.35 per cent higher than that of the original goal of Tk 3.25 trillion and...

Most MNCs declare hefty div despite bearish market

Most of the listed multinational companies (MNCs) have recommended substantial amount of cash dividends for the year ended on December 31, 2019, maintaining their profit growth.There are eleven MNCs listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) which account for approximately 24...

Baishakh with a difference: Why?

In the history of Bangladesh, this Baishakh is unique. Even a centenarian is unlikely to have ever remembered a high summer month this cool in his or her lifetime. It is extraordinarily different for more than one reason: first, people...

Of economy and stimulus packages

All is reportedly set for the country's banks to offer funds worth over Tk 777.50 billion as soft loans to businesses hit hard by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Preparations, according to a media report, on the part of the government,...

Parcel train service gets poor Response from farmers, traders

Special parcel train service launched by Bangladesh Railway (BR) on three routes of the country on Friday has met with poor response from local farmers and traders, sources said.They said the initiative taken by the BR to help local farmers...

Lockdown exit strategies can help

Life or livelihood? That is the question facing millions and millions of people around the world today in an entirely unprecedented scenario for the modern, globalised world. But are the two truly mutually exclusive in the time of Covid-19? Or,...

Steps taken to gear up agri machinery production

The government has taken measures to ramp up the production of agriculture machinery amid high demand during the current Boro harvest season, an official said.Under the move, the ministry of industries (MoI) has directed the authority of Bangladesh Small and...

BSEC to form panel of independent directors for listed companies

The securities regulator has decided to form a panel of independent directors who will be appointed in the boards of listed companies.The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) took the decision in last week to ensure the due role of...

In need of efficient Zakat management

This year the holy month of Ramadan is passing through a period of unprecedented gloom. Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan amid lockdown and without any congregation in masques. The iftar, breaking the day-long fast, is confined within the...

BB enhances foreign currency support to commercial banks

The central bank has strengthened its foreign currency support to the commercial banks to settle their import payment obligations particularly for petroleum products, officials said.As part of the move, Bangladesh Bank (BB) sold US$ 85 million directly to the commercial...

Shipping lines told not to levy container detention charges

The Department of Shipping (DoS) has asked the shipping lines not to realise container detention charge on import and export shipments during the lockdown period, spurred by COVID-19 outbreak.The shipping lines are also advised not to impose any new or...

BR to resume its spl parcel train service from today

Bangladesh Railway (BR) has decided to resume special parcel train service on three routes from Friday to facilitate transportation of agricultural produce amid the ongoing lockdown.Initially, parcel trains will operate on Chattogram-Dhaka, Dhaka-Mymensingh-Jamalpur-Dewanganj Bazar and Khulna-Dhaka-Khulna routes, officials said."We have...

Trade thru' Benapole resumes

India-Bangladesh trade transactions through the country's premier land port Benapole resumed Thursday after 34 days of suspension. The government had suspended port operations following the COVID-19 related countrywide shutdown.The West Bengal government, on Wednesday, agreed to resume bilateral trade through...

BSEC may face quorum crisis to hold commission meeting

The stock market regulator will face quorum crisis in its commission meeting from Monday as the tenures of most of the members will expire by Sunday.As a result, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will not be able to...

Transport workers left in the lurch

Thousands of public transports, including buses and trucks, are now stranded at terminals and along the roads and highways across the country. Those have been rendered non-operational since the government enforced shutdowns on March 26 last as part of the...

A review of socio-economic systems warranted

Never ever could anything rein in the mad rush of economic activities the world over as the submicroscopic coronavirus has done now. Governments everywhere, particularly in countries hit hard by the virus, have announced huge stimulus packages for various industries,...

How to develop a Covid-19 vaccine for All

In the early weeks of 2020, it started to dawn on people that COVID-19 could be the long-dreaded but expected "Disease X" - a global pandemic caused by an unknown virus. Three months later, the majority of the world's population...

Philosophising on a pandemic

As noted by Warwick Anderson, a University of Sydney professor of ethics, in a recent article titled 'Epidemic Philosophy', the Covid-19 pndemic galvanised many Western philosophers to philosophise about its meaning and significance within weeks of its becoming a global...

Forex reserve reaches $33b on lower import

The country's foreign exchange (forex) reserve reached at US$33 billion-mark on Wednesday following lower import payment pressure on the economy due to the worldwide spread of coronavirus pandemic.The forex reserve stood at around $33 billion on the day, according to...

Communication strategy across the industries

Bangladesh is going to face a big blow from the storm of Covid-19. Business and trade have already started to suffer. With Ramadan in an unprecedented period, consumer-oriented businesses need to think strategically to focus on people's core needs and...