Trade deficit widens over 53pc

Balance of payments (BoP) is under strains as country's overall trade deficit widened over 53 per cent by official count in the first 11 months of the just-concluded fiscal year (FY).   The BoP slipped into negative territory as higher import...

Free flow of easy money

One way or the other the lawmakers are having good times as far as the flow of 'development' funds to their respective constituencies is concerned. The ministry of local government, cooperatives and rural development appears to be quite generous in...

Trans Pacific Partnership and garment export

Whenever any of our major trade partners contemplates a free trade agreement or special trade preferences for countries that are exporters of apparels, an alarm is raised that such an agreement would adversely impact on the export of apparels from...

Aid for trade mired in ‘grey’ zone

As a least developed country (LDC), Bangladesh received US$ 902.7 million as aid for trade (AFT) in 2013, which was 4.15 per cent higher than the amount disbursed in 2012. The disbursed amount is, however, significantly lower compared to commitment...

Floods in Bangladesh: Causes and possible solutions

The factors responsible for the recent low-frequency floods in Bangladesh are either short-term or long-term processes. Palpable phenomena that take place prior to and during floods are termed short-term processes. In contrast, the gradual phenomena which cannot be tied to...

How feasible is transfer pricing scheme?

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) introduced the 'Transfer Pricing Scheme' hurriedly in the financial year 2011-2012. It, however, did not make any provision for infrastructure development to promote the scheme among concerned members of the public. Even it did...

Incentive for Bangladeshi diaspora

The gradual dominance of economic globalisation and the sweeping progress of the information and communication technologies have intensively persuaded countless people to pursue private and professional lives in more than one country simultaneously. However, such people - already being part...

Greek crisis a lesson for profligate countries

Greece, a country with rich culture and civilisation, is located in southern Europe. The country, considered the birthplace of modern civilisation in Europe, has been facing traumatic financial and debt service crisis for the last few years. The Greek debt...

Structural reforms through fiscal measures

The recently announced national budget has sparked considerable debate among economists, business leaders and the general public. Barely a few weeks have passed since the Finance Minister's speech, and it is widely considered that neither a 23 per cent growth...

Stocks return to green after 3 days

Stocks returned to green on Tuesday after witnessing correction in the past three sessions with improved turnover as investors went for buying binge. The market opened with an upward trend, which sustained throughout the session. DSEX, the prime index of...

DSE, CSE open optimistic

The prices of most of the shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw upward trend in early hour of trading on Tuesday, the third session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of...

Five MRT lines suggested to lessen capital’s gridlock

Dhaka city is likely to have five mass rapid transit (MRT) lines instead of the previously-recommended three lines as a remedy of the capital's chronic traffic congestion, officials said. They said Japanese experts, working since last year to guide the...

e-TIN service likely to resume today

Issuance of electronic taxpayer identification number (e-TIN) has remained suspended since last Friday (July 03) due to technical transition to the hardware system. Both new and existing taxpayers have failed to obtain e-TIN online for availing of different services from...

Exports up 3.35pc in FY \\\'15

The country's merchandise export in the just-concluded fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 fetched US$31.198 billion (3119.8 crore), up by 3.35 per cent against the previous fiscal year's $30.176 billion, officials said. However, the earnings fell short by 6.0 per cent of...

Tech puts greetings card printers in a tight corner

Gone are the days of expressing one's feelings to his or her beloved ones through greetings cards. Now technology, especially mobile telephony, has displaced that emotional mode of expression. Even a decade ago, millions of people used to express New...

FTA, PTA with India, China top priorities for boosting exports

The draft 7th five-year plan focuses on signing bilateral free-trade area (FTA) and preferential trade area (PTA) agreements with India and China respectively to raise exports as Bangladeshi products could make negligible access to the two vast economies. Also priority...

Call money rate to remain normal

The inter-bank call money rate is unlikely to rise ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr as most of the banks are burdened with excess liquidity following suspension of treasury bonds auction in last two months. "Considering the current liquidity situation in the...

Finance Minister\\\'s lament and big loan scammers

Widespread corruption, administrative reforms or the lack of it, moral turpitude and the like occupied newspaper headlines in the past few days. A visibly exasperated  Finance Minister AMA Muhith's admission in parliament the other day that bank loan scammers got...

Bangladesh changing gear

Good news doesn't come alone. This is perhaps revealed by the two cheerful news items that hit newspaper headlines recently: (a) Bangladesh has attained a lower middle-income country status via the World Bank's reckoning and (b) the World Food Prize...

Stocks extend losing streak for third day

Stocks witnessed marginal correction on Monday for the third consecutive sessions with turnover falling further as investors followed cautious stance ahead of Eid festival. The market opened with a downward trend, which sustained throughout the session amid marginal volatility. DSEX,...

DSE, CSE down at opening

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed downward trend in early hour of trading on Monday amid marginal volatility, the second session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by...

State banks neglect farm financing as credit flow falls by 3.0pc in FY15

Farm-credit disbursement fell more than 3.0 per cent in the first 11 months of the just-concluded fiscal year, officials said, blaming the slide mainly on weak lending performances of the state-owned banks (SoBs). During the period under review, seven SoBs...

Awful trips on highways likely for Eid home-goers

Millions of homebound people may again be trapped in traffic tailbacks on their journey during the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival for too many vehicles from broadways jamming into double- or single-track outbound highways, experts fear.   Apart from week points in traffic...

Foreign-owned firms will not get new licence

The government has the barred companies with full foreign ownership from obtaining fresh licence for freight forwarding (FF) business in a bid to facilitate the local companies. Only joint venture and local companies will be able to obtain new licence...

A two-prong strategy to reduce income inequality

Growth in employment, labour productivity and real wages are the most important factors for sustainable reduction in extreme poverty. Rapid GDP (gross domestic product)  growth, expanding by around 6.0 per cent per annum during 2005-2015 period, provided the main backbone...

Impostors taking education for a ride

As many as 1,400 teachers of primary schools in the state of Bihar in neighbouring India opted to quit job in a single day. No, they did not do so in protest of any injustice to them. They simply had...

Of illegal workers and fund outflow

The issue of illegal foreign workers has finally been able to draw attention of the policymakers. The national budget for the current fiscal (2015-16) bears testimony to that fact. The government, for the first time, has incorporated a penal provision...

Towards a new regime of regional integration in South Asia

There are strong arguments for deeper regional economic integration in South Asia. It is believed to have potential for generating significant intra-regional trade and welfare gains for the countries involved. Deeper regional integration is supposed to provide countries in the...

Businesses need to get familiar with trade remedial measures

The new fiscal year 2015-16 starts with a new budget that provides some protection to the country's domestic industries. Although most of the local manufactures and producers are not happy enough as they find the protection measures, mostly through tariffs,...

Stocks end lower amid sluggish turnover

Stocks ended lower for the second running session on Sunday amid sluggish turnover as investors went for selling spree ahead of Eid festival. The market opened with a downward note, which sustained throughout the session amid volatility.  DSEX, the prime...