Change management key for ensuring organisational success

Changes in processes, systems and technology in organisations require that jobs be structured and performed differently. To enable and sustain lasting change, rigorous attention to a formal change management effort is integral to any significant project that a company undertakes....

America's Neville Chamberlain

When countries get nervous about their security, they often insist that they need to reduce their dependence on foreign products, shorten supply chains, and produce more goods domestically. But does protectionism really improve security? Now that the world is hovering...

BB pumps Tk 3.6b into three banks

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) injected funds amounting to nearly Tk 3.60 billion into three banks on Sunday to help minimise their cash withdrawal pressure ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, officials said.The central bank provided the funds to the banks using its...

Four global port giants queue up

Four international port behemoths have queued up to help funding and constructing Bay terminal near Chittagong Port, officials said.Last week, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) sought opinion of the shipping ministry regarding investment model of the terminal.Earlier, it forwarded the...

Edible oil import grows

As the consumption of edible oils continues to grow in Bangladesh in pace with population growth and economic development, the import of the commodity also increases gradually and steadily. It may be mentioned here that due to agriculture land constraint...

Prioritising welfare in economy

Economics deals with financial activities of human beings. It has its own natural flow based on multidimensional financial activities of people. But this natural flow depends on a number of factors like human behaviour, cultural heritage, national tradition, religious bars...

Sportspersons in political top job

Both payers and politicians have mass appeal. The very best on the court, green turf or pitch, athletic or other tracks, in the ring and swimming pool are iconic, so are the great politicians who lead to emancipate nations or...

Govt cuts source tax to 0.6pc for all exporters

The government has decided to reduce both source tax and corporate tax for all exporters to support them to stay competitive in the international market.The source tax will be 0.6 per cent for exporters of all sectors, including those of...

The role of SOEs in rendering public services

Historically, the private sector has been unable or unwilling to affordably provide needed services. Hence, meeting such needs could not be left to the market or private interests. Thus, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) emerged, often under colonial rule, due to such...

The case for corporate compliance programmes

Corporate compliance is an essential part of operations, no matter what industry the organisation is in. Compliance helps cover internal policies and rules as well as national and international laws. Embedding compliance in corporate policy can help a company prevent...

Can Turkey rewrite the crisis-management rules?

Whether by accident or design, Turkey is trying to rewrite the chapter on crisis management in the emerging-market playbook. Rather than opting for interest-rate hikes and an external funding anchor to support domestic policy adjustments, the government has adopted a...

Legal barrier keeps foreign insurers from going public

A policy barrier stands in the way of American life insurer MetLife being listed with the local stock exchanges, officials said.Since the lone foreign insurance company is not registered in Bangladesh, it cannot collect fund from local people by divesting...

Cattle farmers are working wonder

Lakshmi Babu, Raja Babu, Laltu and Paltu are proper names of different breeds. If the first two are heavyweight, commanding respect, the last two are surely lightweight and usually used as nick names. The first part of the first name,...

Last phase work starts without shifting utilities

The construction work on the last part of the metro rail corridor was launched this month keeping utility shifting from the 10-kilometre corridor incomplete, sources said.They said Dhaka Mass Transit Company (DMTC) commenced the work from Agargaon to Motijheel three...

Reform in gold sector to remove price mismatch

The government is set to carry out drastic reforms in the country's gold sector to remove the existing price mismatch between local and global markets, officials said.As part of the reform proposal made by the finance ministry, the government will...

City dwellers start heading home to celebrate Eid

The city dwellers started on Friday leaving the capital to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha with their near and dear ones. Thousands of people thronged the railway stations, bus and launch terminals amid difficulties in getting transports.The rush has led to...

A migrant's success story in Japan

Sometimes a simple example can lead to pushing ahead towards making a big achievement. Such an instance has been created by a little girl focusing on the employment market in Japan. Bangladesh has been sending manpower to Japan since 1990...

Equality for all?

Last month, I was invited to speak at the York Festival of Ideas, an annual forum for debating alternative, predominantly progressive policy goals. I talked about my work on asset-price stabilization. Andy Wood of the consultancy Grant Thornton spoke about...

Good governance and sustainable development

The concept of sustainable development was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987. It matured over time through different conventions, which were mostly led by the United Nations. As a consequence, the Agenda-2030 - the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have...

Noise pollution threatens urban population

Noise pollution has been a growing menace in the urban areas of the country. Families living near the roads and highways suffer from acute noise pollution round-the-clock. It is alleged by many health experts that an increasing rate of hearing...

Draft Road Transport Act needs improvement

The council of ministers has approved the final draft of the Road Transport Act (RTA) 2018 after dogged procrastination and foot-dragging for many years. If passed by parliament, it will replace the Motor Vehicles Ordinance (MVO) of 1983. The draft...

Call rate rise unlikely ahead of Eid-ul-Azha

The inter-bank call money rate is unlikely to rise ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, as the overall excess liquidity with the banks increased by over 22 per cent or Tk 171 billion in this June.The call money rate has been showing...

Of education science and related practices

Like in the other countries, 'Education Science' has become an independent discipline in the academic arena of Bangladesh. Keen interest in this discipline is growing day by day among the academics, education policy makers, researchers, development professionals, students and general...

Dhaka second least liveable city, once again

Dhaka's ranking in the Economist Intelligence Unit's latest Global Liveability Index has dipped two notches down to 139th out of 140 cities surveyed. Its last but one position, however, corresponds to that of 2014 and 2015. Last year's position at...

Entitlement is the ultimate answer to food insecurity

We are blessed with the good news that the Boro paddy harvest this season has hit the all-time high to stand at 19.6 million tonnes. The total food-grain supply has presumably surpassed 35 million tonnes. This has happened on the...

Banks go rural for inclusive growth

The country's commercial banks have made their presence significantly in the mostly unbanked rural areas in recent times.The urban-focused banks are going rural to help the government foster financial inclusion by bringing the people under coverage, sources said."The banking authorities...

Importers avail tax waiver using system's loopholes

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is losing a significant amount of revenue due to the lack of relevant orders against duty-free code of import items.All duty-free items have separate Customs Procedure Code (CPC) issued by ASYCUDA world system.Field level...

Ten cos raise Tk 4.67b through IPOs in eight months this year

Ten companies raised an aggregate amount of Tk 4.67 billion through initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first eight months of this calendar year.Market operators said the fund raising through the IPOs is going to surge this year, after hitting...

Resurgence of democratic socialism in the United States

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a young graduate of 28 years, came to the limelight by defeating a senior Democratic Congressman in a primary in New York in July. She is now crisscrossing the country campaigning for the progressive Democratic candidates for the...

Trump's victorious retreats

Will Donald Trump back down in his trade war with China, or will he win it? The answer is probably both. Trump's characteristic sequence of blood-curdling threats — "fire and fury," "squeeze Iran's exports to zero," "tariffs on everything Chinese,"...