TBT between Bangladesh and India needs attention

Identifying trade barriers is not an easy task. The much-talked-about Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) on bilateral trade between Bangladesh and India needs to be reviewed in this context. As NTM is a broader concept and as there are some elements compatible...

The state of world trade

It is well-known that world trade receives boost from a growing global economy. Favourable environment like free movement of goods and services is an additional favourable factor. In the nineties when globalisation took off, world trade was poised to expand....

NPLs mark 9pc rise in Q1 Political unrest blamed

The volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the country's banking system increased further in the first quarter (Q1) of the current calendar year mainly due to political unrest. The amount of NPLs rose by nearly 9.0 per cent to Tk...

Trade gap widens as import bill tips the balance

Despite widening trade deficit and negative current-account balance, country's balance-of-payments (BOP) position is still in some comfort zone. Nine-month data for the current fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, released by the central bank Wednesday, show that merchandise trade gap in the...

Nationwide OMS of five essentials in Ramadan

The government will sell key essential commodities at subsidised rates before and during the fasting month of Ramadan to keep the prices and supply stable, officials said. The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) has taken the move of open market...

Plan to craft strategy as cyber crimes crank up

The telecom regulator has planned to prepare a long-term cyber security strategy to protect computers, networks, programmes and data from unintended access and destruction, officials said. They said the Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has already formed a committee headed...

Time to evade obesity

The escalating consumption of junk food, carbonated beverages and other sugary drinks is resulting in the rise of obesity. Though the statistics suggest that the rate of obesity  in Bangladesh is growing at a slower pace than that of its...

The cry of our youth

Firstly think of a city where you can hardly inhale fresh air, secondly think when you look up and can barely find the sky and lastly think that you have no free space to gossip or to have a chat...

Urgency of tax policy rationalisation

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AS FOLLOWS:  The weighted average prices of bidi and cigarettes are quite low in Bangladesh and increasing this weighted average price is the only way to reduce smoking and generate 20% growth in year on year revenue...

Combating human trafficking

The citizens of Bangladesh are haunted by the sudden discovery of mass graves of the aspiring migrants to Malaysia. This has raised questions regarding the nexus between human trafficking and illegal immigration. This has also exposed the inability of the...

India ratifies LBA after 41 years

It is interesting to see the excitement in Bangladesh over the ratification of the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) by India. There has been a flurry of phone calls from New Delhi to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina congratulating her on the...

BFID to be renamed FID

The government has taken decision to change the name of Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID) aiming to ensure equal representation of all entities under the division, officials said. BFID under the ministry of finance (MoF) is to be renamed...

Yield rates of savings tools: Campaign and reality

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, it seems, has been in a dilemma over the issue of revising downward the rates of profit offered to the holders of the government's savings tools (Sanchayapatras). Being under pressure from two opposing groups, he could...

Need for discretionary revenue measures

Complicating the task [to break out of the 10%-11% of GDP level] will be the other structural shift, which is already underway, entailing steady reduction in the share of customs duty with diminishing importance of trade-based taxes in line with...

Be afraid, be very afraid!

Against the ghastly backdrop of rogue law enforcement personnel around the world---by their own confessions---lying, cheating, planting evidence, killing innocent persons and then justifying the murder by being creative with words, here are two questions answers to which are no...

Reducing interest rate spread

Conventionally, interest rate spread in our country hovers around 5.0 to 6.0 per cent. The extent of spread is very high from the standard point of view. The factors causing the spread have been identified as lack of competition, high...

PLCs have to obtain due diligence certificate, preliminary consent from bourses

Public limited companies (PLCs) will have to obtain due diligence certificate and preliminary consent from the stock exchanges before getting regulatory consent to go public, officials said. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has included such provision, among others,...

Cheaper credit lures textile producers to look overseas

Local textile producers and garment exporters are increasingly turning to foreign loans, compelled by high interest rate regime credit at home, which makes them uncompetitive in the world market, a central bank official said. A top government panel, headed by...

When USCGC Rush becomes BNS Somudra Avijan

An interesting and eventful transfer ceremony of US Coast Guard  vessel, USCGC Rush to Bangladesh Navy, renamed as BNS Somudra Avijan, was held on May 06, 2015 at the Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California.  The entire show and the  drill...

The challenge of achieving tax revenue target

Bangladesh's solid track record of continued macroeconomic stability is largely attributable to prudent fiscal management. Successive governments have demonstrated solid fiscal management, despite limited public sector resource availability, primarily through strict expenditure control and prudent debt management. Over several decades...

Increasing access of rural households to institutions, capital

Access to land is the most important source of livelihood in rural areas. Like land, livestock or non-land fixed assets, access to institutions could also be counted as an asset. For example, access to financial institutions can address the problem...

Introducing family planning programmes focusing on urban slums

It is disconcerting, if not alarming, to note that following decades of enviable success on the population front, Bangladesh is reverting to rising population growth. Population increase which was 1.36 per cent in 2012 rose to 1.37 per cent in...

Human trafficking issue to be tabled

The recent human trafficking issue that came into limelight after unearthing of several mass graves in Thailand is likely to be discussed during the upcoming Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Commission meeting beginning on Saturday. Sources said as migration is one of the...

Tariff Commission assessing pros and cons of TPP deal

The government has started assessing the impact and possible adversities of the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement on the country's trade and investment, officials said. The agreement is now under negotiation by 12 countries across Asia Pacific region. The...

HC ready to deliver verdict any day

The High Court (HC) is expected to deliver its judgment any day on about 100 writ petitions that challenged the imposition of minimum income tax on companies' gross receipts irrespective of their profit or loss, court sources said. A larger...

Delhi denies 5 NTBs hindering BD trade

Bangladesh has not received any positive response from India regarding its demand on removal of five non-tariff barriers (NTBs) and para-tariff barriers (NTBs), officials said. The Indian High Commission has recently forwarded a letter to foreign ministry responding to Dhaka's...

BB seeks tax exemption for banks, FIs, insurance cos

The central bank has advised the tax authorities to make the revenue earned from investment in the zero-coupon bonds by banks, financial institutions (FIs) and insurance companies tax-free. The BB governor Dr Atiur Rahman made the suggestion in a recently-sent...

Star Industrial Holding to build bilateral ties with Prime Bank

Lebanon-based Star Industrial Holding Ltd (SIH) is going to invest around USD 100 million in Bangladesh for its upcoming projects in ceramic & porcelain tiles, faucet, sanitary ware and table ware. The Lebanese conglomerate disclosed this during a recent business...

BKB, RAKUB asked to dial back big loans

The central bank has asked two state-owned farm lenders to move away from big loans and focus on agriculture and SME (small and medium enterprise) credits instead, which can minimise default risks, an official said. The instruction came Sunday at...

Yemen in turmoil

Yemen is one of the most poor and undeveloped country in the Arab region with a population of 25 million. Its per capita income is only US$1200 and the geographical size 527,970 km². The country is inhabited by Sunni and...