Transparency in financial reporting of central banks: Rationale and comparative practices

From a position that central banks should maintain, over time, a risk-based, non negative, level of capital, central banks need to construct their law to enable it to ensure this through the maintenance of sufficient reserves to protect against losses....

Help out our heritage--Karnaphuli

Industrial wastes and effluents contain heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, As, Hg, Ni, and Zn, some of which are toxic for plants, animals as well as soil and air. These toxins make their way into food chain....

Comprehensive E-Health in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has made massive strides in socioeconomic development since its independence and is has become the 57th largest economy in the world. But with public health spending of USD 8 per capita Bangladesh ranks among the bottom ten countries with...

Growth: At what cost?

'We are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it GDP', says Paul Hawken, a Californian civil rights activist, environmentalist and author. This quote perfectly explains the flaws of our current economic models and the critical importance...

Should Bangladesh be cautious about Asia\\\'s new knight in shining armour?

In a recent interview, Bangladesh Finance Minister AMA Muhith highlighted the fact that Bangladesh has fallen into a 6% GDP growth trap, and attaining the much-elusive 7-8% growth requires larger investments. Investments, in turn, require greater development in infrastructure. Consequently,...

Performance Contract and its implications for the public sector

Performance Contracts (PCs) are a state-of-the-art mechanism for improving the quality of public sector performance and satisfying customers' needs. They are instrumental for enhancing good governance and accountability. The use of PCs is an effective means of improving the performance...

Success stories: Poverty, the enabler

When Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation, it was essentially a poor agrarian economy that could hardly feed itself adequately. Since then agriculture has undergone remarkable transformation and cereal production has increased by three and half times. In the early...

Weaknesses are still aplenty

"Without acquiring proper knowledge, information and experience regarding different aspects and matters of capital market, one should not invest in the capital market. Gain or loss, whatever comes from the investment, it belongs to you. So, prudent investment decisions based...

Fund transfer pricing: An imperative for banking industry

2014 has been a challenging year for the financial services industry. The year started with uncertainties regarding national elections and investors remain watchful before and after the national election. We have seen the violence and political uncertainties in the last...

Benefit for FFs: Some questions

People of East Pakistan were always worried as they got less development funds and less attention from the Pakistani rulers. The Awami League secured a clear majority in the 1971 elections of Pakistan National Assembly but Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman...

Irrationality: Understanding the limitation of human decision making and its impacts

Let us think of a very simple example. Imagine in your minds, a friend of yours, approaching a bank, well dressed up, with a smile on her face. How would you imagine the scene? Maybe a well dressed up lady...

US after \\\'midterm\\\' polls

The results of the November 4 "midterm" elections in the United States have not come as a surprise since a good showing by the Republican Party was very much on the cards for a variety of reasons. But, what did...

Auditors alone cannot ensure quality of financials

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) awards membership to the qualified Chartered Accountants of high competence through rigorous useful education and trainings who will be able to meet the challenges of the society. Besides, ICAB provides up-to-date guidelines...

Why are ICMAB and ICAB locked in dispute over FRA and FRC?

It is very shocking and painful to see that ICMAB, a professional institute, is criticising the other professional institute, ICAB for initiating exclusion of the members of ICMAB from the proposed FRC (financial reporting council) under Financial Reporting Act (FRA)....

Chaos in companies calls for bolstering RJSCF for strong corporate governance

Corporate governance has become a much-discussed matter in recent times in Bangladesh. Reasons are numerous. But this is mainly because of occurrences of a series of irregularities and scams in the country's corporate world, particularly in the last couple of...

Pursuing career in public relations

Every year a large chunk of graduates entering the job market are not getting suitable jobs they deserve as per their merit or remaining unemployed. Currently 47 per cent graduates in Bangladesh are unemployed, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit...

Myth and reality

Credit market in rural Bangladesh has been in operation since time immemorial. However the market was informal, and controlled mostly by professional moneylenders (Mohajans), land owners, and traders. They used to charge usurious rate of interest - commonly more than...

ACC awaits govt nod on probe into wealth of Biman officials

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is ready to begin a probe into suspected fabulous wealth of Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BBA) officials allegedly having a nexus with gold-smuggling rackets, official sources said. On the other hand, police intelligence is learnt to be...

A beggar-free upazila

Efforts taken by the local administration to rehabilitate beggars in Kishoreganj Upazila (UZ) of Nilphamari district have paid dividend. The upazila in the northern region of the country is now free from beggars. Nearly 1000 beggars of the upazila have...

Lower dev work throws long steel makers into trouble

Poor development work by the government and downtrend in private investments have thrown mild steel (MS) rod millers' business into an uncertainty, industry insiders said. Bangladesh's annual demand for quality rod is estimated at more than 2.5 million tonnes, of...

Treasury bonds not traded on DSE for years

Some 221 listed treasury bonds exist only in name and have been languishing in the premier bourse year after year as the central bank deals with the financial instruments, officials said. Officials at Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) said investors prefer...

Protection under Copyright Law

Copyright means author's rights. An author is the creator or owner of a work in respect of literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works, cinematographic films, sound recordings, computer programmes, broadcasting programmes, musical performances and phonogram recording etc. Copyright is divided...

Let us listen to respected teacher economist Nurul Islam

It gave us immense pleasure to read his point- blank remarks on the current state of affairs in Bangladesh that appeared in print media on November 16- 17, 2014. Instantly the period when we were students in Dhaka University Economics...

Use of ICT in making education more enjoying

Access to information (A2i) is an important programme under the Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office (PMO) which is financially supported by UNDP and USAID. A2i has been working successfully with a view to making Bangladesh a digitally developed and transforming Bangladesh...

BD seeks more time for loan deal with China

The government has sought more time to sign a financial agreement with the Chinese Exim Bank to fund procurement of six vessels for the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), official sources said. Recently, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent a letter...

NBR\\\'s authority challenged

A good number of tax-related decisions have remained stalled as the law ministry recently asked the revenue board to seek legal clearance in the matters of some SROs through the Internal Resources Division (IRD). Some important Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs)...

Flat steel makers leech consumers despite lower production costs

Local consumers are still paying high prices for CI and plain sheets despite a substantial fall in prices of raw materials in the international market, market insiders said. They said the import costs of the key raw materials mainly --...

How to establish consumer rights

Food adulteration with poisonous chemicals has reached a dangerous level posing serious health hazards in Bangladesh. The problem is now alarming and people are suffering from food phobia. The media has dubbed it 'silent killer'. It is very difficult to...

World economy: The warning lights flashing red

The message from David Cameron has been that Britain, which exports a third of its output, can expect to see little improvement in the next few years. In fact, things may get much worse. Ambitious plans for Britain to export...

Curbing terrorism on campus

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered 'proper steps' against anyone involved in acts of terrorism in educational institutions irrespective of his/her political affiliation. Her directive came four days after a deadly clash between two groups of the Bangladesh Chhatra League...