local-business
Robi launches sales academy
Robi recently launched a sales academy for its employees.
The academy is primarily designed to develop the functional and leadership capabilities of Robi's sales force, according to a media statement.
Going beyond the conventional training methodology, Robi's sales academy will facilitate various experience-based learning opportunities for its sales force.
Read: Huawei, RedDot team up to develop Bangladesh cloud market
Also, the latest training evaluation methods will be applied to properly assess the progress of the training participants.
The launching ceremony of the academy was held in Dhaka.
Robi's Acting Chief Executive Officer and CFO M Riyaaz Rasheed, Chief Commercial Officer Shihab Ahmed and Chief Human Resources Officer Md Faisal Imtiaz Khan were present.
Instant transaction of foreign currencies: Bangladesh Bank launches RTGS
Bangladesh Bank has started instant foreign currency transactions, from bank to bank, through online-based real time gross settlement (RTGS).
Banks are primarily clearing and settling in US dollars, pounds, euros, Canadian dollars, and Japanese yen.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder officially inaugurated the RTGS program at the headquarters of the central bank in Motijheel today (September 4, 2022). Deputy governors Ahmed Jamal and Kazi Sayedur Rahman, President of FBCCI Md. Jasim Uddin, MCCI president Saiful Islam, Chairman of Association of Bankers, Bangladesh Selim RF Hossain, and senior officials of the central bank, among others, were present at the event.
Read: Banks instructed to campaign for bringing back laundered money
Earlier, these five currencies – US dollar, British pound, euro, Canadian dollar, and Japanese yen – were settled in the traditional transaction system. In this method, banks use paper documents, and the bank officials settle the transaction. It was time-consuming and costly, said Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank.
From today (Sunday), banks will be able to settle transactions instantly without any hassle through the RTGS system, he said.
The Chinese currency yuan can be traded against five foreign currencies.
Bangladesh Bank issued a notification on August 28 to start instant foreign currency transactions through RTGS.
Pran-RFL scoops up Bangladesh Business Awards 2021
Pran-RFL Group has received the Bangladesh Business Awards 2021 for its contribution to the business sector.
Planning Minister MA Mannan handed over the award to Pran-RFL Chair and Chief Executive Officer Ahsan Khan Chowdhury at a Dhaka hotel Friday.
Read: PRAN-RFL targets $2 billion export by 2030
This year, one entrepreneur and two enterprises won the Bangladesh Business Awards for making significant progress in their respective areas in 2021.
Pran-RFL received the award in the enterprise of the year category.
DHL Express and The Daily Star introduced the Bangladesh Business Awards in 2000 to inspire and motivate the business fraternity to achieve greater heights of productivity.
Read Bangladesh's Nuzhat Choudhury wins Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award
Banglalink SDG hackathon Code for a Cause 3.0 finale held
The finale of Banglalink hackathon Code for a Cause was held in Dhaka Saturday to encourage young problem solvers to come up with innovative solutions to sustainable development goals (SDGs) challenges.
After a 24-hour competition, winners of the hackathon were officially announced by Banglalink's panel of judges.
Young problem solvers from across the country participated in the Banglalink SDG hackathon through online applications. Based on the prototype solutions they submitted, 15 teams were selected and invited to the hackathon to develop and pitch digital ideas on solving SDG problems related to corporate culture, quality education, climate action, gender equality, entertainment, and gaming.
Read: Banglalink introduces monetisation on Toffee
Team Electric, Team Ubermensch, and Team FarmEx were declared champions, first runners-up and second runners-up.
The teams were awarded prizes and partnership opportunities with Banglalink.
Taimur Rahman, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer, Banglalink, said: "One of the most effective ways to find innovative solutions to SDG challenges is to engage young minds with the problem-solving processes."
"Banglalink has been successfully organising the hackathon with this objective for the last few years."
All export-oriented industries should get equal facilities: Salman F Rahman
Salman F. Rahman, adviser on the private sector to the Prime Minister and one of the country's leading businessmen, has said all export-oriented industries should get similar facilities to meet the objective of export diversification.
Salman, also a first-time MP, was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar organized by the think-tank Policy Research Institute (PRI) on improving export trade facilities.
The Prime Minister's private industry and investment adviser admitted that there is a problem with bureaucracy. Although the bureaucratic mentality in the administration has changed at the highest level, at the ground level it still remains the same. Every export-oriented sector can be improved if the bureaucratic complexities are reformed, he said.
Read: Austerity reducing imports to $6 billion a month: Salman F. Rahman
“I always say that everything was confined to high-level bureaucracy earlier. But now the problem has been reduced. There is a positive mental change at the highest levels of the bureaucracy. However, problems remain at the lower level and field level,” said Salman.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Commerce Ministry are working on these challenges to improve the business environment, he said.
"We have to change the mindset of the bureaucracy at the field level. We all have to think about the geopolitical situation, how it is affecting the supply chain,” he added.
Read Uniform rate: Tk 108/dollar max for remittance, Tk 99/dollar for export income from tomorrow
Salman also focused on increasing the capacity of ports for increasing export opportunities.
He said, “The capacity of Chittagong Port will be further increased. It is being worked on. Work is underway on the proposed deep sea port in the Matarbari area of Cox's Bazar district. It will be constructed as a full-fledged commercial port by expanding the coal-carrying jetty.”
Once these are done, exports can be further increased, he said.
State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam also participated in the webinar. PRI Executive Director Ahsan H. Mansur, Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar, Policy Exchange Chairman Dr M Masrur Riaz, IFC Manager Selma Rasavac, NBR Member (Customs Audit) Dr Abdul Mannan Sikder, Additional commerce secretary Hafizur Rahman, former president of BKMEA Fazlul Haque, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Enamul Hoque, Country Manager of IFC Martin Holtmann among others, also joined the program.
Read Govt served legal notice to ban Hilsa export to India in 7 days
Economic zones can turn Bangladesh into global investment destination: FBCCI
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries President Md Jashim Uddin has called for branding Bangladesh as the most favourable investment destination in Asia by attracting local and global investment in the economic zones.
He made this call at a courtesy meeting with Safwan Sobhan Tasvir, president of Bangladesh Economic Zone Investors Association and Bashundhara Group vice-chair, in the capital Wednesday.
The government is providing the most investment-friendly infrastructure and policy support in Asia for investment in special economic zones, Jashim said.
Read: FBCCI to provide safety equipment to healthcare professionals, essential service workers
He urged the Economic Zone Investors Association to convey these benefits to global entrepreneurs.
Safwan highlighted the current investment status in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpanagar at Mirsarai and other economic zones.
Bangladesh has huge potential in toy manufacturing, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and the petrochemical industry, he added.
Individuals can’t hold foreign currencies more than $10,000: BB
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has said that no one can keep foreign currency notes over $10,000 for more than one month.
The central bank issued a notification on Wednesday and sent it to all respected banks for displaying the notification to raise awareness.
According to it, a resident Bangladeshi can’t keep a cash of not more than $10,000, or foreign currency of equivalent, or in an authorized dealer bank as a resident foreign currency deposit.
Read: Illegal dollar trade: BB summons account details of 28 exchanges
The circular also states that it is mandatory for resident Bangladeshi citizens to sell the excess amount of $10,000 to an authorized dealer bank/licensed money changer or deposit it as resident foreign currency deposit within one month of arrival in the country from abroad.
The BB notification said that possession of foreign currency outside the limit will be an offense, punishable under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
Resident Bangladeshis are requested to sell unauthorized foreign currency to authorized dealer banks/licensed money changers by September 30.
Read BB issues clarification to remove confusion over Foreign Currency Accounts
Edible oil prices likely to drop soon: Commerce Minister
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Tuesday hinted that the price of edible oil might be lowered.
"The price of edible oil in the international market has declined. If the price of the dollar does not rise and goes lower, then it will have a positive impact on the market," Munshi said
The commerce minister was speaking after a meeting held at his ministry on Tuesday regarding prices of daily necessities and market conditions.
The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) will hold a meeting soon on this matter, he added.
Read:Govt to soon fix prices of 9 daily essentials
"We have increased the price of edible oil several times and reduced it three times so far. You will see that in soybeans, price increased by Tk 6-7, and palm oil price decreased by Tk7."
"As we import more palm oil than soybean, the overall impact will be favourable," he hoped.
"The good news is that palm oil prices are decreasing and soybean prices are also on the path of decline. New prices will be fixed after assessing all prices in the meeting to be held soon," said Munshi.
Earlier on Monday, the government lowered fuel oil prices by Tk5 per litre, 23 days after raising them by between 42-52 percent.
Tata Power-DDL inks MoU with BlocKnots
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, a pioneering power distribution utility, supplying electricity to a populace of over 7 million in North Delhi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BlocKnots, a leader in technology deployment, to conduct capacity building training in the power distribution sector.
This partnership will address the training needs of the power distribution personnel, bringing together the expertise and resources of two industry leaders for the overall benefit of the sector. It will also cater to reforms in India, Bangladesh and abroad.
The MoU was signed by Praveen Agrawal, Chief HR & IR, Tata Power-DDL and Tamim Hasan, Chairman, BlocKnots Limited, said a media release.
Marking the occasion, Praveen Agrawal said, “The technological landscape is changing at a rapid pace all across the world. After having successfully implemented various Smart Grid technologies, Tata Power-DDL has been handholding distribution utilities in India and across the world for scripting their own success stories by imparting capacity-building training through experience sharing and showcasing our best practices and case studies. This collaboration with BlocKnots, Bangladesh is yet another step in this direction for imparting relevant training to the power sector professionals in the International domain and hope for a mutually enriching association.”
Read: Tata Group formally takes over ailing Air India
Tamim Hasan said, “Bangladesh is a fast-growing country where the government of Bangladesh is very much positive for infrastructural development in all sectors. We can see the reflection. This agreement will help us to implement the latest technology related to the power sector along with that some international level training can be provided to our country resources for better understanding of latest technology and to implement the same. We thank TATA Power Distribution for this agreement and we together can be the change maker.”
The combined programmes including customised onsite programmes and training programmes under the partnership will be designed following new and emerging technologies and best practices for enhancing knowledge competency, added the release.
Economic mismanagement creating instability in market: Debapriya
Noted economist Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya said that the recent abnormal hike in fuel prices and then cutting it by only Tk. 5/litre is a classic example of economic mismanagement.
He said that the sudden increase of fuel price by Tk 44/litre at midnight, and then reduce it by Tk5/litre, is a fraud. Such decisions are being made due to lack of expertise, he added.
Debapriya, distinguished fellow of think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) was speaking at the 'ERF Dialogue' organized by Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) on Tuesday.
He said Bangladesh's main problem is not in the foreign transactions, rather it is the weakness of the domestic financial sector.
He said the global recession may extend up to 2024, and its adverse impact can be reduced by strengthening the domestic economy.
He also identified four deviations in the domestic economy, which may create a turmoil in Bangladesh.
Read: Economy needs transitional policy to overcome the crisis: Debapriya
These deviations are: not getting adequate investment in the private sector, weakness in revenue generation, lack of necessary investment in education and health sectors, and discrimination in the social safety net programmes.
He said the growth is now being propelled by public investment as the private investment ratio to GDP has not increased over the years and still hovering around 23 to 24 per cent of GDP. On the other hand, the ratio of public investment to GDP has been increased to 7 to 8 per cent from 5 to 6 per cent.
“There has been no such foreign direct investment as the FDI is still below the one per cent of GDP which is not enough for a dynamic economy,” he said.
Referring to the attaining of GDP growth at 5 to 7 per cent on average over the last 10 years, the eminent economist said this suggests that the income is growing. “Then why the desired revenues are not being collected…is there any mismatch in the calculation?’
He opined that due to the comparatively lower level of revenue collection, the government has not been able to import food grains, side by side it has also not been possible to increase the coverage of the food assistance.
“The government is being unable to reduce the duty and tariff for which it has rely heavily on the indirect tax to collect revenues which has put the commoners under pressure,” he added.
Debapriya alleged that that the health and education sectors are not enjoying the desired level of investment although hefty investments are being made in the physical infrastructure sector.
He said the 20 mega projects are enjoying around 2 per cent investment of GDP whereas the investment in the health and education sectors is one percent each of GDP.
He noted that the political force has been trying to make visible physical infrastructural development in a speedy manner in a bid to fulfill the political deficit.
He alleged that there has been large-scale discrimination in the distribution of social safety net allowances during the COVID-19 pandemic as it was then proved that access to government services was not easy for the weak people.
Citing that competitive business environment is not being created in the country, he said that certain individuals or quarters are getting preferences from the policy makers for which there has been inadequate flourish of talent-based and international standard human resource development.
ERF président Sharmeen Rinvy presided over the programme, moderated by ERF general secretary SM Rashidul Islam.