BSMRB construction on using new tech

After the Padma road-cum-rail bridge, the dedicated railway bridge over Jamuna River is going to be another example of the country's unique bridge for adopting new technology.Project officials said the 4.8-kilometre-long Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Railway Bridge (BSMRB) project has so...

Pain of growth: Cement makers have to pay for unused capacity

The capacity expansion of the cement industry since 2008 far outstripped demand leaving a significant part of it sitting idle to the cost of profit. The industry's production capacity rose an astonishing 271.64 per cent to 83.29 tonnes in the...

Flour, wheat prices decline in port city

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 10: A ship which arrived at Chittagong Port from Ukraine will start unloading 52500 MT wheat after getting official nod following a test at a government-designated lab, officials said. Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) officials said the vessel, MV...

Begging: A stark choice or a profession?

Ruling party lawmaker AKM Ramatullah wanted to know in a question and answer session in parliament on Sunday why there have been beggars galore in the capital city. He related his personal experience of coming across 10 beggars on the...

Current account and the current woes

Bangladesh had a good run of robust economic growth since the early years of this century. It was rudely interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic that swept across the world with amazing speed in 2019-20. Fortunately, Bangladesh bounced back to its...

Barriers to central bank’s independence

Bangladesh is now on the path of continuous development after overcoming various obstacles. Bangladesh has reached the stage of graduation from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) of the United Nations to a Developing Country. The announcement came as...

Covid-induced school closures: Combating learning loss

Learning losses resulting from school closures are among the most severe global challenges to medium- and long-term recovery from COVID-19. School closures caused millions of children across the globe to significantly miss out on the academic learning, with younger and...

BD, Japan to form working group on trade, investment

A joint working group of Bangladesh and Japan will be formed to identify sectors of mutual interest under a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) to be signed during Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina's upcoming visit to Japan.The MoC on Bangladesh-Japan Industrial...

Dhaka moves to set up 'electronic platform'

Bangladesh is now considering establishing an 'electronic platform' to facilitate bilateral export-import trade with Russia, which proposed the mechanism amid sanctions due to the Ukraine war.The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the ICT Division under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications...

Check evasions, raise tax-GDP ratio to 9.6pc, suggests IMF

Salaried individuals constitute less than one-third of the total individual taxpayers in Bangladesh despite drives by the revenue authority to ensure payroll-tax compliance, according to the country's latest financial health check.As a detailed report on the revenue front was placed...

The FE's journey is on

The Financial Express (FE), the country's first and largest-circulated English financial daily, steps into the 30th year of its publication today (Thursday).On this auspicious occasion, we express our gratitude to our valued readers, contributors, patrons, well-wishers, advertisers and relevant others...

IMF agrees to lend BD $4.5b

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agrees to lend Bangladesh US$4.5 billion to help replenish its foreign-currency reserves, weighed down by high global inflation, in a package that includes wide-scale reforms. As a visiting IMF mission wound up spot check of...

Tea output rebounds

CHATTOGRAM, Nov 09: Tea production in the country increased last year compared to the previous year, thanks to a better climatic condition as well as a rise in acreage, despite the multi-faceted problems faced by the sector. According to Bangladesh...

Eastern Cables returns to profit after losses in 19 quarters

Eastern Cables, the state-run wire maker, reported to have gained a profit of Tk 8.98 million in the fiscal year 2021-22, even after incurring losses in the first three quarters amounting to Tk 56 million. The Chattogram-based cable and conductor...

COP-27 and the apocalypse we stare into

It is hard to be optimistic on the climate change issue. There are all the glaciers breaking down, all the icebergs that are melting. Coral reefs are in jeopardy and life at the bottom of the sea is slowly being...

Bangladesh oils and fats market: insights and forecasts

Bangladesh consumed little over 3.0 million tonnes of oils and fats in 2019, the highest in a year. The per-capita consumption increased to 18.7 kilograms, by that account, from 13.8 per cent in 2015. The consumption of oils and fats...

Writing our own development narratives: how dormant entrepreneurial culture flourishes

A number of books came out over the last two to three years on the eve of 50 years of independence of Bangladesh. All of these books have documented Bangladesh's economic, social and political journey over the last 50 years...

How is Bangladesh economy doing?

The dollar is sometimes referred to as 'the cleanest shirt in the laundry basket' or 'the least-ugly mug in a beauty contest'. The value of the US dollar against the most currencies in the world, except for a few South...

Bangladesh’s growth: Quality education remains a key factor

Hardly is it possible to overstate the role education plays in socioeconomic advances. Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world." The importance and impact of education are not only limited...

Is Bangladesh facing a macroeconomic crisis?

Although the global economy recovered well from the recession caused by the covid pandemic in 2020, it faced another shock in early 2022 - this time a man-made one, the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Disruptions in...

DAP 2022-35: critiques & way forward

When I came across the newly published Dhaka DAP 2022-2035, it was unlike any public document I had ever seen in Bangladesh! Beautiful it was, not only because it was published in Bangla or because it was stunningly composed with...

Economic crisis and policy response: an overview

The world is going through an economic crisis of unprecedented scale and magnitude. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), ' the worst is yet to come', which should send a chill down the spine of policy makers and consumers alike....

Feasibility of electronic voting in Bangladesh

Background: Electronic Voting and Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs have been the talk of the country in Bangladesh in recent times due to the controversial decision taken by the current Election Commission (EC) to use these machines in 50 per...

Courier law at final stage

A new law to regulate mailing and courier services is in its final stage, with provisions of fines up to Tk 1.0 million or three months' jail for money laundering.The proposed 'Mailing Operator and Courier Service Development and Control Authority...

Meghna Cement makes a turnaround gaining profit of Tk 55.87m in FY22

Meghna Cement Mills, a concern of Bashundhara Group, gained Tk 55.87 million in profit in the fiscal 2021-22 ended in June, a turnaround from Covid-induced losses the year before.As a result, earnings per share rose to Tk 1.95 for FY22...

Telling 'our stories' through the lens

Shaaticup has taken the spotlight by storm. With its vivid portrayal of Rajshahi, its shady underbelly and its raw depiction of the local narcotics trade -- the web series has shown that our local stories and local elements can outshine...

Walton gets severe blow in July-Sept as consumers' purchasing power erodes

Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC, the most valued local company in terms of market capitalisation, went into the red in the first quarter of the fiscal 2022-23, ended in September, for costlier raw materials and soaring inflation bringing down the purchasing...

Small ones from remote areas deprived

Small and cottage entrepreneurs from the far flung areas of the country are being deprived of taking part in this year's SME products fair as the SME Foundation (SMEF) is planning to upgrade this event to an international standard one...

The madness should stop

The world is getting increasingly unstable not only on the economic front, but also militarily. When wars take place on a small scale as in Yemen, in Syria or in Palestine, the world at large does not give serious attention...

Cumbersome process, discourage trade licensing

Most entrepreneurs register their businesses three to 15 years after the startup to skip burdensome multiple compliance costs even before beginning operations, a latest finding reveals.Entrepreneurs say they need to carry multiple expenditures and complex procedures, including tax, VAT and...