business
G-20 alliance can play a major role in solving global economic crisis: Finance Minister
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said G-20 can play a major role in resolving the ongoing global economic crisis.
He also expressed hope that Bangladesh will soon be included as a member of the G-20 alliance, the finance ministry said in a press release today.
Kamal expressed the optimism at the G-20 meeting in Gujarat, India. The Bangladesh delegation led by the finance minister and the governor of Bangladesh Bank, Abdur Rauf Talukdar, is participating in the conference which is being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat of India.
Also read: Mustafa Kamal attending G20 Finance Ministers' Conference in Gandhinagar
The finance minister said that G-20 is an international economic alliance consisting of 20 industrialized countries of the world. This alliance was formed to bring together important industrialized and developing countries of the world to discuss key issues of the global economy.
“We need to be more aware of this and to resolve this crisis, we must be sincere.. the G-20 alliance can play a very important role,” Kamal said.
Also read: Finance Minister briefs parliament on BFIU's activities
He said that participating in the G-20 process is a unique opportunity for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will also participate as a “guest country” in the G-20 summit to be held on September 9, 10. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also been invited to attend the summit of heads of state and governments.
Also read: Budget not based on IMF conditions: Finance Minister
Foodpanda introduces in-store grocery pickup
Food and grocery delivery platform Foodpanda Bangladesh has introduced its in-person store pickup service through pandamart, its own grocery delivery dark store in the capital’s Gulshan-2 recently.
Following the model of food pickups from restaurants, this new service will provide customers with the convenience of picking up their groceries and daily essentials from the pandamart dark store.
Also read: foodpanda launches pandamart
The introduction of the pick-up feature is in line with pandamart's strategy to deliver an outstanding shopping experience by embracing online-to-offline (O2O) commerce, responding to the evolving expectations of customers, according to a press release.
The option will be especially appealing to busy urban consumers who prefer to see the products before making their selections, it said.
Also read: Foodpanda wins national Digital Bangladesh Award 2022
“We are dedicated to enriching the shopping experience for our customers by providing top-notch quality and convenience," said Mohammad Tabrej Khan, director, Dmart of Foodpanda.
"With pick-up, customers’ experience on the Foodpanda platform can now be complemented with a physical in-store experience, on top of savings on delivery fees and numerous other discounts specifically designed for pickup customers, giving them more options in the way they shop and receive their orders that better suit their lifestyles and preferences. We are thrilled to elevate the grocery shopping experience in Bangladesh to new heights,” he added.
Also read: Foodpanda launches 'pandapro' subscription in Bangladesh
The feature is currently available in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore, and soon will be rolled out in Pakistan, added the release.
Career Networking Tips for Introverts
Networking is an essential component of career development. It enables professionals to establish connections, exchange ideas, and access new opportunities. However, introverts, who are naturally more reserved and prefer solitary activities, may find networking overwhelming. If an individual has an introverted personality by nature, it does not mean that he or she cannot excel at networking. Following the right strategies, introverts can leverage their unique strengths to develop meaningful networks, professional relationships, and advance their careers.
10 Powerful Career Networking Tips for Introverted Professionals
Embracing Small Group Settings
In small group settings, introverts can feel more at ease and less overwhelmed. These settings foster a more intimate and relaxed environment where individuals can engage in deeper conversations. Introverts can connect with like-minded individuals who share their interests and goals by attending industry-specific meetups, intimate conferences, or by joining professional organisations. The smaller group size allows for more meaningful interactions, making it easier for introverts to establish connections and build relationships.
Preparing an Elevator Pitch
Crafting an effective elevator pitch is essential for introverts to confidently introduce themselves in networking situations. An elevator pitch concisely summarises an individual's professional background, skills, and aspirations. By preparing and practising an elevator pitch, one can ensure that it effectively communicates one’s value proposition in a succinct manner.
It can enable an introvert to make a lasting impression on the new professionals he or she meets. Thus, an introverted professional can showcase expertise and make people interested in connecting with him or her.
Read more: How to improve your professional networking skills?
Utilising Online Platforms
Online networking platforms offer introverts a valuable opportunity to connect with professionals from the comfort of their own space. Platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and industry-specific forums provide avenues for engaging in discussions, sharing insights, and expanding professional networks.
Introverts can showcase their expertise and thought leadership by participating in online conversations, which can lead to meaningful connections and potential collaborations. The advantage of online networking is that it removes the pressure of immediate face-to-face interactions, allowing introverts to showcase their strengths and build relationships at their own pace.
Attending Industry-specific Workshops and Conferences
Industry-specific conferences provide valuable opportunities for introverts to network with professionals in their fields. These events bring together industry experts, thought leaders, and like-minded individuals who are passionate about the same topics.
As an introvert, attending industry conferences allows one to stay updated on the latest trends, gain valuable insights, and connect with professionals who share one’s particular interests. During sessions, workshops, and networking breaks, introverts can approach others, initiate conversations, and foster connections based on shared interests or experiences.
Read more: Eid for Introverts: Finding Happiness and Fulfillment on Your Own
Industry-specific conferences serve as a platform for building a strong professional network and expanding one’s industry connections, that are particularly beneficial for introverts.
Attending Webinars
As many introverts feel shy in direct communication with people, webinars can be helpful for them to create professional networking. Like physical workshops, the webinars provide structured knowledge sharing as well as networking environments. Webinars usually focus on specific topics of interest, attracting professionals who share common aspirations or expertise.
By participating in webinars, asking thoughtful questions, and engaging with other attendees, introverts can expand their knowledge and make valuable connections. The shared learning experience creates a natural platform for interaction and collaboration, potentially leading to long-lasting professional relationships or mentorship opportunities.
Read more: Career Counseling: 10 Reasons you need a Career Coach
US-Bangla Airlines celebrates its 9th founding anniversary
US-Bangla Airlines, one of the private airlines of Bangladesh, is going to celebrate its ninth founding anniversary on Monday.
On 17 July 2014, the US-Bangla started its journey in Bangladesh Aviation by operating a flight on Dhaka-Jashore route with DASH8-Q400 aircraft.
According to the plan, it has strengthened the air communication system in the shortest possible time by operating flights to all airports within Bangladesh within the first one year, said a media release.
It operates flights from Dhaka to Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet, Jashore, Saidpur, Barishal, Rajshahi. On 15 May 2016, the flight on the Dhaka-Kathmandu route took off.
US-Bangla’s international routes include Kolkata, Chennai, Male, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Guangzhou.
Read: US-Bangla Airlines launches initiative to train aircraft maintenance engineers
The US-Bangla ranked 5th among South Asian airlines in Skytrax World Airline Awards,
There are 19 aircraft, including eight Boeing 737-800, eight ATR 72-600 and three-Dash 8-Q400 in its fleet now.
There are websites and mobile apps for collecting US-Bangla tickets. It has more than 40 sales offices of its own in the country and abroad. There is ‘Skystar’ program for frequent flyers.
US-Bangla Airlines is going to set up its own MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) soon. US-Bangla has taken initiatives to establish flying school, engineering schools to create skilled human.
Mohammed Abdullah Al Mamun, Managing Director of US-Bangla Airlines, said on the occasion of stepping into 10th year, “In a competitive world, we are ready to take on any kind of competitive challenge. In today's world there is no substitute for brand new aircraft to provide proper service to passengers. US-Bangla is constantly adding new aircraft to the fleet to ensure comfortable service for passengers.”
He said the US-Bangla family is very happy and proud to be associated with the country's economic progress.
Read: US-Bangla Airlines sending 11 more pilots to USA on training
“With the nine years of success of US-Bangla Airlines, all the government and non-government organizations, various travel agents, tour operators, civil aviation authority, various corporate offices, various print, electronic, online media journalists for US-Bangla Airlines has been successful crossing nine years,”
Read more: US-Bangla Airlines enters 9th year Sunday
AIBL organizes business performance meeting
Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited (AIBL) organized a business performance meeting with different branches at its head office on Saturday.
Also read: Hajj service expansion begins at AIBL
AIBL Managing Director and CEO Farman R Chowdhury presided over the meeting, according to a press release.
Also read: Al-Arafah Islami Bank sponsors 9th Bangladesh Junior Science Olympiad
Among others Deputy Managing Directors Shabbir Ahmed, Md Shafiqur Rahman, Syed Masodul Bari, Md Mahmudur Rahman, Mohammed Nadim, Abed Ahmed Khan, Abdullah Al Mamun, Fazlur Rahman Chowdhury and senior Executives were present in the meeting.
Also read: AIBL organizes seminar marking National Mourning Day
Managers of different branches of the bank also participated in the meeting.
Tamim Iqbal to hand over Nagad’s BMW car to the winner on Tuesday
Mobile financial service provider Nagad, will give the BMW car to the winner chosen through public voting on Tuesday.
Nagad’s brand ambassador and Bangladeshi cricketer Tamim will hand over the vehicle’s key to one of the 71 shortlisted people who secured the highest number of votes given by Nagad customers across the country at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday, according to a press release.
Also read: 71 shortlisted for Nagad’s BMW
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar and the founder and managing director of Nagad Limited will be present on the occasion, it said.
Besides, celebrities from different fields and dignitaries will attend the programme.
The megapayment campaign, which started in the last week of March and ended on June 30, has earned a massive response from people across the country. Over the last three months, Nagad’s transactions, mainly in the form of merchant payments and mobile recharges, have reached a record high, riding on this mega BMW campaign, said the release.
Also read: Nagad welcomes govt’s move to increase safety net allocation
Through random selection in phases using "Bangla AI", 71 people were shortlisted at the end of the three-month campaign. Later, Nagad customers across the country were invited to vote for their favourite candidates for the BMW car by logging in to their Nagad accounts, it added.
Earlier, as part of the campaign, a show titled "Ke Jitbe BMW?" (Who will win BMW?) was telecast on several TV channels, with the participation of popular celebrities and social media influencers as guests.
"We have got a great response to our BMW campaign. That is why we ourselves have not gone for selecting the ultimate winner; rather, we have now left it to our crores of customers to choose from the 71 shortlisted candidates," said Sadat Adnan Ahmad, Nagad’s chief marketing officer.
Also read: Nagad now has 8 crore customers
Under the mega payment campaign, Nagad handed over several Sedan cars, nearly 500 motorbikes, refrigerators, smart televisions, mobiles, smart watches, and headphones to the winners, the press release said.
7th Bangladesh Int’l Garment & Textile Machinery Expo to be held in Dhaka Oct 26-28
The 7th Bangladesh International Garment & Textile Machinery Expo (BIGTEX) 2023 will be held in Dhaka from October 26 to 28.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has inked an agreement with Redcarpet Global Ltd to be a partner of 7th BIGTEX.
The organizing committee led by Redcarpet Global’s Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Imtiaz met with BGMEA President Faruque Hassan at the latter’s Complex in Uttara, Dhaka recently and discussed various measures to ensure the cooperation and smooth execution of this expo.
Redcarpet Global’s Director and Chief Business Officer Lutfar Hossain, Director and Head of Corporate Affairs Abdullah Al Mamun and DGM-Marketing Majaharul Islam were present.
Read: RMG exports in FY23 almost $47bn, 85% of total exports
BGMEA expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to serve as an association partner in the highly anticipated 7th BIGTEX to be held at ICCB, Dhaka, said a media release on Saturday.
They also extended their thanks to the organizers for recognizing the significant contributions of BGMEA and inviting them to participate in this prestigious exhibition.
The inclusion of BGMEA in the Bangladesh International Garment & Textile Machinery Expo provides a remarkable platform to showcase the potential of Bangladesh's vibrant and thriving garment industry.
Targeting the entire Garment & Textile industry of Bangladesh, BIGTEX has three concurrent exhibitions named as Bangladesh International Fabric & Yarn Expo, Bangladesh International Dyes, Pigments and Chemicals Expo & Bangladesh International Printing, Packaging and Signage Expo, which will be helpful for visitors, buyers and exhibitors.
Read: Bangladesh-Australia have huge opportunities to expand trade: BGMEA President
BIGTEX connects all kinds of garment and textile machinery, equipment, technology and accessory manufacturer, dealer, supplier and importer from home and abroad.
Its concurrent exhibitions are targeted to the most important parts like yarn, fabric, trims and accessories, dyes, pigments, chemicals, printing, packaging and signage industry.
Ahmed said the expo will have around 200 stalls with products from at least 12 countries, including Asia and Europe.
The backbone of Bangladesh’s economic growth is the apparel sector and the networking platforms like exhibitions are very important to uphold the country's growth, as well as its economy.
To achieve the export target, there is a need to focus more on value added, high-end apparel items rather than basic, traditional products to make the business sustainable throughout the fierce competition in the global garment trade, he said.
Read: BGMEA chief stresses on providing graduates with market-oriented education, skills
These exhibitions will also provide an opportunity to experts, engineers and technicians in the field of textile to have a practical knowledge of the recent technological advancements available without going abroad, he said.
This Expo will be open for general and trade visitors from 10:30 am to 7:30pm every day.
Bangladesh’s per capita debt Tk95,019: BB
Bangladesh’s domestic and external debt stands at around Tk16.14 lakh crore, according to the latest report of Bangladesh Bank (BB).As a result, the per capita debt of people stands at Tk95,019. But income is still higher than per capita debt. The current annual per capita income of the people of the country is $2793, which is around Tk3.3 lakh in Bangladeshi currency.
Read: Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves now $23.57 billion as per IMF formulaThough Bangladesh is still in a good position in terms of debt-GDP ratio compared to many countries in the world, a big portion of the national budget is spent on loan interest payments, Said economist Ahsan H Mansur.Even if the income is higher; the risk of debt is now a headache due to lower revenue collection, and the supply chain disrupted by the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war and the trade deficit is reducing the government's debt repayment capacity, he said.
Read: Heard a ‘strong commitment’ from PM, ministers in support of free, fair, peaceful elections in Bangladesh: Uzra Zeya“Considering the debt-GDP ratio it is not risky yet, but the problem is a slow revenue collection and the lowest tax –GDP ratio of the country,” he told UNB.Foreign exchange crisis, higher non-performing loans, global economic slowdown, and decreasing trend of inward remittances flow are the challenging matter to secure the debt repayment capacity, he added.
Walton Mobile opens smart point at Shyamoli
Walton Mobile’s new smart point ‘A J Telecom’ has recently started its journey at Shyamoli Square Super Market in Dhaka.
All models of Walton smart and feature phones and other accessories are available at this exclusive brand shop.
Walton is launching mobile phone’s smart point across the country due to huge sales growth and demand for Walton mobiles. To response it an initiative was taken to provide these digital services to the people’s doors. Nearly one dozen of smart points have been inaugurated across the country. Earlier, another smart point ‘Mobile Neer’ was opened at Madbar Mansion at Rokeya Sarani Mirpur-10 in the capital.
Walton Mobile's Head of Business Intelligence (BI) Rezaul Hasan, Chief Business Officer (CBO) Abu Jahid, Head of Research & Innovation (R&I) Shamim Islam and National Sales Manager (NSM) Wahiduzzaman were present at the inaugural ceremony of ‘A J Telecom’.
Walton Mobile's CBO Abu Jahid said Walton Mobile is ensuring maximum benefits and the best after sales service for customers. Walton has become a giant company through customers’ acceptance over the years. Walton shows it capabilities in giving the best after sales service besides manufacturing international standard digital devices.
He also said Walton has recently opened country’s first mobile phone service point naming- Mobile Touch Point- at Nagar Siddiqui Plaza in Old Dhaka’s Laxmibazar.
Citing reports found from their sales representatives from different smart points, the authorities say, they are witnessing huge crowd at their countrywide smart points with putting records on sales growth.
Juhi Electronics, one the Walton Mobile’s smart points at Shah Ali Plaza in Mirpur-10, has already been awarded as the best seller of Walton mobile. On this occasion, they have recently celebrated the success cutting a cake.
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves now $23.57 billion as per IMF formula
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has finally accepted the formula prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in calculating foreign exchange reserves that stood at $23.57 billion on Thursday.
Read: No scope to hold ‘acceptable polls’ under AL govt: BNP tells Canadian envoy
However, according to the Bangladesh Bank's calculations on Wednesday the reserve was $29.97 billion.
Read: Heard a ‘strong commitment’ from PM, ministers in support of free, fair, peaceful elections in Bangladesh: Uzra Zeya
One of the conditions for the IMF's $4.7 billion loan to Bangladesh was to release the reserve account by June as per a model called BPM-6.