United News of Bangladesh

bKash has won awards in two categories at the ‘SDG Brand Champion Awards 2026’ for its significant contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This year, in the fourth edition of this award, organised by Bangladesh Innovation Conclave, bKash was honoured as the ‘Winner’ in both the ‘Most Sustainable Financial Institution of the Year in MFS’ and ‘SDG Brand Champion in Sustainable Community’ categories. These accolades were presented to organisations making meaningful contributions toward sustainable development goals at a ceremony held recently at a hotel in the capital. Ishtiaque Shahriar, Head of Digital Assets and Communications at bKash, received the awards on behalf of the company. bKash won the award in ‘Most Sustainable Financial Institution of the Year in MFS’ category for its initiatives in integrating sustainability in overall strategies, operational methods, and fostering stakeholder relationships. Additionally, bKash has created digital transaction opportunities for the honey collectors (Mowals) of the Sundarbans, eliminating the risks of carrying cash over waterways and ending exploitation of middlemen. A documentary titled ‘Sahosei bikash’, which captures this unique story of safeguarding their livelihood, earned bKash the ‘SDG Brand Champion’ award in the ‘Sustainable Community’ category.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Md. Mustakur Rahman, visited Nila Market in Purbachal New Town on Saturday as part of an ongoing campaign to promote the 'Bangla QR' digital payment system. Senior officials from the central bank, alongside representatives from relevant commercial banks and payment service providers (PSPs), accompanied the Governor during the visit. During his tour of various shops in the market, the Governor interacted with local traders and shoppers, highlighting the benefits of digital transactions.  He urged everyone to adopt Bangla QR as a safe, fast, and convenient payment method for daily purchases. To demonstrate the system firsthand, Governor Rahman personally bought several items from market vendors and settled the bills using Bangla QR. He expressed optimism that the initiative would boost enthusiasm and raise awareness among both business owners and the general public to adopt Bangla QR in their everyday transactions.

British fintech company VALT has officially commenced operations in Bangladesh. The inauguration ceremony was held in Sylhet on Saturday (25 July), where Khaled Ahmed, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank, formally launched the company's local operations. Senior officials from commercial banks and members of the local business community attended the event. Speaking at the event, company representatives said that VALT, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based VALT Holdings Limited, provides payment solutions and Point-of-Sale (POS) services to the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom. Over the past decade, the company's technology development and operational infrastructure have been built and managed by Sylhet-based IT company Yo Tech. The company said its entry into the Bangladeshi market will introduce digital payment and fintech solutions to the country's hospitality sector by leveraging its experience in the UK. Bangladesh-based technology teams will also continue to support VALT's global operations. Addressing the launch, Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Khaled Ahmed said the initiative reflects the growing capabilities of Sylhet's technology sector. He said Bangladesh Bank is working to expand financial inclusion, adding that applying the UK's transaction processing experience to support local merchants' digital transformation will contribute to the country's digital economy. Speaking at the event, Asad Zaman, Co-Founder and CPO of VALT Holdings and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VALT, said engineers in Sylhet have been developing software for international markets for the past decade. He said that experience has now been used to build a comprehensive fintech platform for Bangladesh.  "Through this ecosystem, local businesses will be able to move beyond cash-based transactions and adopt data-driven digital operations and integrated management tools, enabling more technology-based decision-making and business management," he said.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the World Bank-funded 'ASSET' project jointly organized a review workshop on Enterprise Based Training (EBT) progress and a certificate distribution ceremony on Saturday at the BGMEA Complex in Uttara. Under the initiative, certificates were awarded to 2,328 trainees across 97 batches from the second and third cycles of the training program. To date, the BGMEA-EBT program has enrolled 4,632 trainees across 193 batches in three completed cycles, while a fourth cycle comprising 96 batches is currently ongoing. BGMEA, GRI sign strategic partnership to boost sustainability reporting in RMG sector Attending the event as the chief guest, Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED) Secretary Md. Dawood Miah emphasized that building a skilled workforce is indispensable for achieving national economic targets.  He noted that as the nation's largest employment-generating sector, upgrading RMG workers' skill levels to Level 3 and Level 4 is essential to remain competitive in global markets. He added that although the current project period ends in December 2026, government skill development initiatives will continue. He requested BGMEA to provide strategic inputs to help strengthen industry-academia linkages and align training programs with market demands. Presiding over the ceremony, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan stated that the apparel sector must continually enhance efficiency and adopt modern practices to adapt to global market competition and technological evolution.  Dawood Miah highlighted that BGMEA's current leadership prioritizes product value addition through human capital development rather than simply raising export volumes, noting that suitable policy support would further boost job creation. The 'Accelerating and Strengthening Skills for Economic Transformation' (ASSET) project is being implemented by the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) under the Ministry of Education to promote industry-led, demand-based training and enhance manufacturing productivity. Director General of DTE Abul Khair Md. Akkas Ali, Additional Secretary of TMED Samsur Rahman Khan, ASSET Project Director Mir Zahid Hasan, and Pro-Vice Chancellor of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) Prof. Dr. Engr. Ayub Nabi Khan attended the event as special guests, alongside BGMEA Director Nafis-Ud-Doula and Skill Development Standing Committee Chairman Jabed Hossain Bhuiyan.

Bangladesh has been placed in the lower 10 percent tariff tier under the newly finalized U.S. Section 301 regime that took effect on July 24, granting local ready-made garment (RMG) exporters a 2.5 percentage point advantage over major global competitors like China, Vietnam, and Thailand. According to an analysis by Mohiuddin Rubel, Founder and CEO of Bangladesh Apparel Voice, the new tariff structure formalizes temporary measures into a permanent legal framework. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 2026 ruling that struck down "reciprocal" tariffs, the U.S. administration utilized Section 122 authority to impose a temporary 10 percent universal tariff for up to 150 days. The Section 301 forced-labor investigation was scheduled to seamlessly replace the expiring Section 122 tariffs on July 24 without any gap in coverage. Covering 60 economies, the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) forced-labor action placed Bangladesh among 17 economies in the lower 10 percent tier, while China, Vietnam, Thailand, and 35 other nations were assigned a higher 12.5 percent rate. Bangladesh secured the lower rate due to its February 2026 Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) with the U.S., which committed the nation to a forced-labor import ban. By contrast, economies like India, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago entered the lower tier by adopting forced-labor bans between June and July, whereas Cambodia held both an ART commitment and adopted an interim ban. Under the new rules, the USTR has been directed to establish two three-year Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs)—one for general U.S. textile imports and another specifically for U.S. cotton—when feasible. These TRQs will allow a defined volume of Bangladesh's textile and apparel exports to enter the U.S. duty-free. Only four economies—Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia—qualify for these TRQs, while key competitors such as Vietnam, China, and India have been excluded. However, the TRQ mechanism is not yet operational, as USTR has not set an activation date, keeping the flat 10 percent rate applicable to all shipments in the interim. While Bangladesh holds a tangible tariff edge and an exclusive TRQ opportunity over key rivals, Rubel emphasized that tariff changes alone will not lower overall costs in the U.S. market. To fully capitalize on this positioning amidst intense global competition, Bangladesh must focus on improving productivity, diversifying its product basket, increasing value addition, and investing in innovation.

DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed on Saturday said developing a comprehensive roadmap to strengthen the country's chemical backward linkage industry is "no longer optional but a strategic necessity" to safeguard the future of Bangladesh's export sector. "The export competitiveness of Bangladesh's RMG, textiles, leather and pharmaceutical industries depends significantly on a competitive supply chain of chemical products," Taskeen said at a seminar on ‘Backward Linkage Development of the Chemical-Dependent Key Export-Oriented Industries: Current State and Issues,’ organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) at its auditorium. DCCI seminar seeks reforms to cut Bangladesh's chemical import dependency He said the country's industrial growth continues to be hampered by heavy reliance on imported dyes, chemicals and specialised industrial raw materials, along with tariff complexities, lengthy environmental clearance procedures and logistical bottlenecks. Md. Salim Ullah, Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM), said the government is currently reforming the National Industrial Policy and suggested the private sector decide whether the chemical backward linkage industry needs a separate policy or a dedicated chapter within the existing one. He called for stronger public-private collaboration to build a skilled workforce. Abul Fatah Md. Baligur Rahman, Member (Development) of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), stressed the need to bridge the gap between industry and academia, urging entrepreneurs to make greater use of BCSIR's research outputs. Citing the light engineering sector, worth around Tk 5,000 crore, he said realising its full potential would require uninterrupted power supply and appropriate policy support. During the discussion, Sheikh H M Mustafiz, Director of BGMEA, said uninterrupted energy supply, supportive policy measures, adherence to international quality standards and dedicated industrial zones are essential for the sector's growth. Md. Shaheen Ahamed, Chairman of the Bangladesh Tanners Association, said the leather sector remains heavily dependent on imported chemicals and urged a cut in import-stage duties. Suraiya Sultana, Second Secretary (Customs: Export & Bond) at the National Board of Revenue, said tariff rates are being gradually reduced to encourage local chemical production and that bonded warehouse licensing has been fully digitised to ease difficulties for entrepreneurs. DCCI Senior Vice President Razeev H Chowdhury, Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman, and representatives from relevant public and private sector organisations were also present.

Speakers at a seminar organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Saturday called for urgent policy reforms and infrastructure development to reduce Bangladesh's heavy dependence on imported industrial chemicals that underpin the country's key export-oriented sectors. The seminar, styled "Backward Linkage Development of Chemical-Dependent Key Export-Oriented Industries: Current State & Issues," was held at the DCCI office in Motijheel with its President Taskeen Ahmed in the chair. DCCI urges NBR to avoid harassment of businesses in source tax monitoring drive Asif Rabbani, Managing Director of SR Chemical Industries Ltd and SR Group Ltd, presented the keynote paper, describing chemicals as the invisible foundation of Bangladesh's major export sectors, including readymade garments (RMG), pharmaceuticals, leather, construction, agriculture and plastics. According to the presentation, Bangladesh's chemical industry has a domestic market size of $6-8 billion, growing at 10-15 percent annually. Chemical imports stood at $ 6.2 billion in FY2025, registering 17.8 percent growth and accounting for roughly 10 percent of the country's total national imports. The keynote highlighted a stark imbalance, noting that chemical imports are more than 15 times higher than chemical exports. The presentation identified three sectors most exposed to this dependency. The RMG industry uses more than 2,500 chemicals in production, with local dyes and auxiliaries representing largely untapped potential. In pharmaceuticals, which export to over 150 countries, about 90 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are imported, costing the sector roughly $ 1.3 billion annually. The leather industry, valued at around $ 200 million and growing 5-7 percent a year, remains reliant on imported tanning chemicals. Rabbani pointed to three structural barriers holding the sector back: an inverted tariff structure that taxes raw materials higher than finished products, inconsistent HS code classification causing delays and disputes, and leakage of duty-free chemicals from bonded warehouses into the domestic market, creating unfair competition for local manufacturers. The keynote also flagged critical infrastructure gaps, including the absence of dedicated dangerous goods (DG) warehouses, ageing chemical clusters in Old Dhaka in need of relocation, unreliable gas and power supply, and insufficient testing laboratories for export compliance. A modern Chemical Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with shared utilities could cut costs for local manufacturers by 20-30 percent, the presentation noted. Rabbani proposed a four-point roadmap toward chemical self-sufficiency: policy reform to correct tariffs, harmonise HS codes and stop bonded warehouse leakage; infrastructure development including DG warehouses, a Chemical SEZ, testing labs and utility support; regulatory simplification through single window licensing and a National Chemical Policy; and capability building through API research, green chemistry and university collaboration. The seminar set a target of achieving 60 percent chemical backward linkage, which speakers said would help save billions in foreign exchange annually, lower input costs and strengthen export competitiveness, create thousands of skilled technical jobs, and build a more resilient industrial ecosystem. The way forward, according to the presentation, requires coordinated action from government through policy commitment and incentives, the private sector through investment and modernisation, research institutions through innovation and green chemistry, and infrastructure development through SEZs, laboratories and utilities.

Global oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Middle East raised concerns over disruptions to crude supplies, while sharp losses in technology giants Tesla and Alphabet pushed US stocks lower. Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged 7.2 percent to $100.88 per barrel after attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea heightened fears over the security of key shipping routes for global energy supplies. The latest attacks added to concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for oil exports from the Middle East. In response, US President Donald Trump warned of "major military punishment" against Iran-backed Houthi rebels if attacks on commercial shipping continue. Rising oil prices weighed heavily on financial markets as investors worried that higher energy costs could fuel inflation, increase business expenses and reduce consumer spending. The benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.2 percent in late morning trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 477 points, or 0.9 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 2.4 percent. Market analysts said the sharp increase in crude prices has renewed concerns that central banks may delay interest rate cuts or even tighten monetary policy further if inflation accelerates. The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday. However, traders significantly increased expectations that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its meeting next week, reflecting growing concerns over inflationary pressure from higher energy prices. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.70 percent, continuing an upward trend that has already pushed long-term mortgage rates to their highest level in nearly a year. Airline stocks came under pressure as investors anticipated higher fuel costs. American Airlines fell 7.4 percent despite reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations, while Southwest Airlines lost 3.9 percent even after posting stronger-than-expected profit and revenue. Technology shares also weighed heavily on Wall Street. Tesla tumbled 13.6 percent after reporting quarterly earnings that missed market expectations, making it one of the biggest drags on the S&P 500. Alphabet, Google's parent company, declined 7.3 percent despite posting better-than-expected revenue and profit. Investors instead focused on the company's plans to significantly increase spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure after capital investment nearly doubled from a year earlier. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said AI-driven demand helped accelerate Google Cloud's revenue growth during the latest quarter, but investors remained cautious about whether the company's massive AI investments would generate sufficient long-term returns. European markets also ended lower as oil prices surged, with France's CAC 40 among the major indexes posting notable declines. In contrast, Asian markets closed mostly higher earlier in the day, led by South Korea's Kospi, which gained 4.4 percent.

The country's stock markets closed the week on a downbeat note on Thursday, with both the Dhaka and Chattogram bourses recording sharp declines as prices fell for the majority of listed companies. The Dhaka Stock Exchange's (DSE) benchmark index, DSEX, shed 66 points during the day's trading. The other two indices also slid, with the Shariah-based DSES falling 16 points and the blue-chip DS30 losing 23 points. All three DSE indices posted declines of more than 1 percent compared to the previous session. Of the issues traded, 310 companies saw their share prices fall, while 59 advanced and 20 remained unchanged. Turnover at the DSE also dropped sharply, falling by around Tk 300 crore from Wednesday. The bourse saw transactions worth Tk 930 crore on Thursday, down from Tk 1,211 crore a day earlier. M.L. Dyeing Limited topped the gainers' list, rising nearly 6 percent, while Shyampur Sugar Mills Ltd was the worst performer, losing about 9 percent. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) mirrored the downturn, with its overall index CASPI falling 158 points. Of the companies traded, 186 declined, 54 advanced, and 22 remained unchanged. Total transactions on the CSE stood at Tk 20 crore, up from Tk 16 crore the previous day. GSP Finance Company (Bangladesh) PLC led the gainers on the CSE, rising nearly 10 percent, while Usmania Glass Sheet Factory Limited was the top loser, falling by a similar margin.

Pubali Bank PLC has decided to purchase a plot of land along with a 26-storey under-construction building in the capital's Tejgaon area to set up its new Corporate Head Office, at a total cost of Tk 800 crore. The bank's Board of Directors took the decision at a meeting held on Wednesday, according to a disclosure sent to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Thursday. The property, measuring 95.10 decimals or 57.64 kathas, includes the building named "Swiss Tower," which has 26 storeys and three basement floors, located at 208, Bir Uttam Mir Showkat Sarak, also known as Tejgaon Link Road. The Tk 800 crore price tag includes income taxes but excludes VAT, the disclosure said, adding that the purchase remains subject to approval from Bangladesh Bank and all other relevant regulatory authorities. The building was originally developed by Bengal Hotel and Resort, a concern of Bengal Group of Industries, to house the five-star Swissôtel Dhaka. However, sources said the company has now decided to sell the site to Pubali Bank instead of proceeding with the hotel project. If the deal receives regulatory clearance, the tower will transition from its planned identity as a luxury hospitality venue to becoming the nerve centre of one of the country's oldest private commercial banks.