If the capacity of Chittagong Port can be increased, it will be possible to lower the cost of doing business in the country by at least 5 percent. Also, foreign entrepreneurs will be more interested to invest in this country. As production starts in full swing at the Bangabandhu Industrial City and other economic zones of the country, the pressure on Chittagong Port will go up manifold. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) made the observations Thursday and called for increasing the capacity of the port. FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said: "The speed of cargo vehicles on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway is 40km per hour now. If this speed is doubled, the competitiveness of the export sector will increase by 6 percent." Read: No increase in edible oil price now, govt decides after meeting with traders Chemicals imported through Chittagong Port have to be tested separately before unloading. However, Chittagong Customs does not have an adequate laboratory, and it takes importers 10 to 12 days to get tests done. FBCCI Vice-President Md Habib Ullah Dawn said importing vehicles through Chittagong Port costs twice as much as Mongla Port. "Such widely differing costs at different ports of the same country are unreasonable." The FBCCI president said immediate steps should be taken to remove these bottlenecks.  

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has extended policy support to June 30 next from December 31, 2021 for external trade transactions considering the pandemic effect on economic activities. A central bank circular said external trade activities of the country are found changing gears to pick up. To facilitate smooth transition, the BB has decided to continue extended supports for trade transactions to June 30. The foreign exchange policy department of the BB issued the notification on Thursday. The usance period (allowable period of time, permitted by custom, between the date of the bill and its payment.) for imports of industrial raw materials including back to back imports, and imports of agricultural implements and chemical fertilizers under supplier’s/buyer’s credit can be extended up to 270 days. Earlier the BB fixed it 180 days for external trade transactions. The notification has also increased loans’ limit USD $ 25 million to $ 30 million till June 30, 2022 from the Export Development Fund (EDF) limit for member factories of BGMEA and BTMA, a garment sector organization. Read: BB fixes loans at Tk 25,000 to Tk1.0 crore for CMSE under CGS Businessmen in the sector say the policy assistance provided by Bangladesh Bank will ease foreign trade and help revive economic activities. Earlier on Tuesday, the leaders of the apparel sector organizations’ met with Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir to discuss the current situation. As per discussion the central bank issued the circular extending both the foreign trade transaction period and limit.

Robi has won the silver award in the telecom category at the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) Best Corporate Award 2020. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi recently handed over the award to Robi's Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Shahed Alam at a ceremony in the capital. Read Robi CHRO gets global recognition at World HRD Congress Robi's Vice-President (Strategic Finance) Sanjib Kumar Ghosh and General Manager (Strategic Communication) Niaz Mohammad Siddiqui were also present. Robi Axiata Limited is a public limited company, where Axiata Group Berhad, based in Malaysia, holds the majority shareholding – 61.82 per cent. Read Robi partners with Green Delta to provide health insurance package Aside from the public shareholders – 10 per cent – Bharti Airtel, headquartered in India's New Delhi, holds 28.18 per cent of shares in the company.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) has received the gold award of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) Best Corporate Award 2020 in the private commercial bank (Islamic operation) category. Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director and CEO of the bank, received the award from Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi in the capital Thursday. Read Robi wins silver at ICMAB Best Corporate Award JQM Habibullah, deputy managing director and company secretary of IBBL, joined the event. Professor Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Standard Bank and former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, AKM Delwer Hussain, president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants, were also present. Read Pran gets ICMAB Best Corporate Award

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will announce the new price of LPG at retail level on Monday for the current month. Retail price of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is being announced by the energy regulator in the first week of every month since April last year. Also read: Retail LPG price declines by Tk 85 in 12kg container The current price was announced on December 2 where the price of private operators’ LPG had been cut by Tk 85 to Tk 1228 per 12-kg container from Tk 1313 with effect from 6 am Friday (Dec 3) at the retail level. BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil will announce the current month’s new LPG price through a virtual briefing at 11:30 am on Monday, said a BERC press release. Also read: Private operators’ LPG: Price goes up again

Agricultural Marketing Company, a sister concern of Pran, has received the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) Best Corporate Award 2020. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi handed over the award to Choudhury Atiur Rasul, director (accounts) of Pran-RFL Group, at a ceremony in the capital Thursday. Read Pran-RFL bags 5 national export trophies Professor Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Standard Bank and former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, AKM Delwer Hussain, president of the South Asian Federation of Accountants, were also present.

Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) has honoured 61 organisations under different categories with ‘Best Corporate Award 2020’. The ICMAB, at its flagship event organized a city hotel on Thursday,honored the organizations dividing in 18 categories after reviewing their performances based on respective annual reports, said a press release. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi addressed the award ceremony as the chief guest while Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) chairman Prof. Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, Chairman, Standard Bank Limited & Past President, FBCCI Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed and President of South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) A. K. M. Delwer Hussain FCMA spoke as special guests. Read ICMAB wants VAT system reform to make it business friendly The 18 award categories were Nationalized Commercial Bank; Private Commercial Bank; Private Commercial Bank (Islamic Operation); Non-bank Financial Institution; General Insurance; Life Insurance; Pharmaceuticals; Cement; Textile; Multinational Company; Others Manufacturing; Power Generation; Oil, Gas & Energy; NGO; Agro and Food Processing; Trading & Assembly and Telecommunication and Corporate Excellence Award. In the Nationalized Commercial Bank Category Sonali Bank Limited was honoured with 1st (gold) and 2nd (silver) Rupali Bank Limited. In the Private Commercial Bank Category BRAC Bank Limited won 1st (gold), Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited & Trust Bank Limited jointly bagged 2nd (silver) and Pubali Bank Ltd 3rd (bronze). Read Robi wins silver at ICMAB Best Corporate Award In the Private Commercial Bank (Islamic Operation) Category Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited won 1st (gold), Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd 2nd (silver) and Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited 3rd (bronze). In Non-bank financial institution Category  IDLC Finance Limited bagged1st (gold),IPDC Finance Limited 2nd (silver) and  LankaBangla Finance & Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd 3rd (bronze). In General insurance Category, Green Delta Insurance Company Limited was honoured with 1st (gold), Nitol Insurance Co. Ltd. 2nd (silver) and Reliance Insurance Limited & Pioneer Insurance Company Limited jointly won 3rd (bronze). Read IBBL receives ICMAB Best Corporate Award In Life Insurance Category Pragati Life Insurance Co. Ltd won 1st (gold), Sandhani Life Insurance Company Ltd 2nd (silver) and Meghna Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3rd (bronze). In Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing Category Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Bagged 1st (gold), Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited & Orion Pharma Ltd. jointly 2nd (silver) and Renata Limited & ACI Limited jointly 3rd (bronze). In Cement Manufacturing Category 1st (gold) Premier Cement Mills Limited, 2nd (silver) LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Limited and 3rd (bronze) M.I. Cement Factory Limited. Read Pran gets ICMAB Best Corporate Award In Textile Manufacturing Category 1st (gold) Paramount Textile Limited, 2nd (silver) Square Textile Ltd and 3rd (bronze) Envoy Textiles Limited. In MNC Manufacturing Category 1st (gold) British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Ltd, 2nd (silver) Marico Bangladesh Limited and 3rd (bronze) Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd. In Others Manufacturing Category 1st (gold) Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd., 2nd (silver) RAK Ceramics (Bangladesh) Limited and 3rd (bronze) BBS Cables Ltd. Read 50th Annual General Meeting of ICMAB held In Power Generation Category 1st (gold) Summit Power Limited, Jointly 2nd (silver) United Power Generation and Distribution Co. Ltd. & Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd and jointly 3rd (bronze) Baraka Power Limited & Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited. In Oil, Gas & Energy Category: 1st (gold) Linde Bangladesh Limited, 2nd (silver) MJL Bangladesh Limited and 3rd (bronze) Meghna Petroleum Limited In NGO Category: 1st (gold) BRAC, 2nd (silver) UCEP Bangladesh and jointly 3rd (bronze) Action Aid- Bangladesh & Ghashful. Read Islami Bank receives ICMAB best corporate award In Agro and Food Processing Category: 1st (gold) Olympic Industries Ltd, 2nd (silver) Agricultural Marketing Co. Ltd. and 3rd (bronze) Golden Harvest Agro Industries Ltd. In Trading & Assembly Category: 1st (gold) Runner Automobiles Limited, 2nd (silver) Chittagong Dry Dock Limited and Jointly 3rd (bronze) Aftab Automobiles Limited & Dockyard & Engineering Works. In Telecommunication Category: 1st (gold) Grameen Phone Limited, 2nd (silver) Robi Axiata Limited and Jointly 3rd (bronze) Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited & aamra networks limited. Read ICMAB delegation meets CAG Besides, Walton Hi tech Industries Ltd won the Corporate Excellence Award.

Mobile financial service (MFS) provider Nagad has awarded the winners of Dhaka University's (DU) centenary celebration campaign. The organisation recently handed over the prize to winners in the capital.   On December 12, Nagad organised a concert at the DU. It announced giveaways – smartwatches – for the concert-goers through the hashtag campaign "#RockDUwithNagad." The participants had to post a status on their Facebook profile with an image or a video of the concert with the hashtag #RockDUwithNagad" and send the link to Nagad's Facebook page.  On the occasion of the centenary celebration of the DU and Digital Bangladesh Day, Nagad organised a concert at the central playground of the university. James, Warfaze, Sahajia, Meghdol, KrishnaPaksha, Introit, Tirandaj, Mehreen, and many other prominent bands performed in the concert.  

Rangpur Foundry Limited (RFL) has approved a 23 per cent dividend for its shareholders for the financial year 2020-2021. The approval was made at the 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company Sunday on a digital platform. Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman, Rathendra Nath Paul, managing director, Sabiha Amjad, director, Chowdhury Kamruzzaman, director on behalf of Property Development, Md Abdus Salam, independent director, Choudhury Atiur Rasul, director (accounts), Uzma Chowdhury, director (finance), Kishor Kumar Debnath, chief financial officer and Muhammad Aminur Rahman, company secretary, and shareholders of the company attended the AGM. The shareholders thanked the management for the company's performance over the years and came up with suggestions to make it better. RFL Group started its business in the cast iron sector with the production and marketing of hand tubewells in 1981. It entered the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – the world's third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer – sector in 1996 and plastic in 2003.

To support Covid-hit small businesses, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has signed an agreement with the Bangladesh Bank to implement a credit guarantee scheme for the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs). The scheme will allow the participating financial institutions to provide better access to finance for CMSMEs that are often deprived due to their high-risk profile. Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Farah Md Nasser, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson; IFC Acting Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Nuzhat Anwar, Regional Manager for Financial Institution Group (Asia and Pacific) Qamar Saleem were present at the agreement-signing ceremony. With about 7.8 million units employing more than 20 million people, CMSMEs account for almost 25 per cent of gross domestic product and 30 per cent of total industrial employment in Bangladesh. However, limited access to finance has been an impediment in sustaining the labour-intensive sector, which is critical for the country's sustained growth. Emphasising that CMSMEs play a vital role in generating employment, maintaining a solid supply chain, cutting poverty, empowering women and other critical areas, Nasser said: "Being a monetary authority as well as the regulator of the banking sector of the country, the Bangladesh Bank has been working relentlessly to modernise the financial industry and introduce new financial tools such as this credit guarantee scheme. "The CMSME's who are being left behind due to collateral shortfall will be benefitted from the credit guarantee scheme." Risk profiles of small businesses also worsened during the ongoing pandemic, with 94 per cent of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) reporting lower sales in a 2020 IFC Covid-19 Impact Study. Heightened risk concerns and lower margins have also made it more challenging for financial institutions to lend to this sector. "The Bangladesh Bank's new credit guarantee scheme will enable small and medium-sized businesses to access the loans they need to cope with the economic impact of Covid-19. These businesses are crucial for the economy, but they have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic," said Robert Chatterton. Supported by the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, successful implementation and use of the credit guarantee scheme under this new project can provide a platform for creating a more sustainable and inclusive financial market. The project can also help local financial institutions, including several IFC clients, increase their exposure to the CMSME sector with a provision for risk-sharing and help build private sector investor confidence.