Business
Bangladesh has potential to increase trade with EU: Charles Whiteley
Bangladesh has the potential to increase trade with the European Union (EU) countries, Charles Whiteley, ambassador and head of the Delegation of the EU to the country, said Thursday.
He paid a courtesy call on Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) President Md Jashim Uddin in Dhaka Thursday.
They discussed trade and investment between Bangladesh and EU countries.
Read: FBCCI signs MoU with Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Jasim hoped for enhanced cooperation between FBCCI and different trade bodies of the EU region.
Bernd Spanier, deputy head of mission, FBCCI Vice-President Salahuddin Alamgir; directors Syed Sadat Almas Kabir, Nadia Binte Amin, and Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque were present at the meeting.
Private carrier Air Astra to start operations in November
New Bangladeshi private carrier Air Astra will start operations in November.
The airline received the go-ahead from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Thursday.
Read: US-Bangla Airlines wins Best Domestic Airlines award
Air Commodore Shah Kawsar Ahmed Choudhury, member for flight standards and regulations of CAAB, handed over the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to Imran Asif, chief executive officer and accountable manager of Air Astra, at a ceremony in Dhaka.
Air Astra already took delivery of two ATR 72-600 aircraft at Dhaka and two more aircraft are scheduled to be delivered within 2022.
The French-built aircraft is one of the most modern turboprops in the world with excellent industry reliability, configured to carry 70 passengers in a comfortable, quiet cabin, according to a media statement.
Sugar prices to be stable soon, says Commerce Minister
Sugar production will rise and prices come down soon as necessary measures, including increasing gas supply, have been taken, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday.
Sugar production has decreased slightly due to low pressure in gas supply, said the minister at a meeting of the taskforce on reviewing commodity prices and market condition at the Secretariat.
Read more:Govt allowing import of 1 lakh tons of sugar to keep price stable
“However, there is sufficient sugar in our stock,” he added.
The government has taken all kinds of steps to keep the supply of essential commodities stable, Tipu said, adding there no risk of commodity crisis currently in the country.
“Five crore low-income people of the country are being provided with oil, lentils, and sugar every month at affordable prices through one crore cards at the instruction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the minister adding, a large number of the people of the country are benefiting from this.
Read more: Wheat being imported from Canada, market to be stable soon: Tipu Munshi
Strict monitoring is continuing to keep the supply, stock and prices of the country's daily necessities stable, he added.
Wheat being imported from Canada, market to be stable soon: Tipu Munshi
Bangladesh's Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said traders have started importing wheat from Canada and other countries after the closure of the Ukraine-Russia market due to the ongoing war.
While briefing reporters, he said the wheat issue was raised at the fourth meeting of the task force on reviewing commodity prices and market conditions at the Secretariat on Thursday (November 03, 2022).
“One of the major traders said one of his shipments of 55,000 tons of wheat was stuck at Turkey port but it has now started for Bangladesh. As Ukraine was our main supplier of wheat, the price might be higher for importing from Canada to meet demands for now,” he said.
Read more: Govt to import 500,000 mt wheat Russia, 330,000 mt of rice from India, Vietnam
Tipu Munshi said there is a little shortfall in the amount of wheat to be imported and supply will normalize if Ukraine and Russia lift the ban on export.
The wheat being imported from Canada is also of good quality, he added.
Regarding the price hike of pulses by Tk 10 per kg in the last few days, the minister said, impacted by the global price hike the pulse supply has declined a bit.
“The Tariff Commission will look into this and see if the price increase is reasonable,” he added.
Read more: Russia keen to export 3 lakh mts wheat to Bangladesh
He also said due to rising dollar prices, Bangladesh is not getting the benefit of falling global prices of rod, and cement at the moment.
“People's main focus is on food. If the food production is right, compromises can be made in other sectors,” Bangladesh's commerce minister said.
Bangladesh Bank re-fixes transactions hours from 10 am-3:30 pm
Bangladesh Bank on Thursday (November 03, 2022) announced new transaction hours and office timing for bankers with effect from November 15.
According to the new circular of the department of Off-site Supervision of the central bank, banking transaction hours have been set from 10 am to 3.30 pm while the banks’ office hours from 10 am to 5 pm from Sunday to Thursday.
Read more:Office timing rescheduled for 8:00 am to 3:00 pm to save electricity
Bankers' existing office timing is from 10 am to 4 pm.
On August 22, the government of Bangladesh rearranged the office timing from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm for all the government and autonomous offices and from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm for all banks in a bid to save electricity amid short supply. The decision was effective from August 24.
Read More: Govt mulls rescheduling office timing amid power shortage, says energy advisor
IBBL opens Sarail branch in Brahmanbaria
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) inaugurated its 390th branch at Sarail in Brahmanbaria Wednesday (November 02, 2022).
Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and chief executive officer of the bank, inaugurated the branch as chief guest, according to a media statement.
Read More: IBBL holds Entrepreneurship Development Workshop
Islami Bank is a joint venture public limited company engaged in commercial banking business based on Islamic shariah.
Established in 1983 as the first Islamic bank in Southeast Asia, it is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange.
Read More: IBBL inaugurates Askar Dighir Par Branch in Ctg
FY22: Nagad hands Tk4.5 crore to postal department as revenue
Mobile financial services provider (MFS) Nagad handed over nearly Tk4.5 crore to the postal department as revenue share in the fiscal year (FY) 2021-22.
Posts and Telecommunications Secretary Md Khalilur Rahman received a cheque from Nagad Executive Director Md Shafayet Alam Wednesday in Dhaka.
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar, Director General of the postal department Md Harunur Rashid, and Nagad Founder and Managing Director Tanvir A Mishuk were also present.
As per an agreement, the postal department is entitled to 51 percent of the total revenue earned by Nagad and the remaining 49 percent goes to the MFS.
Read more: Nagad holds 'Distributors Meet 2022'
Nagad gave the postal department Tk3.31 crore in FY21 and Tk1.12 crore in FY20.
Jabbar said: "Nagad has saved the country thousand crores of taka. From the very beginning, we were with Nagad. We are and will be with them."
"There is a huge difference between Nagad and Bkash's cash out charge, and that is thousand crores of taka. We thank Nagad for this. The country needs Nagad."
Tanvir said: "Every year we share our revenue shares with the postal department. According to the agreement between the department and Nagad, today we shared 51 percent of revenues with it."
Falling exports-remittances: Double blow to Bangladesh economy
The two major foreign exchange earning sources of Bangladesh- exports and remittances - fell in October due to slowdown in the global economy, which economists feared may pose new challenges for the country’s economy.
They said drop in exports means imports will be down at the same time. Though less imports may bring some slightly lessen the pressure on foreign currency reserves, the overall impact on economy won’t be good.
Professor Mustafijur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) told UNB that the domestic economy is closely related to the ups and downs of the global economy. So Bangladesh’s economy will definitely be affected by the new recession in the US and EU countries.
Read more:Remittances fall again in Oct, this time to 8-month low
Bangladesh should focus on increasing the flow of inward remittance as it will be a good source of foreign exchange earnings at this time.
Mustafij suggested increasing domestic resource mobilization and focusing on food production, which will help the economy to be resilient during the recession.
Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, an economist specializing in applied international trade, told UNB said export earnings will not grow as the recession prevails in the US and EU markets.
He hinted that the domestic economy, including export and remittance targets would not be achieved considering the present situation.
“Our foreign exchange would not be affected severely as the demand for import is falling in the line of export, and the government should focus policy to save forex by cutting projects expenditure,” he added.
Bangladesh exported goods and services worth USD $4.356 billion in October due to the slowdown in the global economy and for adverse impact Ukraine-Russia war.
It shows the export earnings fell by 7.85 percent to USD $4.356 billion year-on-year in October. The export volume of October, in last fiscal year was $4.727 billion. It means the export income fell by 7.65 percent.
The export promotion bureau (EPB) published the export data of October on Wednesday (November 2).
Read more:Remittance: Bangladesh Bank tells banks to provide Tk 107 per dollar
As a result, after the last 13 consecutive months of growth in export earnings, in September and October this year, export earnings decreased for two consecutive months compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, 12.87 percent of export income decreased in October 2022 beyond the target of the government.
The government's target for export earnings this month was USD $5 billion, whereas the country exported $4.356 billion. That is a fall by $64.33 crore. It is about a 12.87 percent fall.
People familiar with the development said that the export income of Bangladesh has started to decrease due to the shock of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Inflation has increased abnormally in the United States and European countries. Because of this, they have reduced the purchase of clothes. They have to spend a lot on food, which impacted Bangladesh’s export income.
However, traders, including ready-made garment owners, were already expressing apprehensions that purchase orders from the US and European markets would decrease for the new recession that was caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
The inward remittance inflow to Bangladesh declined by 7.4 percent in October to USD $1.52 billion compared to the same month of last year. It is the lowest in last 8 months.
Chattogram Business Forum Dhaka begins journey
Chattogram Business Forum Dhaka has begun its journey formally to strengthen cooperation among businesspeople and contribute to the economy in a better way.
Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury joined the launching ceremony as the chief guest at a city hotel Tuesday night.
Convener of the Chattogram Business Forum Dhaka Moammed Nasir chaired the function.
Read more: Bangladesh urges ATPF to launch joint projects for mutual development
Remittances fall again in Oct, this time to 8-month low
Inward remittances fell year-on-year for the second month in a row in October, clocking $1.52 billion - down 7.4 percent on the same month last year, according to latest figures released by Bangladesh Bank.
Remittances had dropped year-on-year by 10.84 percent to $1.54 billion in September - a 7 month low at the time. It means the October figure is now the lowest in 8 months.
Yet thanks to the strong showing in the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal, the overall figure for the first four months of 2022-23 still remains slightly above the corresponding figure for the same period in 2021-22.
According to the latest data from the central bank, inward remittances totalled $7.19 billion in July-October of FY23, slightly edging the $7.05 billion received in the same period last year, by barely 2 percent.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Abul Kalam Azad said in order to increase inflow, the central bank has increased the exchange rate of the US dollar offered on remittances.
Read: Remittance: Bangladesh Bank tells banks to provide Tk 107 per dollar
That is on top of a 2.5 percent hassle-free incentive already in place, while several banks also provide their own additional incentives to attract foreign exchange, Azad pointed out.
These however have failed to arrest the slide in remittances witnessed since September. Before that, remittances topped $2 billion in both July ($2.09 bn) and August ($2.03 bn).
Economists have been concerned that the unofficial or hundi channels may become more active in light of Bangladesh Bank's September 12 decision to fix three different rates for the dollar - one each for remittances, exports, and imports. The October remittance figure will add to those concerns.
Read more: Sept saw 25% drop in remittance, bankers blame fixed exchange rate
Ahsan H. Mansur of the Policy Research Institute, a leading think-tank, told UNB on Tuesday that remittances are on the decline due to remitters getting better rates through the unofficial channels, whereas banks are unable to offer them more than the Bangladesh Bank-fixed Tk 107 for each dollar.
Dr Mansur has been critical of the move to adopt three different rates for the dollar from the start, and insisted on the need to return to a single interbank rate, instead of the multiple rates fixed by the central bank in cooperation with the Association of Bankers Bangladesh, and BAFEDA - the association of foreign exchange dealers.
He has always held it to be a misguided policy because it "discriminates against small remitters" - precisely the ones who would seem to be moving away from the official channels since September.
Now the noted economist does not expect to see a change for the better till remitters can be offered a more competitive exchange rate.
Even so, the central bank remains eager to induce remittances through official channels as it reels from the dollar crisis and the declining trend of forex reserves.
The reserve figure is now below $36 billion according to Shapla Chattor's own count, even as the IMF continues to insist, and most economists agree, that the globally accepted way of calculating reserves would subtract another $8 billion from that figure.