A narrative of the agonising and yet exciting times

Unquestionably, any saga about our glorious liberation war of 1971 is not only extremely rewarding, but also immensely educative. It is more so when the exercise is from someone, who is inextricably associated with the process in the sense that...

Providing security for minorities in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Constitution upholds and protects rights of every religious community to establish, maintain and manage its own religious institutions. Although the government publicly supports freedom of religion, attacks on religious and ethnic minorities continue to be a problem here....

Exploring potential of light engineering sector

At a time when the country's export basket is confined to a very select few items, apparel topping the list, the task of identifying further value-added products for export could be highly daunting. Happily, this is not the case for...

Conceptualising poverty: How to achieve the \\\'big push\\\'

At first sight the problem of mass poverty appears to be a part of the general problem of underdevelopment. But the persistence of poverty on a large-scale even in the midst of development makes this perception untenable. It is then...

6,000 traders to import used clothes this fiscal

A total of 6,000 traders across the country will get the opportunity of importing used clothes in this fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, officials said. Importers will be selected on the basis of population density of each district and through lottery...

Stocks edge higher for third session

Stocks ended marginally higher Thursday for the third running sessions with key index of the prime bourse crossed 4,400-mark as investors put funds on equities amid hope for ending the political crises. The market started in a positive note in...

Stocks see sharp rise at opening

The prices of most of the stocks on both bourses - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)- rallied in early hours of trading Thursday, maintaining the previous session’s uptrend despite prevailing uncertainties in political arena. After 30...

BB backs GB review committee report

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has backed the Grameen Bank (GB) review committee report suggesting the government to ask the micro-lender to comply with the recommendations made in it, sources said. The BB's suggestion came recently as the Ministry of Finance...

Move on to make govt borrowing tools more competitive

The central bank has taken a fresh move to develop the existing management of the government's key borrowing tools-overdraft current (ODC), official said. The government borrows a significant amount from this vital source to fund its budget deficit, sources said....

Foreign loans to private sector in 2013 decline

The volume of foreign loans received by the private corporate houses of the country declined in the last calendar year (2013) due to political unrest, official said. The foreign loans provider organisations are not interested in giving loans to Bangladeshi...

Hospitality industry in dire straits amid political turmoil

The average occupancy rate of hotels and resorts in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country has recently reached the lowest-ever level of around 20 per cent due to the ongoing political conflict. The industry insiders said their usual occupancy is...

Optional PSI comes into force by month-end

The government is going to launch the optional pre-shipment inspection (PSI), which was earlier mandatory, for imported goods by the end of this month, as both the customs authority and the service provider companies have reached a consensus on payment...

Pharma issues best performers in 2013

The listed pharmaceutical issues were the best performers in the country's capital markets in the calendar year 2013 amid a 12.6 per cent fall in profitability by other major sectors. The giant banking sector performed the worst with a loss...

Businesses to come unglued if political turmoil continues

The business of the banking industry will face a worse situation in 2014 than the last year if the prevailing political stalemate is not resolved, the chief of the bankers' association says. In the last year 2013, the banking business...

RMG exporters allowed cash incentive against advance TT

The government has allowed apparel exporters to receive cash incentive against export proceeds received in advance through telegraphic transfer (TT) to help recover their loss due to the ongoing political turmoil. Under the new facility, the exporters of woven, knitwear...

BSBL shifting focus from employment generation to gold mortgage business

Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Ltd (BSBL) is gradually shifting its focus from rural employment generation to gold mortgage business for better profitability, data showed. Available data show that the bank's investment in gold mortgage business surged to Tk 478 million in...

The confusion about class in trademark law

Apart from enactment of the Trademark Act, 2009 (TTA, 2009), Bangladesh is also one of the signatories to the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property (since March 1991) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)...

Abu Dhabi company to invest up to $10b in US chip plant

Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Co (ATIC) plans to invest up to $10 billion over the next two years in GlobalFoundries' upstate New York semiconductor factory, its chief executive said late last week. ATIC owns unlisted GlobalFoundries, having completed a...

10th national elections and the challenges for the government

The 10th national elections were held on January 05 amid bloody clashes that left at least 22 people dead and 500 injured. Voting was held in 139 constituencies, and due to violence, voting in 8 constituencies was postponed. Out of...

About water market

In the context of Bangladesh, water is both an asset and a liability. There are, perhaps, very few countries in the world where water appears to be both scarce and abundant within a very short period of time. In the...

There\\\'s a hole in the bucket

The government injected Tk 41 billion (4,100 crore) into the four state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs)-Sonali, Janata, Agrani and Rupali-to make up for their capital deficit caused mainly by mismanagement, corruption and the latest financial scam. The Sonali Bank got Tk...

Pakistan sets target at 40,000 MW of electricity through nuclear plants by 2050

China has committed $6.5 billion to finance the construction of a major nuclear power project in Pakistan's port city of Karachi as it seeks to strengthen ties with its strategic partner, Pakistani officials said. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif broke...

Stocks see sharp rise for 2nd session

Stocks witnessed sharp rise Wednesday for the second running session with turnover hitting 3-week high despite countrywide shutdown as investors put funds on equities amid hope for ending the political crises. The market started in a positive note in the...

Stocks see upward trend at opening

The prices of most of the stocks on both bourses - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)- witnessed positive trend in early hours of trading Wednesday amid prevailing uncertainties in political arena. After 30 minutes of trading,...

Farm size and arbitrage: Transition to large-scale commercial paradigm

Formal economic theories tell us that if information diffusion is perfect, then arbitrage by market actors will correct the price difference among markets. That means price difference is only an information asymmetry problem in those theoretical treatments.  If information is...

Building infrastructure for economic development

Infrastructure plays an important role in economic growth and development. It creates employment opportunities, contributes to poverty alleviation and ensures technology transfer in any country. Various analyses on the impact of infrastructure on economic growth and development have established strong...

India polls: Litmus test for Congress

India goes to national elections from mid-April this year. Voting this time is going to be a litmus test for the ruling Congress and its allies. The polls are becoming quite interesting since opposition leader Narendra Modi, prime ministerial nominee...

Addressing urban poverty in Bangladesh

More than half of the world's people live in cities where approximately 25 to 30 per cent of Bangladesh population inhabits the urban areas. Over 90 per cent of urban growth has been occurring in the developing world with an...

Battery-run hazardous rickshaws ply roads at will, none there to stop them

Although battery or motor-operated rickshaws have been proven to be unsafe for passengers, its number has been increasing alarmingly in the capital in the recent days owing to the authorities' apathy. At least five ministries are responsible for checking the...

MoF sets new conditions

The state-owned specialised banks will not be allowed to open new branches further unless 80 per cent of their existing branches are found to be making profit, sources said. The ministry of finance (MoF) recently passed this message on to...