business
Make more information on banks, banking sector publicly available: Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud
Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud, one of the country's leading thinkers on the economy, has said that the banking sector is the heart of a country’s economy.
"When banks have done well, other sectors also perform well," he pointed out.
Given the vital functions they perform to keep the economy chugging along, he said people have the right to know the performance of a bank where he or she is depositing their hard-earned money, and so information on the financial performance of a bank should be made publicly available for clients.
He made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the 'cover unveiling' ceremony of the 5th edition of 'Banking Almanac', an information-based research book on banks and financial institutions of Bangladesh, was held at Jahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the Jatiya Press Club, on Saturday.
Wahiduddin said that the publication of the Banking Almanac book is a good initiative for the financial sector of the country.
“For the last few years, the book has been published regularly by inserting information on the banking and financial sector,” he said, before adding that this momentum needs to be maintained. "Publications need to be maintained and widely disseminated. If widely disseminated, the book will play a helpful role for all those who are bankers, those who work with banks, researchers, investors, and depositors."
The program was presided over by the former governor of Bangladesh Bank and chairman of the editorial board of Banking Almanac, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed.
He said that the Banking Almanac is the country's first such publication initiative.
“We try to add new and public interest information in every edition. We also have some limitations. Funding required for such publication is not available. Still, we try to maintain the continuity of the publication with the latest information,” he added.
“We are inserting the information that the banks are giving us. At least it is possible to present a comparative picture of the banking and financial sectors of the country. In the future there will be efforts to make it a richer data repository,” said Salehuddin.
Additional Director of Exim Bank Shah Abdul Bari, former Chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) and Chairman of First Finance and Investment Muhammad Nurul Amin, and the project director of Banking Almanac Abdar Rahman, were also in attendance.
'Health and Wellbeing Marketing Fest' held in city
Brand Practitioners Bangladesh on Friday organized “ACI Nutrilife Presents Health and Wellbeing Marketing Fest Powered by United Hospital and Fresh Happy Nappy”.
This program was held at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka. At the event, 32 eminent speakers from various disciplines involved in business and marketing of the healthcare sector provided valuable feedback in 10 essential sessions.
The 3rd issue of Brand Practitioners Bangladesh's own magazine Business Brillianz was launched on the occasion. This issue covers the life and work of late Fazlur Rahman, the founder of City Group. Apart from this, Rupali Choudhury, MD of Berger Paints, Nurul Afsar, DMD of Electromart and Sakif Shamim, MD of LabAid Cancer Hospital have been featured. Citigroup MD Muhammad Hassan was present at the unveiling of the publication.
Faria Yasmin, Business Director of ACI Food and Commodity Brands, the company of ACI Nutrilife, which is the main sponsor of this event for the first time under the initiative of Brand Practitioners Bangladesh, said, “We are happy to be the main partner of this fest organized on the important issues for health marketing and business expansion of the present time. ACI Group has been with the countrymen since its inception by providing safe and nutritious food and useful medicines. She spoke about safe food at the Insight session titled “Beacon of Health & Wellness: Bangladesh's Commodity Landscape.
Public Health and Communications Specialist, International Sports Development and Founder of Sports Vision Limited and Let's Walk Foundation Professor Dr. Anupam Hossain presented the keynote titled A Strategic Perspective of Health Economics while professor Khondaker A. Mamun, Founder of SIMED Health, IRIIC and Director of UUI presented a Keynote Session titled Thriving Together: Fostering a Resilient Health and Well-being Ecosystem.
The panel discussion titled A Roadmap for Bangladesh Health & Well-Being Business was addressed by Azgar Ali Hospital Head of Operations Morshed Ahmed Chowdhury.
Speaking at the panel discussion of health and wellness market stakeholders, Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) General Secretary S M Shafiuzzaman, DGHS Director, AMIS and Line Director, HIS and e-Health Professor Dr Md Shahadat Hossain.
About this event, Brand Practitioners Bangladesh founder and chief executive Mirza Muhammad Ileush said, "Since the beginning of the journey, Brand Practitioners Bangladesh has been organizing marketing fests on useful and effective topics. This marketing fest is about how health sector initiatives and businesses can provide more efficient services, serve more people and establish themselves as sustainable ventures”.
Brand Practitioners Bangladesh Admin Sohrab Hossain Guddu thanked everyone in the closing speech.
US-Bangla Airlines welcomes first Airbus, another Boeing to expanding fleet
US-Bangla Airlines on Friday welcomed an Airbus A330-300, with 436-seat capacity, to its fleet.
The wide body Airbus landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), where it was greeted by a water cannon salute.
US-Bangla Airlines Chief Executive Officer Captain Lutfor Rahman officially accepted the newly-added aircraft to his fleet, said a media release signed by Md. Kamrul Islam, general manager (Public Relations) of US-Bangla Airlines Ltd.
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The airline plans to use the new Airbus to operate its planned London and Rome routes, as well as Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, also part of its future plans as it expands its international network.
At present it would operate the Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat, Doha, and Kuala Lumpur routes.
An expanding network goes hand-in-hand with an expanding fleet, and the Airbus was not the only aircraft that US-Bangla added to its fleet on Friday.
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Barely 12 hours earlier at 4:10am, a Boeing 737-800 landed at HSIA via Georgia-Serbia. Before Friday, US-Bangla Airlines boasted a fleet of 21 aircraft.
Following today's additions, the airline's fleet consists of an Airbus A330-300, nine Boeing 737-800s, ten ATR 72-600s and three Dash 8-Q400 aircraft. There are plans to add another Airbus A330-300 soon.
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US-Bangla Airlines currently operates regular flights on all domestic routes, as well as international ones to Kolkata, Chennai, Male, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Guangzhou.
The two new aircraft were officially received by senior officials of the airlines at HSIA.
BAT Bangladesh's Savar, Dhaka and GLTP factories attain AWS Core Certification
BAT Bangladesh has recently obtained AWS Core Certification for its Savar Factory, demonstrating a pivotal step in the company's dedication to advanced technology, the highest standards of water stewardship, and operational efficiency.
The noteworthy certification adds to the successes of both the Dhaka Factory and Green Leaf Threshing Plant in Kushtia, which secured AWS certification in 2022, showcasing BAT Bangladesh’s commitment to adhering to global industry standards in water management, according to a press release.
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Water stewardship means using water that is environmentally sustainable, socially and culturally equitable, and economically beneficial. It can be achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that includes both site- and catchment-based actions, it said.
Adopting the AWS Standard for all three sites, BAT Bangladesh has created a positive impact for diverse local stakeholders in the value chain. The company worked hand in hand with all its stakeholders (both internal and external), by raising awareness and sharing best practices to foster good water quality and sustain water availability in its catchments. It helped them grow as a community and propelled them further to a sustainable tomorrow.
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As the calendar turns to 2024, these certified facilities are gearing up for the upcoming AWS Surveillance Assessment in February along with the Re-certification in December, underscoring BAT Bangladesh’s continued commitment to maintaining top-tier water stewardship practices, operational excellence, and industry leadership. The accomplishment not only solidifies the company’s position as a leader in sustainable practices within the industry but also reaffirms its unwavering dedication to meeting and exceeding stakeholders' expectations in the realm of water conservation and responsible business practices, it also said.
First panel introduction meeting of Sammilito Parishad held ahead of BGMEA election
The candidates of Sammilito Parishad for the upcoming BGMEA elections were formally introduced at the first panel introduction meeting held on Thursday at Hotel Radisson Blu in Dhaka.
The election to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) for the 2024-2026 term will be held on March 9 this year.
Sammilito Parishad is participating in the BGMEA election with the slogan ‘Sammilito Parishad for Building Sustainable Garment Industry.’ Owners of garment industries from Dhaka and Chattogram regions were present at the event.
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The panel introduction programme was presided over by Tipu Munshi MP, former Commerce Minister, and President of Sammilito Parishad.
At the event, Md. Atiqul Islam, General Secretary of Sammilito Parishad, and Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), introduced the panel members of Sammilito Parishad, including the Panel Leader and Senior Vice President of BGMEA, S. M. Mannan Kochi, who is also the Chairman of Seha Design (BD) Ltd.
Tipu Munshi MP, former Commerce Minister, and President of Sammilito Parishad, along with Md. Atiqul Islam, General Secretary of Sammilito Parishad and Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), Md. Siddiqur Rahman, former President of BGMEA, Chief Election Coordinator of Sammilito Parishad for the BGMEA Election 2024-2026, and Industries and Trade Affairs Secretary of the Awami League, and former Presidents of BGMEA Abdus Salam Murshedy MP, and S.M. Fazlul Hoque along with other industry leaders, spoke at the panel introduction program.
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In their speeches, the leaders highlighted the glorious history, contributions, achievements, and future prospects of the Sammilito Parishad.
They mentioned the significant contributions of S. M. Mannan (Kochi) to the development of the ready-made garment industry while mentioning his leadership qualities. The leaders also highlighted the important roles played by other candidates of the Sammilito Parishad panel in the development of the RMG industry.
They also mentioned that crucial government policy decisions for the RMG industry’s development were made during the tenures of BGMEA Boards led by Sammilito Parishad. During these tenures, the Presidents along with former Presidents successfully dealt with the challenges of the industry through engagement with the highest level of the government.
Alongside,they expressed firm belief that Sammilito Parishad, if elected, would continue the legacy of success.
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S. M. Mannan (Kochi) said, "We have formed a panel comprising experienced and young leaders with the aim of ensuring sustainable development of the garment industry. If we win the election, we will all work together.”
At the event, the leaders urged the BGMEA members to vote to elect the full panel of the Sammilito Parishad in the upcoming BGMEA election.
24 banks agree to issue bonds of Tk5,665 crore to pay power sector dues
An official of the Ministry of Finance on Thursday said that 24 banks have agreed to issue bonds worth Tk 5,665 crore to help the government pay money to the owners of private power plants.
The government owes more than $2 billion or around Tk23000 crore to the private power plants as bills.
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The government is unable to pay the money because of the financial crisis. As a result, the power plants are not able to pay the money taken from banks as loan. Many of such loans provided to those power plants have been defaulted.
To deal with the situation, bonds of Tk 12,000 crore will be issued against the loans taken by the power plants, an official said on condition of anonymity.
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Already, 24 banks have agreed to issue bonds worth Tk 5,665 crore, the official said, confirming that an MoU agreement has been signed in this regard in the Ministry of Finance on February 6.
A letter may be sent to the Bangladesh Bank from the Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Finance for issuing bonds this week.
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After that, the Bangladesh Bank will issue this bond in 3-4 working days, the official said.
Plastic goods manufacturers demand reconsidering decision over cash incentives' rate
Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) has demanded reconsidering the decision regarding the change in the rate of cash incentives for the industry.
In a statement, BPGMEA president Shamim Ahmed said the change in the rate of cash incentives is not helpful and timely for the industry.
“Rather, it will bring unintended risks and disasters to other industries including the plastics sector", he added.
He also demanded change of the decision on an urgent basis before having a major negative impact on exports and maintaining 10 percent cash support against the export of plastic products until 2026.
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The statement came against the backdrop reduction of cash incentives for the plastic sector from 10 percent to 8 percent through Bangladesh Bank's FE circular number-02 dated January 30.
It said that the plastic sector is an emerging and promising sector. It is diversifying export products according to the needs of foreign buyers and earning foreign exchange by exporting 150 varieties of plastic products to about 126 countries using modern technology.
Direct exports in FY 2022-2023 amount to USD 209.86 million. As a backward linkage industry exports to the country's largest export sector garments and other industries, earns about US$ 950 million.
That is, the export volume (Direct and Deemed) is above 1.2 billion US dollars. Some 1.5 million people are employed here in which 30 percent of them are women. It has been growing at a rate of 20 percent for the past two decades. The position of the plastic sector in exports is 12th.
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The current government has also included the plastic sector as a priority sector in the Import and Export Policy-2024.
The circular does not mention the introduction of alternative incentives in the duty-compliant system post-LDC transition, the statement said.
However, many middle-income countries have been providing alternative incentives rather than direct incentives for their industries.
The issue of providing alternative incentives has come up in various government and private studies of the country.
"We do not think that sudden reduction of the existing system, without an alternative system, is a helpful step for industry and economy", Shamim said.
On the other hand, he said, while the incentive package is being cut, competing countries are increasing support for their industries such as Export development fund in India, Vietnam Trade Policy and Promotion Project, and even in rich countries like the USA, cotton cultivation is subsidized to encourage export trade. Bangladesh will face the challenge of double transformation after 2029.
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At such a time, as long as the LDCs were enjoying benefits as per the provisions, it would have been more reasonable to extend other facilities, including cash incentives through which the industry could be sustained, BPGMEA president Shamim said.
In the past two years, due to various reasons including the Covid-19 epidemic, Ukraine-Russia war, Palestine-Israel war, economic instability and deadlock have been created in Bangladesh, like the whole world, he added.
ABB leaders congratulate NBR Chairman on reappointment
A delegation of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh Limited (ABB) led by its Chairman, Selim R. F. Hussain, has made a courtesy call on the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem.
Brac Bank leads CMSME Cluster Financing Workshop in Laxmipur to fuel growth
ABB leaders congratulated him on his reappointment.
ABB Secretary General and Managing Director & CEO of Prime Bank PLC Hassan O. Rashid attended the meeting on Tuesday.
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ABB leaders also discussed the tax regime in the banking sector with him and shared ABB's recommendations.
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Brac Bank leads CMSME Cluster Financing Workshop in Laxmipur to fuel growth
Brac Bank, under Bangladesh Bank's guidance, has organized a Cottage, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (CMSME) Cluster Financing Workshop in Laxmipur to enhance financing to the growing industrial hubs.
As the lead bank, Brac Bank hosted the event per Bangladesh Bank's directive. All banks operating in the district participated in the interactive event to enhance industry-bank collaboration, identify more clusters, and increase financing flow.
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Arif Hossain Khan, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank Chattogram Regional Office, attended the event as the chief guest. Syed Abdul Momen, Deputy Managing Director & Head of SME Banking; Alomgir Hossain, Head of Small Business (Central), SME Banking; Jamshed Ahmed Chowdhury, Regional Head, Distribution Network, Brac Bank, and branch managers of different banks were present at the workshop held at a hotel in Laxmipur town Thursday, said a press relesae.
Representatives from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), and Agriculture Extension Office attended the workshop.
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Bangladesh Bank has assigned different banks to host such workshops on cluster financing as lead banks in various districts throughout the year. BRAC Bank has become the lead bank in Laxmipur and Gaibandha.
Several industry clusters in Bangladesh generate significant industrial output, create employment and play a catalytic role in economic development.
Pirojpur, Jashore and Khulna are home to cricket bat clusters, Dhaka, Chattogram, Bhairab, and Brahmanbaria are famous for leather clusters, Gaibandha and Pabna are renowned for hosiery, Tangail and Sirajganj for power loom and textiles, Bhairab for shoes, Satkhira for medical products, Bogura’s Dhunot and Dupchanchia for blanket, Jashore and Bogura for light engineering and Moulvibazar for Agar-Atar industries.
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Easy access to financing can help flourish CMSME industries in different industrial clusters in the country. Collaboration among government bodies, entrepreneurs and banks can uplift clusters and allow them to contribute significantly to the manufacturing sector and national development.
BAT Bangladesh secures 'Top Employer' award for fifth time
BAT Bangladesh has become the first company in Bangladesh to receive certification from the Top Employers Institute based on excellence in people practice for the fifth time.
The company won the award for both the Asia Pacific and global categories in 2024 for best practices in talent attraction, development, well-being, and engagement, according to a press release.
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Top Employers Institute is an international body that has assessed more than 2,300 organizations in 121 regions since its inception in 1991; headquartered in Amsterdam, the institute confirmed the certification for BAT Bangladesh on January 18th this year.
It has evaluated BAT Bangladesh's career and growth opportunities, robust business and people strategy, simplification, employer branding and team members' well-being and benefits, said the release.
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"This recognition exhibits that we have been on the right track of developing our next generation leaders and driving high performance by valuing their strengths. We've always tried to develop a diverse culture, ensure employees' well-being, and created a space where our employees can excel. We also have been sponsoring employee led initiatives in the past year which helped us become top employer for the 5th time,” said Saad Jashim BATB’s Head of Talent, Culture and Inclusion.
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