Business
Nothing wrong in economy as Bangladesh seeks IMF loan: Finance Minister
Confirming Bangladesh’s request for a loan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that it does not mean the country's economy is in bad shape.
“But I had to make my previous statement looking into the perspective. I didn’t want to expose our demands”, he told reporters while briefing on a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, after a similar meeting, the Finance Minister had said that Bangladesh didn’t need IMF loan and would not seek any funding support from the lending agency. But within days, it was reported by the media that Bangladesh had sought $4.5 billion in loan from from IMF.
When his attention was drawn to his last week’s statement, Kamal said he had to made such a statement for strategic reason.
“If I expose my demand in advance, the burden and cost will be high on me”, he said. “This is a bargaining point. Every body has to do this”, he added.
Read: Mustafa Kamal dismisses reports about Bangladesh request for IMF loan
He said the government has to keep in mind that any condition of the IMF loan will not go against the interest of the country.
He, however, said no specific figure was quoted in the loan proposal sent to the IMF. “We will see first at what conditions they want to provide the loan and how much we should take”.
Responding to another question, he said seeking IMF loan does not mean Bangladesh’s economy is in bad situation. The IMF, the World Bank know about our economic situation and they know that Bangladesh is capable to repay the loan.
About the current dollar crisis in the market, the finance minister said the government has already taken steps to tackle the situation.
“If anybody or any section is found to be involved in creating artificial crisis in the dollar market or concealing information, action will be taken against them”, he said.
Kamal said the main sources of foreign exchange is remittance and export. Both the remittance and export are increasing although import is also rising.
“Dollar rate should be fixed on the basis of demand and supply”, he said.
Bangladesh Water Development Board Job Circular: 9th Grade Jobs (bwdb.gov.bd)
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has released recruitment circular. Assistant Extension Officer will be recruited in this institution. Interested candidates should apply online.
Government jobs in Bangladesh: BWDB Job Circular 2022
Post Name: Assistant Extension Officer
No. of Posts: 12
Qualification for BWDB Job: Bachelor Degree in Agriculture.
Pay Scale: TK. 22,000-53,060
Age: Between 18 to 30 years, but maximum 32 years for children of freedom fighters and physically challenged candidates.
How to Apply on BWDB:
Candidates who are willing to participate in the exam can apply by logging on to this portal (orms.bwdb.gov.bd/orms) related to BWDB Jobs.
Application Fee for BWDB:
TK. 1,000 is required to be deposited for online examination fee at the time of application.
Application Last Date: 17 August 2022
Read UGC Job Circular: UGC will recruit multiple officers, application fee 800-1000
US-Bangla to operate two daily flight from Dhaka-Kolkata from August 4
US-Bangla Airlines, one of the largest private airlines in the country, will operate two flights on daily basis from Dhaka to Kolkata from August 4 due to the increase in passengers, said a press release signed by Md. Kamrul Islam, general manager (Public Relations) of the organisation.
The airlines is currently operating one daily flight from Dhaka to Kolkata which takes off at 10:00 am and again comes back at 12:55 pm.
The newly second flight will depart Dhaka for Kolkata at 6:30 pm every day from August 4 and depart from Kolkata to Dhaka at 7:35 pm IST.
Read: US-Bangla to run daily flights on Dhaka-Kolkata route from March 26
The airlines will operate the flights with Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route. The US-Bangla has a total of 16 aircraft including 6 Boeing 737-800 to its fleet.
Along with the existing route, the airline plans to operate new flights on Chittagong-Kolkata and Dhaka-Delhi routes in the days coming.
Ticket aspirants are asked to contact their sales points or any travel agency.
Read Triplover, US-Bangla sponsor Dhaka Travel Mart 2022
GP conducts 5G trial in Dhaka, Chattogram
Grameenphone (GP) has conducted the trial run for the 5G network with some use cases in Dhaka and Chattogram to unleash the future of connectivity in the country.
Yasir Azman, CEO of the telecom operator, and GP management experienced the trial at the innovation lab of GPHouse on Tuesday, the company said in a statement.
The innovation lab is designed to test and experience 5G use cases phase by phase.
Read: BTRC places indefinite suspension on GP SIM card sale
Besides, the company aims to trial 5G in the rest of the other divisional cities very soon.
According to the statement, the breakthrough 5G technology unleashes never-before-seen opportunities for industrial uses, advancing societies and dramatically enhancing day-to-day experiences to create a brighter, safer, and more sustainable future.
With this accomplishment, the digital connectivity partner and the tech-service leader of the country is en route to contributing further to the next smart-Bangladesh ambition.
Read Tap offers up to Tk60 cashback on GP bundle purchase
Marking the occasion, Yasir Azman said, “We thank the government, regulator, network partners, eco-system players, and our teams for making the future of connectivity – 5G a possibility. We look forward to greater collaboration and consultation in developing viable use cases and addressing challenges for 5G.”
GP in partnership with Huawei and ZTE is playing the role of a digital enabler, unravelling new possibilities and accelerating the digital revolution in Bangladesh, it added.
Read GP, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society distribute relief among flood-hit people
IBBL Dhaka East, Cumilla Zone hold half-yearly business conference
Dhaka East and Cumilla Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited have organised half-yearly Business Development Conference.
Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and CEO of the Bank, addressed the conference as Chief Guest on Sunday on virtual platform, according to a press release.
Read: IBBL Dhaka North, South hold Shariah compliance webinar
Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Additional Managing Director, Md. Mostafizur Rahman Siddiquee & Md. Nayer Azam, Deputy Managing Directors, Md. Siddiqur Rahman, Engr. A F M Kamaluddin, Mohammed Shabbir, Md. Mahboob Alam, Mizanur Rahman & Md. Maksudur Rahman, Senior Executive Vice Presidents, Md. Aminur Rahman & Ahmed Zubayerul Huq, Executive Vice Presidents and Shahidullah Majumder, Head of Cumilla Zone also attended the program. Branch incumbents, Investment in-charges and Foreign Exchange in-charges of the branches under the Zones attended the conference.
BB asks banks to cut power use 25 pc, energy 20 pc in a year
Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday set a target for banks to reduce power consumption by 25 per cent and energy by 20 per cent in a year, as part of the government move to cut costs and save energy.
The Banking Regulations and Policy Department (BRPD) of the central bank issued a letter today and sent it to the top executives of all the scheduled banks with an instruction to act on it immediately.
According to the letter, electricity and energy costs are to be cut in two phases every six months. Savings must be shown in the financial statements. This money saved cannot be spent in any other sector.
Read:Bangladesh receives $1.64 billion remittance in 21 days of July:BB
The BB letter stated that in the context of the current global economic situation and in view of the government's decision, in 6 months of 2022 (July to December) and the first 6 months of 2023 (January to June), banks have to ensure cost-effective use of electricity and energy.
A minimum of 20 per cent savings must be made from the allocated funds for fuel (petrol, diesel, gas, oil and lubricants). For this purpose, expenditure has to be reduced by 10 per cent in the remaining 6 months of this year and 10 per cent in the first 6 months of 2023.
Up to 25 per cent of the money allocated to the power sector has to be saved. For this purpose, in the remaining 6 months of the current year and the first 6 months of 2023, the expenditure on electricity should be reduced proportionally.
The cost reduction information and documents will be kept at the head office of the bank and should be provided to Bangladesh Bank inspectors for the purpose of audit.
In terms of guidance, the amount spent from July to December of the current year would be added to the financial statement of December 2022 and the amount spent from January to June 2023 will be added to the financial statement of December 2023.
US dollar rate soars to Tk112 in kerb market amid franctic purchase
The exchange rate for an American dollar jumped to Tk112 in the unofficial (kerb) market on Tuesday, witnessing the worst-ever slide of Bangladeshi currency.
Traders of the kerb market, where out-of-bank cash dollars are sold and bought, told the UNB that in the last couple of weeks, the exchange rate of dollars increased drastically.
Abdul Malek, owner of an exchange house in Motijheel said they sold a dollar for Tk 105 on Monday.
Read Ecnec postpones Tk 236-crore project of Teletalk to save dollars
But it jumped up to Tk 112 on Tuesday, the highest single day increase of the dollar ever in the country, he said.
Private banks sold dollars at Tk103 to 104 on Tuesday for foreign trading and opening LCs for imports.
On July 26 last year, the American dollar traded at Tk 84.80, meaning there has been an 11.67 per cent loss in the value of the local currency in a year.
Read: Dollar price jumps to Tk 105 in kerb market, amid BB’s move to stable it
The kerb market traders said that there had been a surge of demand in US dollars, compared to the short supply.
They said syndicates involved in dollar business are partly to blame for the chaos.
The surge happened as a large number of buyers, including tourists, small importers, students going abroad for studies and patients bound for treatment frantically looked for the dollar at the kerb market in Motijheel.
Read BB warns exchange houses against manipulation of dollar price
Despite the BB’s move to sell the dollar and relax policies to increase the inflow of forex in the country since June this year, the dollar market is yet to stabilise.
Distribution of 75% of govt’s social safety allowance by Nagad underway
Mobile financial service arm of Bangladesh Post office Nagad is currently distributing 75 percent of social safety allowances administered by the Department of Social Services(DSS) successfully.
Outgoing Director General of the Department of Social Service (DSS) Sheikh Rafiqul Islam made the remark recently.
Government allowances are distributed by the DSS to the elderly, widows, underprivileged disabled, and disabled students who are the most underprivileged segment of the society.
The director general of the DSS said, "We have worked with society's least educated and most disadvantaged people. Many of them cannot use mobile phones and do not have any idea about OTP or PIN keys. The formidable challenge of accessing or transacting money through mobile financial services by these people have been accomplished and Nagad was instrumental in overcoming this obstacle.”
Read: Nagad sets up solar billboards to cut electricity consumption
He added, “Providing allowances in such regions posed many difficulties. In Rangabali of Patuakhali, a portion of our allowance was distributed in the summer when the sea was turbulent. At that time, the employees of Nagad navigated the stormy sea and accounted for the Rangabali people."
He said, “The management of Nagad is extremely dynamic, visionary, and competent. In a very short period, they expanded the number of employees, trained them, and helped open 60 lakh accounts. They have performed this feat with exceptional skill.”
“According to our reports, they disbursed allowances in a transparent manner and we have not yet received any complaints regarding Nagad's allowance distribution,” he said
Earlier in January 2021 the Primer Sheikh Hasian formally inaugurated the social safety net allowances disbursement and later in March this year the authority has renewed the agreement with Nagad.
With the safety net allowances and education stipend Nagad, the disruptive mobile financial service has disbursed more than BDT 15,000 crore of Government to the distressed people.
Huawei introduces versatile cloud solutions for telecom carriers
Chinese telecom giant Huawei has brought the first suite of global scenario-based cloud solutions for telecom carriers.
Director of Huawei Carrier IT Marketing and Solution Sales Chen Xuejun recently announced this new solution in China at the summit Win-Win Innovation Week. These solutions focus on monetising networks, innovating services, and optimising operations to help carriers embrace cloud transformation and growth acceleration.
With advances in 5G, cloud computing, big data, and edge computing, cloud transformation has become the future of telecom carriers.
Read: Huawei: 'Fastest-growing' cloud provider in Asia-Pacific
According to Gartner, carriers around the world will increase their investment in cloud transformation at a compound annual growth rate of 27 percent in the next five years.
Chen Xuejun said: "The key to carrier cloud transformation lies in smarter use of the cloud for networks, services, and operations. Huawei Cloud will work with global carriers to transform and open up new growth space."
The Win-Win Innovation Week was held from July 18 to July 21 in Shenzhen.
Read Huawei launches new green development solutions
IBBL Dhaka North, South hold Shariah compliance webinar
Dhaka North and South Zone of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) organised the webinar "Compliance of Shari'ah in Banking Operations" recently.
Mohammad Solaiman, chairman of the Audit Committee of the bank, addressed the event Saturday as the chief guest.
Md Omar Faruk Khan, additional managing director, was present as a special guest.
Read: IBBL holds Shariah compliance webinar
Dr Monzur-E-Elahi, member of the Shariah Supervisory Committee of the bank, spoke as the key discussant.
Md Shamsuddoha, executive vice-president of the Shariah Secretariat, also spoke.
Muhammad Sayeed Ullah, head of Dhaka North Zone, and Mir Rahmat Ullah, head of Dhaka South Zone, presided over the programme, according to a media statement.
Read IBBL launches month-long fintech campaign
IBBL is a joint venture public limited company engaged in commercial banking business based on Islamic Shariah. It is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange.