Regulator "over-dependent" on task force for urgent reforms

Market intermediaries accuse the securities regulator of having shifted its responsibilities to the Financial Institutions Division (FID) and task force so that it does not have to take the blame for any misstep. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC)...

Relay cropping answer to coastal farming

The coastal region of Bangladesh makes up about one-third of the country's total land area, of which approximately 439,000 hectares (almost 1.1 million acres) remains fallow during the dry season due to increased salinity and inadequate irrigation facilities. Aman rice...

Trump's second coming: some observations

It was a provocative speech Donald Trump delivered at his inaugural on Monday. It brought back memories of his first inaugural address in January 2017, when he surprisingly employed such terms as 'American carnage' before the crowd gathered to see...

Building commodity buffer stock, inviting FDI in healthcare dominate to-do-list

Building an essential commodities' buffer stock to counter import-driven price volatility and inviting foreign direct investment in healthcare-and technical-vocational education sectors are among 31-point recommendations an economic -restructuring is set to make. Sources say the taskforce on economy and development,...

Taxmen agree to support IMF's NBR reform recipe

Leaders of two associations of income tax and customs and VAT reached a consensus Tuesday to separate the policy wing from the implementation wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).In a...

Six airline operators owe CAAB Tk 77.22b

Six operational and defunct airlines owed the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Tk 77.22 billion in cumulative debts until last November, risking their licence renewal. The CAAB coordination meeting held on December 18 last decided to issue reminder letters...

Suicide by students exposes education's fault lines

While it is a sacred duty of society to develop children as worthy citizens with knowledge and excellent human qualities, many of them are made to meet the end of their life prematurely because of wrong academic targets set before...

Govt plans bringing all citizens, resources under ins coverage

A hold-all insurance coverage of all the citizens and resources of Bangladesh is now planned by the government for giving a fillip to the country's socioeconomic development, officials have said.They said the Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the Ministry of...

Fine Foods' quick rally, faster plunge: What happened around its record growth

The stock of Fine Foods started off on a steep decline more than a week before it announced a record 376 per cent year-on-year profit growth on January 16 for the first half of FY25. It kept falling even after...

Democracy in chains

Democracy is often addressed as the ultimate system for raising equality, inclusivity, and meritocracy, a governance model that embodies the collective will of the people. Yet in Bangladesh, the ideal of democracy is overshadowed by a deeply entrenched culture of...

What does lie ahead for Gazans?

There was euphoria in Gaza following the announcement of ceasefire deal between the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, and Israel on Wednesday. The ceasefire deal that came into effect on Sunday (January 19) following approval by the Israeli cabinet was brokered...

Promoting financial inclusion of backwoods people, driving greater goal of SDGs

Coming as a technology-driven hybridization of traditional banks, agent banking has accelerated financial-inclusion initiatives across Bangladesh through bringing more unbanked and underbanked people into the banking network. This way, this banking derivative is contributing to the national effort for achieving...

USCG team's 6-day Ctg port visit starts tomorrow

CHITTAGONG, Jan 19: A four-member team of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) will start its six-day Chittagong port visit tomorrow (Monday) to assess its overall security measures. The visit will end on January 26.Led by USCG Lieutenant Commander Khiem...

A felon in the presidency

On Monday, President-elect Donald J Trump will take the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States (US), cementing his place in history as a leader of unparalleled controversy. He enters the presidency not only with the...

Attacks that smack of ingrained autocratic mindset

The Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB), The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Commission, the Ganotantrik Odhikar Committee and a student group have voiced their concern about as well as severely criticised the attacks on peacefully protesting indigenous people on Wednesday and the...

Air pollution now a health emergency

The fact that Dhaka's air is among the most polluted in the world does not shock its citizens any more, as it is regularly reported in the media. Whenever something, however dangerous, happens repeatedly, it becomes normal to the public....

Bangladesh economy in transition -

Like the body politic, Bangladesh economy is in transition at present. Both macroeconomic management by the government and microeconomic performance by the market are facing headwinds. While policy making in the first instance is within the bailiwick of the government,...

Rate hike yet to contain inflation

In a determined effort to combat the high rate of inflation, the interim government has taken a significant step by increasing the rate of profits on various savings certificates from the beginning of the current year. This move, in line...

Regular train service begins this month

CHATTOGRAM, Jan 18: The Bangladesh Railway (BR) is going to introduce more trains on the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar route this month due to pressure of passengers.The BR authorities have decided to make permanent the existing special train services to meet the...

1.1m submit tax returns online since Sept 2024

More than 1.1-million individual taxpayers have submitted tax returns online since 09 September 2024 through availing the fast and simplified system.The number is one-fourth of the returns the revenue board received last year.They have paid Tk 959 million in taxes,...

Promising stocks are cheaper than junk ones

Large-cap companies having stronger fundamentals are cheaper now on the bourses compared to small-cap firms with poor business performance. Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios reveal such a picture of the current market. A P/E ratio indicates a stock price relative to the...

Refiners press for edible oil price hike despite global fall

Local refiners pressed the government twice this month to raise edible-oil prices despite a falling trend in prices in the global market in recent weeks, sources say. This came after the government on December 9 last year raised bottled soybean...

Twin push comes thru bus purchases, signaling setup

Two new push-through projects are initiated for launching full-fledged rapid-transit bus services in Dhaka, which is expected to dilute a slew of nagging problems the capital city smart from. Dhaka BRT Company is undertaking the two schemes for the bus...

Fund may delay releasing fourth tranche of loan

Finance officials fear the release of next tranche of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan can be delayed, or even halted, as the government backtracked on the just-hiked VAT and SD for some items.An IMF note of dismay to Bangladesh finance...

Imported rice from Myanmar arrives at Ctg port

CHATTOGRAM, Jan 17: A ship from Myanmar carrying 22,000 tonnes of sun-dried rice has berthed at the jetty of the Chittagong port, the prime sea port of the country. Sources said, MV Golden Star berthed at Jetty No. 9 of...

Poush Parbon flickers as a reminiscent of the vibrant festival once it was

Poush toder daak diyechhe, aay re chole, aay aay aay/ Daala je taar bhoreche aaj paaka phosole, mori haai haai haai (Poush has called you, come, come soon/the basket of it is full of ripened crops, what bliss it is!)....

Risk based pricing: a safeguard for the banking industry

Risk-based pricing is gaining growing attention in today's business world full of risk imbalance. As all customer groups do not mirror the same look on a business scale, all cannot share the same cost burden alike. It has been around...

Let Dhaka not crumble under its own weight

Dhaka city's infamy for its chaotic public transportation system is known but now it makes news for the dwindling of the fleet of buses. The bus service system in the town is steadily losing its share of passengers for a...

Government backtracks on tax hike for eight items

Eight items, including medicine, mobile-phone usage and internet-service providers, are spared from the just-hiked VAT and supplementary duty (SD) as the government backtracks amid stakeholder discontent. The other items relieved of tax rises are non-AC hotel, restaurant, motor garage and...

Awareness after 2014 Sonali Bank hack might've prevented 2016 BB heist

National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) Director General Abu Sayed Md Kamruzzaman on Wednesday said the 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist might have been prevented had cybersecurity been taken more seriously following the 2014 Sonali Bank hacking. He voiced concerns over missed...