BoP sees downtrend

The country's balance of payments (BoP) witnessed a downward trend in the first nine months of the fiscal year (FY) 2013-14 due mainly to widening trade gap, negative growth of inward remittance and lower inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI)....

Chinese co gets main Padma Bridge job

A Chinese company has got the job of constructing the main structure of the Padma Bridge at a cost of Tk 121.33 billion. The cabinet committee on government purchase gave its nod to the offer of the lone company, China...

ILO for amendment to BD acts, ordinances

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has requested Bangladesh to bring necessary amendments to the country's several acts and ordinances to make them conform to its convention on abolition of forced labour, sources have said.   Bangladesh ratified the ILO Convention on...

Now admission to reputed colleges worries them

After publication of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent exam results, now comes the battle for admission. A large number of students who passed the SSC and equivalent exams this year are concerned that they might not get admitted...

Ethical basis of economics

Adam Smith (1723-1790) is famous for founding economics as an independent field of study by synthesising and systemising classical economics in The Wealth of Nations (1776). But he was also a significant moral philosopher in his own right who saw...

A step backward, not forward

Google seems to have been put in the soup by a Spanish lawyer named Mario Costeja González. Twelve years ago, González's adored house had been auctioned off to settle his debts and a local newspaper called La Vanguardia ran a...

Stocks return to red

Stocks returned to the red on Thursday, a day after positive trend as investors followed ‘wait-and-see’ policy ahead of national budget. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) went down by 26.56 points or 0.60 per cent...

DSE, CSE up at opening

The prices of most of the shares on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw upward trend in early hours of trading on Thursday, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the...

NBR finalises tax collection target at Tk 1.49t for FY \\\'15

The revenue board has finalised aggregate tax collection target for upcoming fiscal year, estimating some 22 per cent growth over the current year eyeing a surge in direct tax collection. Of its aggregate target of Tk 1.49 trillion, the National...

Leaking of questions: BCS examination

We wrote an article in The Financial Express on May 13 illustrating through an economic analysis how centralised control of the medical entrance examination creates higher possibility of questions leaking. In addition, we explained how the centralised method of distribution...

Cheating in banking

Hallmark Loan Scam in Bangladesh involved a total amount of about Taka 4,000 crore which means 40 billion in Bangladesh Taka and half a billion in US dollar. The Finance Minister at one stage remarked the amount was paltry. He...

How to deal with enforced disappearance, abduction, kidnapping

The occurrences of abduction, kidnap, enforced disappearance, killing etc. have increased rapidly all over the country. The most sensational is the recent case of abduction and killing of seven persons at Narayanganj. Most of the incidents are still unsolved and...

Thai scene - will martial law resolve political crisis?

The army of Thailand has declared martial law without taking over power in the country against a backdrop of a long-running political crisis. The development has come as another twist in the topsy-turvy politics of the south-east Asian nation, where...

Under-invoicing in fish import to be probed

Import of sea fish is now under scanner of the government as it has received allegations of rampant under-invoicing, officials said.  "The government has decided to scrutinise the import of sea fish for detecting under-invoicing," a senior official of the...

Dhaka for advancing duty-free market access agenda

Bangladesh will request the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to help the country get duty-free market access to the US market when the head of Geneva-based global trade arbiter arrives in Dhaka next month, officials said. Simplification of origination rules and...

Stocks return to green after 8-day slump

After fall in eight consecutive sessions, the stocks returned to the green on Wednesday amid increased participation of investors in the trading. “Market came back into positivity with investors’ focus on lucrative scrips,” said a stock broker. In the last...

DSE, CSE see positive trend at opening

The prices of most of the shares on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading on Wednesday. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went up by 33.03 points or...

Real estate, construction sector awaits reforms, adjustments

Over the last decade, the contribution of the real estate & construction sector in Bangladeshi economy has tripled. For an exposition of the relative growth rate of Bangladesh real estate & construction sector over the decade spanning from 2001-2012, the...

Actions need to be in tandem with \\\'Digital B’desh\\\' goal

Bangladesh, with its comparatively low GDP per capita, has been involved in the making of a highly competitive mobile telephone market. There had been a truly great year in 2007 with the mobile subscriber base increasing by 70%. Bangladesh mobile...

Making a tightrope walk easy

The finance minister of a country like Bangladesh is always at the receiving end. Mobilising funds to meet both recurrent and development expenditures remains a tough job for him/her. For the finance minister of a resource-starved country the act of...

Imports rise 14pc in nine months

The country's overall imports grew by more than 14 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, thanks to a 140.21 per cent rise in import of food grains, officials said. "The overall imports...

JS body to probe Ctg port irregularities

The parliamentary standing committee on ministry of shipping (MoS) has decided to investigate irregularities in Chittagong port as allegations of corruption mount, sources said.   A three-member sub-committee, led by M Abdul Latif, MP, will investigate the irregularities in manpower recruitment,...

Poverty situation and bloated GDP

One different tool, the so-called purchasing power parity (PPP), used for measuring the gross domestic product (GDP) has brought about a spectacular change in a few key national statistics concerning country's economy. The GDP, according to estimates done on the...

Government in a fix over rationalising corporate tax rates in budget

The government is still in a dilemma over rationalising the corporate tax rates in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) fearing a significant loss in revenue collection with cutting of higher slabs. The National Board of Revenue (NBR)...

Cos traded on bourses despite prolonged loss

A number of listed companies are being traded on the main floor of both the bourses despite counting operating losses for more than a decade, market insiders have said. The shareholders of these companies are being deprived of their due...

Local denim exporters shining as retailers lean on Bangladesh

Diversion of orders from Bangladesh's rivals has opened up new opportunity for local denim goods producers, potentially helping the country to replace China as the world's No. 1 exporter, industry insiders said. To cope with the increasing demand, the country's...

Modi promises to bring change in India

Narendra Modi, who won a landslide victory in India's general election on May 16, made a triumphant entry to the capital, Delhi. India, world's largest democracy, is still reeling from the scale of Modi's win. No party has won by...

Modi may have to prove his antagonists wrong

May 16, 2014 will be marked as a watershed moment in the history of India when Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed victory in India's general election having an absolute majority in the 543-seat parliament with 282...

Election in Tower Hamlets

There is a huge enthusiasm in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets on the forthcoming election scheduled for May 22.  The emotion in the East End is running high.  Wherever you go - be it in shop, relatives' house or...

Budget and sustainable garment industry

The readymade garment (RMG) industry is crucial to the economy of Bangladesh as a source of employment generation and export earnings. The industry accounts for 80 per cent of the total export earnings of the country and is a source...