Unloading of BPC oil faces severe disruption at Ctg port

The unloading of oil imported by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) faces setback for severe shipping congestion as vessels of private-sector power plants have been given permission to call at the corporation's jetties at Chittagong seaport sans its consent, officials said....

Restraining winged capital from flying

Capital worth over $18 billion went out of country between 2005 and 2014 using both legal and illegal channels, the keynote paper presented at a 'press meet' held by a group of civil society organisations in Dhaka Sunday last estimated....

India closes in on two BD SEZs

The government is likely to award two special economic zones (SEZ) to Indian investors-one at Mongla in Bagerhat and the other at Bheramara in Kushtia. The Mongla SEZ would be set up on about 205 acres of land and the...

Al-Arafah becomes first banking co to own equity of CBS provider

Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd, a second generation private commercial bank (PCB) has acquired 51 per cent shares of Millennium Information Solution Ltd (MISL), one of the biggest software companies of Bangladesh. Corporate insiders said the $ 2.0 million investment from...

Potato exporters fear shipment slump

Potato exporters fear further setback after the Russian government imposed ban on import of produce from Bangladesh, industry insiders said. Russia early this month temporarily suspended imports of potatoes from Bangladesh, citing food safety and disease risks issues. The decision...

Tax laws should regularly be updated

Taxation, no doubt, is a critical subject. It needs meticulous study of tax Acts, rules and other related materials to understand the intricacy of the "language/terms" used in the relevant tax Acts. Lack of adequate explanatory notes often causes serious...

Bangladesh’s look-east policy and Myanmar

Lack of basic land, air and sea connectivity in conjunction with a plethora of governmental complications is discouraging the prospects of boosting bilateral trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh. The border trade between the two countries is still low. The transportation...

What\\\'s the actual amount of \\\'revenue foregone\\\'?

As the time of announcing another budget gets nearer, last-minute lobbying to avail fiscal incentives is also there. From the high level of the government, it has already been signalled that the upcoming budget would provide some handy fiscal incentives...

Rise in tax on RMG exporters\\\' incomes likely in new budget

Apparel exporters may see a large hike in the tax on their export earnings from the upcoming fiscal year. Indications have it that the tax rate may be fixed at 1.5 per cent-a fivefold increase from the existing 0.30 per...

Roads are meant for cars and dogs, not for sleeping people!

I have seen very few Bollywood films in my life. Unlike some Bengalis, I do not speak Hindi, nor do I pretend to understand it. Most Hindi films do not come with English captions. Therefore, I cannot follow the story....

Should BB reduce interest rate?

The debate is whether the Bangladesh Bank (BB) should take measures to decrease interest rate. The traditional outlook has been that the central bank should take such measures whenever the necessary and proper situation arises. This necessary and proper situation...

New pay scale and fear of inflation

The new pay scale, which proposes to increase salary of government employees, is likely to be implemented in the upcoming fiscal year beginning from next July. Who does not like a pay increase? So quite understandably, the government employees are...

Earthquake risk deserves to be insured

Earthquake insurance is a form of property insurance that guarantees compensation to the insured, if the property gets damaged as a result of earthquake. The earthquake on April 25 in Nepal, known as the Gorkha earthquake, has once again underlined...

Reduction of rate of return on a Sanchayapatra hits retirees hard

Once upon a time, but still in living memory, defence savings certificates used to fetch at the end of five-year term Tk. 210 for every Tk. 1,000. The banks also issued many savings schemes which had earned at least double...

Fat gratuity receipts may be taxed from next fiscal

The government is likely to impose tax on gratuity receipt, on amounts above Tk.25 million, of an individual salaried person for the first time from the next fiscal year (FY). There will be no tax on gratuity receipts up to...

Demand for greenback up significantly

The exchange rate of US dollar against the local currency in the open market, known as kerb market, increased recently ahead of the holy Ramadan, traders said. The US currency reached its maximum rate at Tk 80.00 Sunday as the...

Conditional export of betel nut allowed

The government has decided to conditionally allow export of betel nut after four years of suspension, a high official at the ministry of commerce (MoC) has said. Following a recommendation from the  parliamentary standing committee the MoC in October 16,...

Tussle between MPs and upazila chairmen

The Annual Development Programme (ADP) includes different development projects of the country in a financial year. This is to be implemented through different agencies at various stages. But the misfortune is that the ADP is never executed properly in our...

Killing of a mockingbird

Right at the outset, I would like to extend my apologies for partial plagiarisation of the title of this article, for I could not think of a more appropriate one. The title is borrowed from the famous novel, To Kill...

South Asian integration is a key to economic growth

South Asia is one of the least integrated regions of the world. It accounts for just 2.0 per cent of the world trade and 1.7 per cent of the world's foreign direct investment (FDI). Its intra-regional trade is less than...

The troubling abundance

The production of Boro rice this year has surpassed all past records. The plentiful production is a piece of welcome news for the policymakers. But it has in a way brought miseries to millions of farmers and others involved in...

How long will oil price remain high in domestic market?

The government has kept oil price high in domestic market despite a large fall in global market. The price of per barrel crude oil declined from $115 in June 2014 to $46 in January 2015 that uptrended with ups and...

OMS of key essentials begins on June 02

The government starts selling key essential commodities at subsidised rates on June 02 aiming to keep prices and supplies stable during the holy month of Ramadan, officials have said. The open market sale (OMS) of major essentials through dealers of...

Banks set to slash lending, deposit rates further

Banks would soon slash their interest rates on both lending and deposit due to a number of factors including the decline in call money rates. The interest rate on call money decreased by nearly 1.0 percentage points until May 21...

MNP system delayed as cellphone cos drag feet

The telecom regulator has moved to introduce mobile number portability (MNP), helping users to move from one operator to another without changing the existing number, officials said. But the officials said cellphone operators remain reluctant. "We've already drafted the MNP...

Japan buyers’ renewed interest in local shrimps

Many Japanese buyers are showing interest anew to buy Bangladeshi shrimps, in a development industry insiders said can help exporters reduce dependence on Europe, now the largest market. The industry insiders said many Japanese importers, who were buying shrimps from...

Framing a comprehensive policy to spur industrialisation

Bangladesh adopted free market economy in late 80s. Opening up its market to foreign investment the government is trying to assist the private sector in playing a vital role in industrialisation and employment generation with a view to alleviating poverty....

Financing the war on climate change

Experts have defined climate change, the menacing global issue, as a change in the statistical nature of weather patterns when the change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). It also refers to a...

The puzzling GDP figure

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised down its GDP (Gross Domestic Product)  growth forecast for Bangladesh to 6.1 per cent for the current 2014-15 fiscal year due to political unrest from January to March. Political unrest undermined brighter growth...

A man with vision and mission

A birthday was observed on April 27 silently. It was of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed - the founder chairperson of the world's largest NGO called Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC).   Helen Keller was reported to have once said, "The most...