Global RMG market: Bangladesh projected as \\\'Next China\\\'

Due to declining profit margins and capacity constraints in China, investors are looking at other lower-cost countries for making investment in ready-made garment (RMG) industry, and producing and sourcing garment products. Bangladesh's apparel exports could triple by 2020 as the...

Stocks edge up for second day

Stocks edged marginally up Thursday for the second running session as investors find the overall price level of most of the stocks attractive as the market suffered continuous setback in the last few sessions.The market opened with uptrend and the...

More Dutch FDI sought

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu has called upon the Dutch investors to invest directly or relocate their sophisticated hi-tech industries in Bangladesh.The Industries Minister at a seminar Tuesday welcomed the FDI from the Dutch investors in different local prospective industrial...

Stocks positive at opening

Share prices on both bourses – Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) – witnessed upward trend in early hours of trading on Thursday, the last trading day of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE,...

Surprise for road users

The government last Monday sprang a surprise for millions of road users. The cabinet at its regular weekly meeting on the day decided in principle to collect toll from them in varying rates. Luckily, however, the government is not in...

Corporate taxpayers\\\' number set to go up by 25pc this year

Number of corporate taxpayers is set to increase by 25 per cent this year compared to the corresponding period last year thanks to the newly introduced online TIN issuance system from the current fiscal year (FY). A total of 20,634...

17 new RHD projects likely to get funds from RADP

Some 17 new projects of the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) are expected to get funds from the Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP), although five of these projects were not included in the original ADP for the fiscal year (FY)...

Bureaucratic tangles behind closure of country\\\'s lone diamond factory

Country's lone diamond cutting, polishing and jewellery manufacturing factory remains closed for a long time despite having vast prospect of export earning. The closure is due mainly to bureaucratic tangles, industry sources said. The country has started its journey with...

Working together to improve disaster management

On the last Thursday of every March, Bangladesh observes National Disaster Preparedness Day (NDPD). This year the day will be observed on  March 27. Different types of events are planned by the government, civil society forums, disaster practitioners and the...

Only two cell phones, no other property

The above news item received wide coverage in the media very recently and also became a much talked about topic. The incumbent Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala does not possess any property other than two cell phones. The prime...

India needs a vibrant corporate debt market

The health of an economy largely depends on the very functioning of the financial system and as such the vital requirement is to pep up the same in a fast and consistent manner. But the trends in many of developing...

Making the best use of forex reserve

The foreign exchange (forex) reserve in Bangladesh reached US$ 19.2 billion in February last, thirty-six times the reserve in 1990 and twelve times the level in 2000. The government until late 1990s had been worried much over the then inadequate...

Stocks see rally

Stocks rebounded Tuesday, a day after sharp decline with turnover remained sluggish as investors were cautious, and followed 'wait-and-watch approach. The market opened with a negative note, but later it went up gradually as session progressed. At the end of...

Stocks see downward trend

Share prices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) witnessed downward trend in early hours of trading on Tuesday amid modest volatility. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, went down by 3.20 points or...

Moheshkhali island in Bay identified as energy hub

The government has identified Moheshkhali island in the Bay of Bengal as an energy hub by implementing there a cluster of projects including power plants and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to boost the country's overall economy. It has also...

Tough provisions halt fund disbursement

Fund worth Tk 3.0 billion under the capital market re-financing scheme remains cent per cent undisbursed, mainly because of tough conditions set for borrowers, even after eight months of its release. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) released Tk 3.0 billion out...

Drive soon against vehicles using illegal horns

The government is going to conduct a stringent drive against vehicles using illegal horns of more than approved decibel to contain sound pollution across the country, officials said. The sound pollution in and outside the capital city has reached an...

Beekeeping can contribute a lot to economic dev of country

JHENIDAH, Mar 23: In an agricultural country like Bangladesh, it is undeniable that beekeeping, an agro-resource, can contribute to economic development greatly. Though beekeeping is possible in every district of Bangladesh, the districts which are very suitable for the purpose...

How much sustainable is foreign borrowing option?

Due to high interest rate charged by national commercial banks, the suggestion for foreign borrowing option has taken a dramatic turn. While it can be undoubtedly argued that such an option can open a door for great opportunities and promises,...

Salvaging jute mills

The jute sector is in jeopardy and farmers are losing interest in cultivating jute owing to the fall of jute prices in the market. There is a decreasing demand of jute products. As many as 15 jute mills of the...

Congress in tight corner

As the general elections in India are just knocking on the door, impression is gaining ground that the ruling Congress is heading for a miserable performance. Even though the Congress leadership - especially the party's vice-president Rahul Gandhi - is...

The spectre of inequality

The world has always been divided into rich and poor people. The divide is as old as civilisation. This long history, however, does not make it inviolable, not to speak of being sacrosanct. The rich have been accepted by society...

DSE index dips below 4,500-mark amid investors\\\' protest

Stocks witnessed sharp decline Monday for the second running session and the key index of the prime bourse dipped below 4,500 points mark as most of the investors went for selling spree. Meanwhile, a group of investors staged demonstration in...

Stocks see choppy trading at opening

Share prices on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) saw positive trend in early hours of trading on Monday amid choppy trading, the second trading session of the week. DSEX, the prime index of the...

Erosion threatens river banks along Padma Bridge project

An inordinate delay in awarding river training work (RTW) for the planned Padma Bridge has posed a fresh threat to protection of river banks along the country's longest bridge. Sources said the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA), the implementing agency of...

Apparel sector avoids recruitment of workers

Recruitment in the country's readymade garment (RMG) industry, the largest job providing organised sector, has declined significantly in recent times mainly due to the fall in export orders and the hike in wages, sector insiders said. According data available with...

SMAC — The right nexus for SMBs

With 2014 came a new buzzword to the IT sphere, SMAC, a trend which is gaining ground in the market. SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) is now all set to go explosive in the near future. Now is the...

Prospect of safe water looks bleaker

Of the 10 countries facing crisis of safe water, Bangladesh finds itself in the number seven slot. This was revealed by the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) on the eve of the World Water Day observed worldwide on March...

Capacity-demand mismatch

The finance ministry's move to finalise the revised annual development programme (RADP) for the current fiscal by trimming the original ADP faces a hurdle --one that, by any count, is very unusual. Usually, the RADP is finalised by the end...

Ukraine: U.S. hawks regain their voice

Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression is having an unintended effect on U.S. politics. It is generating a backlash against America's retreat from world leadership. That retreat was itself a backlash against President George W. Bush's overextension of U.S. military power...