Trade deficit widens to $15b in 10 months

The country's trade deficit crossed US$15 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY).It was attributed to higher import payments than lower export receipts.The gap in trade with the rest of the world rose to $15.33...

Warnings of a new global financial crisis

There are increasing warnings of an imminent new financial crisis, not only from the billionaire investor George Soros, but also from eminent economists associated with the Bank of International Settlements, the bank of central banks. The warnings come at a...

Budget may compromise quality of development work

The proposed national budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2018-19 or FY19) is a continuation of the previous ones both in structure and spirit. Its size has been bloated to Tk 4.64 trillion - 25 per cent higher than the...

Imports up 15pc in ten months

Overall imports grew by over 15 per cent in the first 10 months of this fiscal year (FY), mainly due to higher import of food grains and fuel oils, officials said.The settlement of letters of credit (LCs), in terms of...

Prices of low-segment cigarettes of foreign and local brands to be same

Multinational companies are likely to be able to sell cigarettes in the country at prices equivalent to those manufactured by local companies from the next fiscal year (FY).In the proposed budget for FY 2018-19, the government has removed the discrimination...

Budget out of tune with present needs

On Thursday last, finance minister AMA Muhith, MP placed the proposed national budget 2018/19 in Parliament. The budget outlay has been proposed to be Tk. 4.64 trillion which is 25 per cent higher than the revised one of the outgoing...

Trump's theatrics: G7 may become G6 temporarily

Facts are stranger than fiction in international politics these days, thanks to the 45th President of the United States. In his most recent theatrical act, he has fought with the Heads of State/Government of the G7 countries in, of all...

Parliament needs to discuss Budget thoroughly

The Supplementary Budget for the FY 2017-18 and the Proposed Budget for FY 2018-19 have already been placed before Parliament. According to the legislative rules and procedures, the Supplementary Budget is to be cleared within a week after it is...

T-bills’ interest rates up ahead of Eid

The interest rates on the treasury bills (T-bills) increased significantly, as the banks showed unwillingness to invest their funds in the government securities ahead of the Eid.The cut-off yield, generally known as interest rate, on 91-day T-bills jumped to 4.14...

Cos to pay fine at 10pc of own tax or Tk 5000

Employers may have to pay a fine, equivalent to 10 per cent of their total payable tax or Tk 5,000, whichever is higher, for their failure to furnish the tax payment details of their employees.The Finance Bill 2018 includes the...

Over 0.17m Rajshahi families get VGF rice

RAJSHAHI, Jun 10 (BSS): Over 0.17 million poor and distressed families have been brought under Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme in Rajshahi district to mark the end of Ramadan and celebration of the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr festival.Under the programme, 1,790.03...

Sop that has raised many an eyebrow

That the government lacks initiative to streamline the country's troubled banking sector has been reflected in the proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2018-19.Finance Minister AMA Muhith chose to bypass the problem that many tend to believe is the...

Promoting use of alternative energy

Two news items are quoted here. First, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 66,000 metric tonnes (MT) of High Speed Diesel (HSD) equivalent to 30 rakes from India in the period between May to December this year. Second, Bangladesh will...

Developing a sustainable road network

Bangladesh is set to officially graduate to a developing country status from a least developed one by 2024. Development is now visible in every sector of the country. As a priority infrastructure sector, thousands of millions of taka are being...

Land acquisition a new problem area for RHD

Money paid as compensation for acquiring private land now eats up the most part of cost of projects belonging to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD).The recent hike in the official rate of compensation payments to the owners against acquisition...

SAARC, SAFTA: Prioritising intra-regional trade

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was designed to accelerate economic progress and social development in member-states. In the consumer market, SAARC is the largest regional organisation in terms of population. It was formed on December 08, 1985...

Service sector contribution to growth of South Asian economies

The significant contribution of the service sector in economic growth and employment generation in South Asian countries is well-known to all concerned. There is no denying the fact that industrial and export growth of a country irrespective of its development...

The technology challenge garment industry faces

For many years, discussion of the global garment industry has been dominated by the following question: Where were your clothes made, and by whom? But today, there is a more relevant question: How were your clothes made, and by what?What...

Entrepreneurship as a solution to unemployment

Developing countries are facing the issue of increasing unemployment particularly with educated young people of the country. Bangladesh is also facing the issue. A potential solution to the problem can be education on entrepreneurship. Such education, available in developed countries,...

LafargeHolcim brings new plastering cement

LafargeHolcim Bangladesh has recently launched new specialised cement for plastering."Plastered surface will be more durable, less prone to cracks thus requiring less repair and maintenance," Rajesh K Surana, chief executive officer of LafargeHolcim said recently.The new cement will help customers...

Accreditation: Delivering a safer world

The theme of World Accreditation Day, 2018 focuses on how accreditation delivers a safer world. June 09 marks World Accreditation Day -- a global initiative, jointly introduced by International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) to raise...

IWT — a victim of neglect

Bangladesh is a delta crisscrossed by numerous rivers and boasts of 24,000 kilometre-long waterways. But the navigable river-routes vary from 3,865 km during the dry season to 5,968 km during the monsoon period. Inland water transportation (IWT) is still an...

Thoughts on tackling the menace of drug abuse

Imagine a scenario where, on a fine morning, the people wake up to find that a flat in their locality has suddenly turned into a centre of attraction for the spoiled kids as well as the adults - mostly from...

The discourse over role of civil society

Before we start discussing 'civil society' extensively, let us give a brief definition of it first. What is the civil society? Even though we all may have our own personal way of defining it, there is also a very basic...

A benign and routine budget

As expected, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, on Thursday, in keeping with the past trend, placed even a bigger budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 that appears benign, in terms of tax proposals, and selective in its business-friendly approach. The proposed...

Budget numbers: Secrecy vs openness

Secrecy that is usually maintained in budget making is fading fast in Bangladesh. The media very often speculates about a few key figures as the budget-presentation comes closer. At times, some people at the policy-making level also talk about possible...

Of technology, its impact on scholarship

'Scholarship' is itself a quite old-fashioned term. Whenever we ask someone to think of scholarship, they usually imagine a lone individual, surrounded by books (preferably dusty ones), worriedly scribbling notes in a library. This is somewhat removed from the highly...

Sluggish DSE turnover hits govt revenue

The government's revenue earnings from the Dhaka bourse fell 27 per cent month-on-month in May this year on the back of falling trade volume and value.Market insiders said the sluggish trading activities coupled with low share sales by the sponsor-directors...

BB launches term repo for banking system liquidity

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) introduced a term repurchase agreement (repo) facility for the first time on Wednesday to ensure liquidity in the banking system. Under the term repo, the banks are allowed to avail liquidity from the central bank for...

The geo-politics of Rohingya crisis

Almost 720,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees have fled persecution and military crackdown and atrocities from Rakhine state of Myanmar during 2016-2017 where they had been living for centuries. Besides brutal massacres, the Rohingya houses were plundered, and scorched. The refugees are...